09 Oct 2019

While the closure of the BCL mine resulted in the closure of some businesses and job losses, others did not lose hope and looked for ways to  make ends meet.

Thirty three-year old Tshaorayi Samero is one of those.

The Shashe-born man is steadily making a name for himself with his street vending banana business named; Better best banana.

 In an interview the energetic, charismatic and outspoken small entrepreneur, said food is a necessity and knew that he would not go wrong with his choice of business.

Samero started the business in 2016 using the funds he had raised from doing piece jobs. “To operate business a hawker’s license is required, and I hold one. My business does not only entail selling bananas, I supplement my profits by selling peanuts, biltong and washing cars.”

Samero said among other things, his charisma and fervor sets him apart from other street vendors.

“In this line of business you need to be respectful, patient and agile since you are always on the move and you also need to be outspoken to appeal to potential customers,” he said.

 Unlike his counterparts he uses facebook for marketing purposes and has engaged Tshepho Selefho, to manage the page.

Samero said the closure of BCL mine did put a dent on his business, citing the migration of a large number of his clientele.

“Many businesses have closed down, this has directly affected my business drastically as I relied on these businesses to thrive,” he said.

 Furthermore, he explained that sometimes he is compelled to give away his bananas on credit, sometimes for free when the business is slow.

He outlined that he has devised strategies to curb some of his challenges citing that he now sells three bananas for P5.

Samero said that he was happy with the growth of his business alluding to the fact that he used to sell two crates of bananas daily and he currently sells about five crates daily.

He further explained that he has plans to expand his business and to have his own space of business to operate from.

Samero is also involved in charitable works to give back to the community. He recently organised a sponsored walk from Selebi Phikwe to Gaborone to raise funds for the construction of a recreational facility for people living with disability at Anderson Memorial School.

He added that as his team walked to Gaborone, they did cleaning campaigns in some villages. ENDS