06 Jan 2014

A 31-year-old woman, Ms Albertinah Mosomane of Ramotswa has always believed that she would someday own a business.

That long-held belief came to reality in 2005 when she got a P100 000 funding from Kgalagadi Beverages Trust Kickstart Programme.

Ms Mosomane said with the P100 000, she bought machinery, stock, rented a place to operate from, bought a delivery car and used the remainder for the day-to-day running of her business. And, that is how Ms Mosomane’s bakery business, Fast Zone Bakery, started to exist.

One would wonder why of all business ideas, Ms Mosomane chose to operate a bakery. She explains, “when I was a teenager, I used to cook a lot, my favorite place in the house was the kitchen. I spent most of my time in the kitchen. I would spend most time assisting my mother when she was cooking and trying out different recipes.

I began to have a desire for cooking and would sometimes try new recipes on my own. During holidays and on special times like Christmas, when the whole family is gathered together, I would use the opportunity to show off my cooking skills. It was at a tender age of 23 when I realized that I was more skilled in baking than cooking. I then diverted to baking, I began to have a passion for baking. I spent most of my time in the kitchen, baking.

This went on and my passion for baking grew and I told myself that one day I will own a big bakery business.” Ms Mosomane said in early 2005 she learnt about the Kgalagadi Beverages Trust Kickstart Programme and decided to make hay while the sun shines. She said that she used the opportunity and applied for business funding. Her application was successful and she was funded to the tune of P100 000.

She said in July 2005, when her first batch of customers walked through the door of her business to purchase her first sales of mouth-watering, freshly baked, warm bread her dream of owning a bakery came to pass.

The business which specializes in producing bread loaves secured favorable and reliable market as it supplies Tsabong, Kgolagano and Tapologo junior secondary schools as well as Tsabong, Ikaneng, Mc Cathy’s Rust, Omaweneno, Maralaleng and Kisa primary schools. Fast Zone Bakery also supplies shops, tuck-shops and individual buyers.

She added: “I am willing to supply bigger entities such as supermarkets and others in the near future. I am also willing to expand my products and not only specialize in producing loaves of bread. I want to introduce other products such as scones, cakes and other bread products in order to meet the changes in taste and preferences of customers. This gesture will help me to secure a bigger market for my products and increase my profits,” she said.

Ms Mosomane said that she supplied both shops and tuck shops with a total of 2 000 loaves of bread each month and that each loaf of bread values P7.50. As for schools she supplies them with a total of 2 600 loaves of bread per week and each loaf of bread costs P10.12.

In 2010, Fast Zone Bakery got a short in the arm through Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) Funding to the tune of P865 700 for expansion and face lifting. She used the money to expand and elevate her business. She built a suitable structure to operate from, purchased additional machinery and bought another delivery vehicle.

Ms Mosomane felt that her baking skills obtained when growing up would not sustain her business on their own. She then decided to go for further training. She is now well equipped for the business with a basic training certificate in Bread and Rolls attained at Model Bakery in Ramotswa. In 2011, Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) attached her at Choppies for two months as part of her training.

It is during her stay at Choppies when she was trained in baking cakes, scones and many other bread products. To add cherry on top of the icing, LEA helped her in the day-to-day running of her business, and trained her in many areas of business such as business management, business planning, financial management, human resource management, taxation and many others.

She visits LEA for business advice from time to time to get, among other things, monitoring and evaluation help. Ms Mosomane, who is the Managing Director of Fast Zone Bakery, appealed to the youth to empower themselves with government programmes. She advised them to create jobs for themselves and contribute to the economy of Botswana.

She pleaded with them to join forces with the government in fighting poverty by coming up with creative and innovative ideas for sustainable development. She advised them that even a small idea can turn into a stepping stone to success, noting that her business started small, with only one delivery vehicle, one machine that could only produce 672 loaves of bread per day and that she used to rent a place to operate from but now she has three delivery vehicles, she has built a business structure of her own and now her business is fully furnished with machinery and is one of the most talked about businesses in Kgalagadi.

She also said that a viable commercial idea may come from having noticed that something was lacking in the market. She said: “All businesses start from an original idea.

The success of any business begins with a well thought out feasible commercial idea, for example one can decide to start a business because there is a lack of a certain commodity in the market, one can think of things that have been difficult to obtain or find by his family and friends and decide to sell that thing that they have been having difficulty in finding. Also one can start a business in order to solve other people’s problems. In this case one looks carefully at a problem troubling people and trying to set up a business to solve it and make people’s lives easier.” She also said hard work, dedication, team spirit, perseverance, respect for customers’ needs, customer focus, monitoring and evaluation of the business’ progress are all essential tools for any business to prosper and flourish.

She advised business people and all who are willing to start their own businesses to go for training in order to get a deeper understanding and knowledge about the running of a business. She also advised them to avoid getting themselves into debt of borrowing too much start-up capital and that they should avoid over-investment in idle or non-productive fixed assets. She further advised them to keep records of production, transactions and finances.

She also said that the location of the business and the size and structure of the market are essential for the success of any business and should be taken into consideration when starting a business. Ms Mosomane applauded the council and the government for their unending efforts geared at youth empowerment and supporting existing local businesses.

Fast Zone Bakery does not only sustain its owner but has been a solution to other people’s problems. Its seven employees are two drivers, four confectioners and a supervisor. Ms Boitshepo Danster, the supervisor, has been on the job since February 2012.

“Fast Zone Bakery is a blessing to me because it has created employment for me, I now have a source of income. I can now buy toiletry, food and clothing for myself. I am now able to pay water and electricity bills on time,” she said.

Ms Danster also said that the business gave her a platform to gain experience and skills about business, and that it will be easier for her when she starts her own business as she will be familiar with the business nature. She also said it taught her to be a responsible youth because it provided her with something to do rather than just being idle like most youths.

Despite her business being successful, Ms Mosomane has however identified too much competition from well established businesses. The distance is a major drawback because she buys raw materials in Gaborone, 500 kilometres away, and this often slowed down production.

Just like any other business person, it is Ms Mosomane’s dream to see her business grown and flourishing. It is for this reason that she is looking into expanding her business further by introducing other bread products such as cakes, biscuits and many others. She plans to supply bigger entities such as supermarkets with her products. She is also planning to spread her business to other parts of the country. She is currently working on her business logo. ENDS