02 Nov 2016

Meet and greet 37-year-old Agnes Dikgang, a single-minded woman who has defied the odds to run the only butchery in the tiny village of Gobojango in the Bobirwa region.

In Botswana, butchery business is not only dominated by men but its responsibilities can also be so demanding that some people think twice before venturing into the usually messy meat trade.

And so, in an interview with BOPA, the daring owner of Mojuli Investment, Butchery and General Dealer, says it all started in January 2016 after assessing the need for a butchery business in Gobojango.

Ms Dikgang said the opening was too good to ignore; hence she did waste time depleting her savings to set up what is today known as Mojuli Investment, Butchery and General Dealer.

“Locals no longer travel long distances in search of meat because their own butchery is right here,” she said proudly, adding that the residents are also proud to have a meat market in their own village.

As a butcher, Ms Dikgang said one of her duties include towing a cattle trailer to the abattoir in Bobonong to consolidate her supplies and thereafter cutting and displaying meat in trays back at the business.

She also sells a variety of products such as toiletries, uncooked food and vegetables to shore up her business.

Ms Dikgang said her customers did not only include Gobojango residents, but others come as far as Mabolwe and Semolale in the same area.

  She said her business had helped her learn social skills because today she is able to live with people from different backgrounds effectively.

She said her ability to run the business successfully emanated from her knowledge of and understanding of her customers.

“They are at ease with me and they can tell me the kind of meat they want,” she pointed out, adding her single employee’s good character has won the respect of customers.

The challenges include the usual business fluctuations such as the business not being able to boom every day and profits getting depressingly low sometimes, she said.

Ms Dikgang advised that running a butchery was not only for men because women can run the business as well as long as they are determined. ENDS