From a Shop Corridor to an Own Office

By Derrick Silimina 

FEAR comes before failure and if one wants to solve society’s challenges, one needs to be where the action is, so goes an old adage.

The fear of starting any business venture has kept the youth languishing in abject poverty amidst opportunities in their various communities.

Two years ago, Jonathan Maseka, 23, started a stationery business at Chimpwena market situated on the outskirts of Solwezi Central Business District in Northwestern province.

In 2018, armed with only a borrowed second-hand printer and an old model computer, Maseka was determined and courageous to start a business with his elder brother on the corridors of someone’s shop.

“One of the factors that led me to start this type of business is that I observed and discovered that this area lacked photocopying, printing, and stationery services which are only done at Chawama market,” Maseka, who is Chief Executive Officer of JOMTEK Computer Services said.

He noted that the moment he advertised on a small signpost along the road, he got an overwhelming response and he started to make money just like that.

Out of the earnings, Maseka plowed back into his enterprise and bought a new photocopying machine and modern computers which he uses to offer Internet services to his clients.

From his humble beginnings of K70 to K100 income per day then from photocopying and printing services, Maseka now makes K1,800 per month for stationery services alone but his projections are to make more than K2,500 per month once he includes other services.

An information technologist by profession, Maseka, who used to teach computer courses to students seeking tuition services, said he decided to go into business full time in line with his career due to his passion for technology.

Running a business in an area where there is no competition, Maseka’s stationery business grew and he again reinvested much of his profits into building his own shop at a cost of more than K6,000 from proceeds of the business in an area one might perceive as less lucrative for computer and stationery services.

In 2019, upon realizing that he did not know how to manage his recordkeeping effectively, Maseka started to attend business training workshops organized by Fortune World Investments through First Quantum’s Kansanshi Mining Plc.

“I have benefited a lot as I am now able to keep records and manage cash flow in my business. I also learned one concept such as the importance of registering one’s business with PACRA which I have done,” Maseka stated recently when Fortune World conducted a mentorship visit to some of the success stories among its trainee entrepreneurs.

He lamented that prior to attending business training workshops by Fortune World, he used to mix money realized from the stationery business with income from printing and other services, but he was now able to apply recordkeeping ethics to his business.

Maseka further noted that he was now able to operate his business with peace of mind since it is registered with appropriate authorities. Plans are afoot to open another outlet near the Solwezi central business district. However, with the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic, Maseka’s business has not been spared as the national lockdown affected stationery imports and made them too expensive to procure.

“Since the closure of borders, it became a challenge to make orders and once schools are shut down, services such as photocopying and printing are currently very slow due to low demand since most clients for such services are schools,” he noted.

And the Fortune World entourage led by Managing Director Mukumbi Kafuta and his Director of Programmes Patrick Matanda expressed their appreciation for seeing how industrious one of their trainee entrepreneurs had become.

“I would like to encourage you to continue doing the right thing in terms of managing money and record keeping. You have done a commendable job as a young man to build this shop and continue with your other plan to open another outlet in Kyawama area. Also the increase in advertising your product range because very soon, you are would become a household name.”