The Sunday Mail
Enacy Mapakame
What started off as a usual chit-chat by women on their way from church about how powerful the service was, how good-looking the choir members were in their uniforms that day and later how the cost of living was continuously going up later turned into a serious entrepreneurship discussion.
It was especially the discussion on the rising cost of living and how inflation has eroded disposable incomes, which made a group of six women from the same church to come up with ways of empowering themselves and supplement their earnings.
They were frustrated with the economic hardships. It was time to come up with ways of generating income that Vilata Soaps & Detergents came into being. From their little savings, the six women started, from scratch, a manufacturing company from their backyards. They were also inspired by a biblical story from 2 Kings 4:1-7 where a widow was in debt and dire need of financial assistance.
Elisha asked the widow what she had in her house, which was only one jar of olive oil. And from that single jar, at Elisha’s instructions, she managed to fill many more jars which she then sold to pay her debts and left with surplus to sustain herself and her two sons.
“We didn’t have much,” said co-founder and director of Vilata Mrs Molly Chuma.
Like the widow in the bible who went to Elisha, the six women approached the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development for guidance, where they were offered training in soaps and detergent making, advisory services, financial literacy, basic book-keeping, business management, marketing and packaging.
“Instead of mourning about the situation, we sought help from the Ministry of Women Affairs and they assisted us with everything, for free. We started from scratch and now we are producing,” she said.
Vilata was formed in February and started production in April in Tafara, using manual and rudimentary methods. The group make dishwashing liquid, toilet cleaner, multi-purpose cleaner, hand sanitizer, petroleum jelly, pine gel and detergent paste mainly for the domestic market, although the group also produce industrial soaps as per order.
Two months after its formation, the group exhibited at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) where they created market linkages and had an opportunity to learn from other upcoming entrepreneurs. They also exhibited at the Tourism and Trade Exhibition in May this year.
“Soon after training, there was an opportunity to exhibit at ZITF through the Ministry and we quickly put together the little we had to start production. This was a stepping stone for us.
Through this exhibition we met companies that wanted bulk supplies, Government officials and departments willing to assist as well as interaction with Zimbabwe Women Microfinance Bank’s chief executive officer,” said Mrs Chuma.
Vilata also had an opportunity to engage suppliers of inputs such as chemicals, branding and packaging materials. Today, Vilata is supplying local retail shops in Tafara as well as tuck shops with plans to grow into an industrial conglomerate. The company is still operating from Tafara, where dishwashing liquid has proven to be the cash cow and fast-moving product.
Currently, over 300 litres of dishwashing soap, is produced every week, from the initial 40 litres.
Mrs Chuma said prospects are bright for the detergent-making firm notwithstanding the obtaining economic challenges. She said this was an opportunity for Zimbabweans to create solutions to the challenges bedevilling the economy.
Funds permitting, Vilata is looking at procuring machinery and move to a conducive industrial area where they should increase production volumes across its product range.“Right now we are doing everything manually, it is not easy but this is just the beginning, we will not remain small forever. If we get financial assistance, we would like to procure machinery and increase production so that we can expand our market. “We want to do bulk supplies to industrial consumers too, but right now it is difficult to achieve manually. We use drums and sticks but we are hopeful Government, through the Ministry will continue to assist us,” said Mrs Chuma.
Although Vilata is now on the shelves, it was not a walk in the park but passion, dedication and ambition overcame all the challenges which should inspire other women to follow for economic emancipation. Said Mrs Chuma:“We started from very little, but we are growing. Women need to make a bold move if they want to be empowered, the opportunities are there.
“Everyone has a skill they can use, all you need is get the right advice and it’s done.
We had no idea we could make soaps or run a business, but here we are now. Women need education, get the right information, the Ministry has all that and we are grateful they assisted us.”
