06 May 2018

Unlike the majority of students who have a dream to finish their studies and get well paying decent jobs, when he studied Bachelor of Business Administration with MANCOSA, Mr Keolopile Phoi had a totally different intention.

The Maun -born Phoi completed his studies in 2015 and instead of applying for internship like other graduates, he started operating a kiosk in his home village before relocating to Kasane where his father works.

This relocation did not deter him from attaining his longtime dream of having his own business and he continued to do a market survey which led him to find a niche in the biltong industry.

Phoi’s dream came true when the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development (MYSC), funded his biltong making project to the tune of P92 000 last November.

He purchased a deep freezer, meat containers and a biltong cabinet for drying the meat.

Although his project is still on grace period for payment of the loan, he says he foresees no challenge to service it starting this month.

Mr Phoi who has already employed another young person, supplies individuals, stalls and bars with 40g packs of biltong at P5.50 each.

Although supermarkets sell their own biltong, he says there is still no direct competition as they target different customers.He says he gets two boxes of 40kg steak from Maun Abattoir on weekly basis at P1400 for each delivery.

While Maun may sound far from Kasane the vibrant youthful says he utilises Air Botswana to transport the steak.

Unlike other youth owned businesses that are hampered by lack of operating space, Mr Phoi rented a room in Kazungula to use for both drying, packaging and labelling the biltong packs.

The business minded lad says he anticipates to diversify his business.

Mr Phoi says he has no intention of buying a car for his business as he does well with public transport, adding he only needs transport once a week for getting supplies from the airport.

He says he uses word of mouth and social media to market his business and he has a Facebook page.

He revealed that he is considering to market the biltong to hotels and safaris, adding  that he is confident that he is capable of meeting the demand.MYSC district coordinator, Ms Onthatile Modise says although Lopstar is still in the grace period she is confident that it is capable of paying the loan.

Ms Modise encourages the other beneficiaries to emulate Mr Phoi’s commitment in marketing their businesses.

“Wherever you see him he is always carrying a bag with biltong and ready to sell,” she says adding that Mr Phoi does not only wait for bulk buyers but also targets individuals in the street.

Ms Modise encourages the youth to research their business ideas and apply for funding to create employment for themselves and others. She further said  her ministry was always willing to assist and give the youth advice regarding projects.

She laments that some of the youth are reluctant to apply for funding as they are afraid to get into debt.

She notes that some youth have started with YDF and have since utilised CEDA to expand their businesses.

Ms Modise further assures the youth that MYSC will continue to provide advocacy for their projects in terms of acquiring operating spaces, tendering and will always help with any information to help them expand their businesses. Ends