30 Aug 2022

Empowering women is the quickest way to end poverty and hunger as well as to build a better world for future generations.

Ms Queen Zambo of Boseja ward in Maun believes in the above sentiment and she is quick to point to herself as an example.

A beneficiary of the Poverty Eradication Programme, Ms Zambo is now running a successful bakery business in her homestead.

She was assisted in 2015 and attended a three-weeks bakery training programme in Makalamabedi.

She now labels herself as a great pastry chef.

She specialises in loaves, mapakiwa, scones, queen cakes and buns and aspiring pastry chefs visit her business on benchmarking purposes.

Currently, she supplies four primary schools with bread in Maun and aims to increase the number to at least 10 schools.

“I was tired of living in abject poverty and when the government availed the opportunity, I did not look back and grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Today I am an experienced baker and we live an improved life with my family,” said the proud mother of four in an interview.

Ms Zambo revealed that she used the opportunity to turn her life around, adding that she had now graduated from poverty and had managed to create employment for four young people.

She advised other women to follow her example and graduate from poverty through the many government empowerment programmes.

She said perseverance, commitment and passion for baking pushed her out of poverty and she was now an employer.

She has even procured an industrial oven to increase production.

 “The training I received gave me the tools to become a great master of baking. My business has grown and I am ready to supply even 10 schools.

I have also imparted the skills I have learned to my husband and our children and we have turned baking into a family hobby, said Ms Zambo with a smile.

She admitted that penetrating the market was not easy and that she had to work hard to earn the trust and respect of customers.

No one, she said, knew the quality of her products until she began going door-to-door selling her pastry.

As the popularity of her products increased, her business started receiving more orders and she was further supported by the North West District Council.

Through their support, she said she managed to register a company and her focus now was to keep up with the orders in order to generate more income.

Ms Zambo’s goal is to own a fully-fledged bakery which will enable her to employ more people.

She has managed to refurbish her house from the proceeds from her bakery as well as injecting large amounts towards its growth.

Ms Zambo appealed to other successful businesswomen to support other women in business.

Being successful in business, she said, had to do with confidence and taking pride in what one did even in the face of challenges.

“When I initially started the business, I never thought it will get me out of poverty because I experienced challenges, but I focused on the value I can bring,” she said. BOKHUTLO