20 Aug 2026

Driven by childhood curiosity, 35-year-old Gabane native, Mr Thatayaone Marope has successfully established a reputable agro-processing business, Warona Sorghum Milling, in Palapye.

Mr Marope’s business journey began with simple observation. “From a young age, my parents used to send me to the local milling centre. I became deeply curious about the entire process of transforming raw grains into maize meal and sorghum,” he said.

This curiosity blossomed into a passion to understand food processing mechanics. In 2014, he took his first formal step by registering Warona Milling and Packaging.

Explaining the inspiration behind the name, Mr Marope noted that “Warona is my daughter’s name. I named the company after her because I am committed to building a lasting family legacy.”

The business received its first major breakthrough in 2020. After submitting a comprehensive business proposal to the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) under the Youth Development Fund (YDF), Mr Marope successfully secured P100,000 in funding.

With the capital injection, he acquired two essential industrial machines: a hammer mill to crush grains into smaller fragments, and a dehuller mill to strip the outer husks from maize, sorghum and millet.

Operating initially from a cramped workspace with just a single employee, the business specialised strictly in processing sorghum meal.

Today, the business has grown significantly. Thanks to a subsequent P1.2 million expansion loan from the National Development Bank (NDB), Mr Marope has upgraded his facility with advanced machinery.

Now operating at Palapye Industrial area, located adjacent to the Coca-Cola depot, Warona Mills employs 10 full-time workers.

The company boasts a diverse product portfolio supplying both human and animal consumption markets.

Their range includes sorghum meal, samp, maize meal, wheat meal, mosutlhane and maize and sorghum bran. The products are supplied directly to individual buyers and major retail outlets such as Square Mart, and the Palapye District Council for the school feeding programme.

Despite his visible success, Mr Marope contends with structural supply-chain issues. Chief among these is a chronic shortage of locally produced grain. “Most local small-scale farmers produce primarily for subsistence and family consumption rather than commercial supply,” he noted.

This deficit forces him to source high-quality commercial grains from far-flung agricultural hubs like Pandamatenga and Kwenantle Farms in Bobirwa.

Furthermore, inconsistent grain sizes from smaller farms occasionally impact the uniformity and grade of the final product, underscoring his demand for premium raw materials.

Mr Marope said the milling business is mostly operated in industrial plots where the rent is high and wishes to be allocated a plot to operate his business with no rental cost.

He said his main goal is to make a lot of products to sell in most of retail shops around the country and even to export to neighbouring countries like Zambia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Looking forward, he aims to capture national retail shelves and break into regional export markets.

He encourages aspiring youth entrepreneurs to stay the course. “Many young entrepreneurs start businesses but throw in the towel when challenges arise,’’ he said.

‘’There is no business without hardships. The obstacles we face are exactly what helps us build a stronger brand and achieve long-term objectives,” he said. He emphasised that a mindset of persistence drastically increases the probability of success.

The entrepreneur expressed gratitude to the Palapye District Council for its continuous commercial support and for regularly extending invitations to capacity-building workshops, which keep him exposed to fresh strategies for business expansion. ENDS