27 Feb 2019

The little things we take for granted can actually bring income and sustain our lives as.

 This is attested by Ms Naledi Mooketsana, who found a niche in the market in making ice pops.

Although it all started as a hobby, she now looks back with a smile and cherishes the day she chose to invest in the business.

With the current hot temperatures anticipated to last this season, Ms Mooketsane is cashing in on the misfortune and her business of ice-pop making is blossoming as she targets students and bulk orders for street hawkers and shops.

The 37-year-old from Bobonong tried the business after noting its potential from her brother in law in Gaborone and saw an opportunity to try it in Jwaneng, where the market was still fresh.

She said that she started her business, which is still operating at home, with a small ice-pop making machine and later approached school tuck shops, street hawkers and shops for distribution and that the response was positive.

She delivers ice-pops in a frozen state as a way of increasing sales because some of the hawkers do not have refrigerators and due to unpredictable weather, she is bound to lose business some days.

“In cold days and winter the business literally stops and I survive on my savings, but get solace from the fact that I would have made substantial profit during hot days,” she added.

Though she sometimes experiences shortage of ingredients from her suppliers, she said she was able to meet the market demands and had also found a market in surrounding villages such as Sese.

The mother of three said the business, which is only four years old, has sustained her family and that she prides herself with cooling Jwaneng residents and ultimately meeting the demands of customers as well as making money at the end of the day.

She said although she was not yet overwhelmed by the demand, she intended to buy a bigger machine as she was eyeing a market in other wholesales. Ends