Transformation Through Textiles

By Derrick Silimina

With his pen neatly clipped in the pocket of his blue work suit, Fabrice Tuyishime gazes at the factory floor, where scores of women are sewing garments, stamping logos, and pressing out wrinkles from various apparel destined for both local and international markets.

After a hard day’s work at Rwanda’s renowned garment factory, Tuyishime is in good spirits.

“From the day I got employed here, I worked hard to attain my financial goals and carried out my duties exceptionally, and my hard work paid off recently. I was first employed as a general worker and rose to first a supervisor, and then a year later, a production manager,” Tuyishime told ChinAfrica.

The production manager is among thousands of local Rwandan employees who have benefited a lot since the establishment of the Chinese apparel manufacturing company that has lifted them out of poverty.

It is a known fact that many textile industries in developing countries have died a natural death after years of downturn. But in Rwanda, the Chinese garment factory is transforming the lives of local people through job creation and improved household income.

As China intensifies its technology and skills transfer and creates more jobs amid Africa’s quest to boost its development, experiences on the continent point to a bright outlook.

A source of livelihood

In Gasabo District on the outskirts of Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, just 4 km from the Kigali International Airport, stands the Kigali Special Economic Zone phase 1, which houses one of the most modern garment factories in East Africa - Pink Mango C&D Products Rwanda, a leading manufacturer and exporter of bags, garments, home textiles and packaging for a wide range of internationally recognizable brands.

Imports of secondhand clothes from developed countries continue to rise in many African countries, thereby stifling the continent’s potential to grow its own textile industries. Most donated secondhand clothing is now sold for reuse in markets in Africa. What seems a neat solution to millions of tons of clothing discarded annually is definitely undercutting the local garment manufacturing industry.

For this reason, in its quest to enhance technology transfer and grow the local textile industry, Pink Mango C&D seeks to recruit a total of 7,500 workers in Rwanda and turn itself into the largest and best jacket garment factory in Africa, following an agreement that was inked in 2019 with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) for the establishment of a modern garment factory in the Kigali Special Economic Zone that will produce garments for both the domestic and export markets.

Since its establishment, Pink Mango C&D is certainly transforming the lives of local Rwandans through job creation and improved household income as the Chinese experts at the factory have equipped local staff with knowledge and skills in tailoring; some are now experts in fashion design and production.

Tuyishime is in charge of production and interviews prospective workers, mostly women who took long, dusty bus rides from far and near villages and have waited for hours to apply for work at the modern textile firm.

“It used to be tough for me to support my family; but now I am assured of a monthly salary that enables me to take care of my household with ease. I have even bought a piece of land where I plan to build my house, something I never thought would happen. I am also able to pay school fees for my children. Thanks to the Chinese experts for imparting skills for me to be able to take care of my family,” Anita Kaberuka, one of Tuyishime’s co-workers, said.

Secondhand clothing

It is estimated that East Africa alone imports over $150 million worth of used clothes and shoes, largely from the U.S. and Europe.

In 2017, the United States Agency for International Development estimated that the industry employed over 350,000 people and generated $230 million in government revenue. It also supported the livelihoods of an additional 1.4 million in the East Africa Community bloc.

According to global trade experts, Africa has one of the largest used clothing markets in the world with 80 percent of people on the continent wearing secondhand clothes that are mainly imported from the U.S., Europe, India and Pakistan.

However, those clothes are not necessarily given away once in Africa but are often sold through intermediaries which retail them to local communities.

While this trade is a form of textile recycling, there can be broader negative social and economic consequences for the end markets. 

The influx of secondhand clothing into African markets has created employment, albeit precarious. But the trade has also displaced local garment manufacturing bases – and it may be suppressing the future development or revival of similar domestic industries.

There is a widespread belief that the popularity of used clothing contributed to the collapse of the domestic textile industry in many parts of Africa in the 1980s and 1990s and that the continued use of used clothing is portrayed as undignified and eroding African pride.

Local industry development

In a bid to resuscitate local manufacturing, East African governments, including those of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, agreed in March 2016 to increase tariffs on imported used clothes with the intention of phasing them out by 2019.

In this context, Rwanda has been actively exploring the possibility of banning the import of secondhand clothes. In the 2016/17 financial year, the East African nation raised the tax on imported used clothes from $0.20 to $2.50 per kg and to $4 in the next financial year.

RDB Deputy Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Hategeka recently affirmed that the country has been using fiscal measures to progressively discourage the importation of secondhand clothes because it was hurting the growth of the domestic textile and garment industry.

“The investment of Pink Mango C&D will upskill Rwandans, giving them access to productive jobs and hence ensuring a better standard of living. Secondly, the investment will not only enable us to increase our exports, but also reduce imports of clothing. Therefore, we are achieving two goals by signing this deal,” Hategeka said during the signing ceremony.

He revealed that the establishment of Pink Mango C&D will support the building up of a garment industry ecosystem attracting other players in dyeing, knitting and weaving as well as accessories suppliers to open shops in Rwanda, hence it’s an exciting addition to the growth of the local textile industry.

According to the RDB, the decision to tax used clothing has already helped develop the local textile and shoe industries as production has increased, and the policy is already producing positive results.

C&D Group Chairman Gu Jingyong stressed that his company is not only pursuing profits in Rwanda, but has taken into consideration the long-term positive impact of the investment in the East African country.

“We have brought technology and we hope to improve the living standards of the local people,” Gu added.

Grocery business on the way up

 

By Derrick Silimina

While the idea of starting a business is on many people’s wish-list, the biggest hurdle to cross for many is the capital and this is followed by managerial skills on the heels.

In Zambia, one of the simplest forms of a business to start is a grocery store. It is the commonest business one can come across in any area where people are found simply because the stocks relate to everyday human desires. 

Lufunda Zangi, 29, is one of the young entrepreneurs based at Kyawama Market in Solwezi, making a living from grocery business. 

“I started my grocery business in 2014 with cooking oil as my main product. I then began to slowly add other products such as sugar, salt, baking powder, soap, rice and other products which are found at my store today,” Zangi remembers. 

With K500 as his initial capital, Zangi now has over K4,000 in cash and described the grocery business as good because of his ability to look after the family through it. 

He says potentially, his business is able to make about K500 profit per week. In February 2020, Zangi got encouraged by a friend to enroll for the business development training programme which is powered by Kansanshi Mining Plc. 

Zangi attended nine physical training workshops before they were put on hold due to the outbreak of Covid-19. Due to his busy schedule at the market, Zangi was not able to continue with the training via radio but the Fortune World mentoring team encouraged him to apportion time for the radio training as it was equally effective. 

“The topics I have grasped so far have helped me with better customer care. I am now able to identify more market opportunities. Before attending the training, my business was failing due to poor customer relations, but the situation has since improved,” he affirmed. 

Currently, Zangi has stock worth K3,500 while his business is worth about K8,000. In future, he plans to open a shop to host the growing business with more space to stock goods as some of his goods are currently being stored in other people’s shops. 

He further states that his intention is to attend training in poultry farming so as to embark in that business. Zangi is delighted, as the business development training has also helped him with proper records management. 

“Thank you KMP management for facilitating the business training through the FWIL and I urge them to continue with the same spirit of empowering local SMEs with knowledge,” he said. 

The FWIL mentoring team urged Zangi to register his business so that he is connected to the chamber of commerce for further capacity building opportunities.

Taking Onion Trading to Another Level

 

By Derrick Silimina

As the trading of onion becomes competitive on the local market, many marketeers are taking the agribusiness venture to another level

One such seasoned marketeer is Susan Kapambwe who operates from Kyawama market in Solwezi District of North-Western Province. 

At the age of 40, Kapambwe’s area of speciality is the buying and selling of mainly onions and tomatoes. 

“This onion business is very lucrative as it has high profits. I buy onions from Kapiri Mposhi and Nakonde, which I come to resell here in Solwezi. I started the onion business in 2010 with a minimal capital of K500, and I have since grown my capital base to K8,000 in terms of cash at hand,” Kapambwe affirms. 

Kapambwe explains that she procures one 50 kg bag of onion at K600, and upon selling the onion in smaller heaps at retail price, makes about K1,500 from one bag, making a profit of K900 per bag. At most, she procures about eight bags at the total cost of K4,800 and one bag takes about five days to sell. 

“To ensure my bags of onion sell quicker, I distribute some of them to fellow marketeers who sell on my behalf. Each marketeer then brings a K1,200 while retaining K300 sales commission. My profit per bag comes to about K600 when sold through agents.” 

She said the onion business has been of great help to her as she is currently building a house where she has already spent K10,000 on building materials. 

In 2020, Kapambwe decided to sharpen her business proficiency and enrolled for the business development training conducted by Fortune World Investment, courtesy of the Kansanshi Mining Plc. At the time, lessons were still being conducted physically but due to the Covid-19 outbreak, classroom based training was put on hold, and she has continued following lessons on radio. 

Kapambwe has so far followed ten lessons via radio training and affirmed that the training has given her capacity to deal in more than one product at once. 

“Prior to attending the training, I had poor financial management practices and my business remained stunted,” she stressed. 

Kapambwe says after having been equipped with the knowledge in Financial Management, it has made her a better manager, hence being able to grow her business to its current state. 

“I now plan to diversify my business to rearing village chickens that will lay eggs for hatching to increase the number of birds, while extra fertilized eggs would be sold at K150 per tray,” she said. 

Having felt the impact of the FWIL business training, Kapambwe hopes to enroll for a piggery rearing course in future. She anticipates diversifying into rearing pigs that will be supplied to supermarkets in the form of processed pork. 

“I intend to register my business and have asked the FWIL mentoring team for guidance because my initial capital in the piggery is K10,000 which I hope to raise in the next 6 months,” she said. 

Apart from running her own business, Kapambwe belongs to a 40 member cooperative which was recently registered. The group intends to venture into crop and poultry farming on a five hectares piece of land which she bought and offered. 

“Thank you KMP management for the knowledge they are providing through the business training, which has made my business grow,” Kapambwe affirmed.

Training tailors, cooks or service staff

 

By Derrick Silimina

Catholic nuns are providing skills training to young women in Zambia to help them escape poverty.

Poverty is widespread in Zambia, with rural areas more affected than urban areas. Moreover, women and girls are particularly disadvantaged in a largely unequal society.

Many rural poor migrate and settle in slum areas often located in or on the outskirts of urban centres. One such area is Chawama, one of Lusaka’s largest slums.

The Missionary Sisters of the Holy Family, a Catholic parish based in Lusaka, try to help women and adolescent girls in Chawama. 

Inside their Cheshire Divine Providence Home, they have established a Homecraft training school, a computer school, primary and secondary schools. The Homecraft training school offers various skills training such as cookery, tailoring, handicraft and knitting among others to young women.

Catholic missionaries like the Sisters of the Holy Family have been present in Africa since the 18th century. On top of spreading their religious doctrines, they are involved in socio-economic development programmes in many African countries.

“We teach the young ladies and mothers how to improve their life in society and in their homes. We empower them with some skills in tailoring and designing, cooking and baking, handicraft and knitting. Through all these skills, we believe that we are helping some of these Zambian women to fight poverty in society,” says Magdalene Wanja, sister-in-charge of the skills training school.

The Homecraft training school enrols over 100 students per year. Most of its trainees end up working in restaurants, tailoring shops, hotels, and lodging facilities. 

Some of the young women start and run their own small businesses. “I look forward to graduating and finding a job at a hotel or a resort so that I can raise income to start my own restaurant in future,” says Mirriam Munwela, one of the students doing a tailoring and catering course.

Emeldah Lungu, 28, another student at the training school, explains that it is her dream one day to become a fashion designer. 

“My career is slowly unfolding. My passion has always been to become a fashion designer. Thank you Sisters at Homecraft training school for adding value to what I want to become. I can’t wait to live my dream and lift myself out of poverty,” Lungu stated.

The Catholic missionaries are happy to see their skills development programme helping women in Chawama. 

Sister Wanja affirms: “We are happy that the response from women is overwhelming despite the financial challenges they go through to manage to pay for their one and half year training as the school depends on their tuition fees to operate effectively.”

Making Kitchenware in Solwezi

By Derrick Silimina

As the importation of kitchenware is seemingly shrinking gradually in Zambia, some local innovative minds have captured a major share of the domestic market.

Emmanuel Kamau, 29, a resident of Kandemba area of Solwezi District in North-Western Province is one of the few young creative entrepreneurs making some cool cash from kitchenware manufacturing business. 

In 2018, Kamau with three other partners started the business venture with a minimal capital of K200. 

The business involves buying aluminum metal from various companies, melting it at high temperatures in a makeshift oven; pouring the molten metal into molds made out of sand to bring out different sizes and designs of aluminum pots. 

“This is a very good business because we have many customers who come to buy pots for instance for resale. In short, we sell our products at both wholesale and retail price,” Kamau says. 

PRODUCES 

The business produces on average 30 pots per day, depending on availability of materials. Scrap aluminum is secured at K5 per kg, and the finished products sell at prices ranging from K30 to K90 each depending on size.

He stated that with availability of materials, sales can even go up to 300 pots every month as the retail price for the biggest pot peaks at K130 each.

“This business is able to raise between K20,000 and K25,000 in terms of sales turnover, with profits coming to about K12,000 per month. Our capital base currently stands at K15,000 in terms of liquidity, and 50 per cent of the proceeds are reinvested into the business,” he explains. 

Due to restrictions of movements brought about by Covid-19 between 2020 and 2021, Kamau regrets that the business temporarily experienced some setbacks in terms of access to materials, therefore slowing down manufacturing activities. 

However, since the situation has now improved as more materials are now available, Kamau has a vision to improve the workshop by constructing a better oven, connecting electricity and purchasing equipment such as a welding and grinding machine to be used for cutting of aluminum to smaller pieces for melting.

 

“With such machinery in place, we anticipate to earn a minimum of K25,000 per month. We are in the process of registering our business with PACRA so as to tap into the vast opportunities such as financing and markets,” Kamau says. 

AFLOAT 

Despite some economic hurdles, Kamau and his partners have managed to keep the business afloat, thanks to some business tactics acquired from the Fortune World Investments’ training business workshops which are powered by Kansanshi Mining Plc. 

When Kamau was recruited for the business development programme in 2021, he was able to clear all the 24 topics. 

“The training equipped me with the ability to manage finances prudently, hence expanding the business. Currently, funds are saved via a mobile money facility. One of the attributes that I got from the training is the ability to overcome fear and be able to venture into business with confidence,” Kamau says. 

He salutes the KMP management for providing a platform of empowerment through the business training. 

That has rekindled his appetite for further training in metal fabrication to improve skills for business enhancement. 

The Fortune World mentoring team were impressed with the innovation displayed by the youthful entrepreneurs and urged them to expedite the process of registering the business and opening a company bank account. 

“Once your business is registered, it would easily be linked to the North Western Chamber of Commerce to access further capacity building opportunities,” FWIL Managing Director Mukumbi Kafuta said.

Entrepreneur Scoring with Poulets and Eggs

 

By Derrick Silimina

Beatrice Mwenze’s passion for the chicken rearing business unfolded with a poultry house to accommodate 550 birds - now she is building another one for 1,000.

I started the poultry business in 2016 as a way of supplementing my husband’s income after I built a (5 x 22m) poultry house with a capacity to accommodate 550 birds,” Mwenze recalls. 

Mwenze, 42, a resident of Solwezi’s Kandundu area, states that though sometimes the local market gets flooded, poultry business remains profitable as she takes her chickens to Kasumbalesa border, Zambia’s entry point into the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

With the current local market price of K100 and K120 per bird, she sells her chickens and eggs within a week to avoid feeding them further and to maximize on profits. From her current investment of K24,000 which consists of chicks medicines, feed, charcoal and sawdust, is rearing 450 one-week-old chicks.

“This is a lucrative business because sales of 450 birds at K100 each gives me about K45,000. After I deduct expenses, it gives me a 50 per cent profit margin of about K21,000,” she affirms. 

The border market is even better with higher prices as her 450 chickens can take about three to four days to sell. In her quest to enrich her knowledge in poultry business, Mwenze started attending training in January, 2021 at Aaso Lodge, the main venue for Fortune World Investment’s monthly business workshops. 

And when lessons shifted to radio, on account of the Covid-19 restrictions, she continued following the programs to date. 

“The business training has equipped me with knowledge for better business management, and most topics learned have motivated me create employment for helper who earns K1000 per month,” Mwenze states.

Moving forward, Mwenze plans to increase the number of birds to 1000 and is currently constructing a bigger poultry house at her farm. 

She also looks forward to a situation where she will begin to supply all her chickens to one source and get paid at once because her record keeping is up to date with details of day-old chicks, stock feed and sales data. 

Additionally, Mwenze is rearing 90 piglets at Weighbridge area and will begin selling them in December when they are fully mature. 

With the current local selling price of pork at K90 per kg, Mwenze is encouraged to also look for a market at lodges, hotels and restaurants as a way of increasing her customer base. 

Mwenze is hopeful: “In future, I seek to acquire more training in poultry farming, animal husbandry and feed formulation to help boost my agribusiness.”

Planning with a Heart for Veggies and Fruits

 

By Derrick Silimina

Vegetables are the cheapest source of essential minerals and vitamins and for a long time have remained a popular ingredient in Zambian sauces, soups and stews.

Nonetheless, vegetable farming is one of the little-touted ventures in agriculture, but if well nurtured can offer truly amazing business opportunities. 

For this reason, Roger Musemvu, 42, is among many entrepreneurs from North-Western Province who are taking advantage of the large demand for vegetables in Solwezi’s bustling city markets. 

Musemvu is one of the devoted farmers of Solwezi’s Kimale area who in 2018 started cultivating carrots on a half lima piece of land, and green maize on a half lima. 

He spent K1,200 on procuring inputs such as seed, fertilizer and an additional K1,500 on fuel for his generator which facilitated irrigation to kickstart his horticultural project. After harvest, he sold his products and raised K5000 from carrots alongside K2,800 from maize. 

In a bid to sharpen his horticultural skills, Musemvu enrolled for the free monthly business development training programme funded by Kansanshi Mine Limited and executed by Fortune World Investment limited (FWIL) in the district. 

“With topics such as time and record management, which I grasped from the business training, I learned to spend my time productively as I have no idle time any more. For me, time spent in the field is money.” 

Having completed the training in December 2018, Musemvu’s work culture has transformed positively as he is in his garden from morning to evening every day. With his records management skills learned from the training, he is able to keep records such as sales, expenses as well as profit and loss accounts.

 “Thank you to the KMP management for the training. I urge them to continue and extend their business empowerment programme to others as this entrepreneurship training is changing many lives in the district,” he notes. 

Recently, FWIL Managing Director Mukumbi Kafuta paid Musemvu a mentorship visit to ascertain progress made thus far and was impressed that he has continued with farming and has currently invested in cabbages and tomatoes, using water from a nearby stream and a Genset for irrigation. 

With an investment of K3,490 into cabbage production, Musemvu is proud now that heads are selling at between K7 and K10 per head, depending on size. “I expect to make about K36,000 from the venture by the time all my cabbages are sold,” Musemvu states. 

He has equally invested K1,824 into tomato production and has cultivated more than 800 plants of tomato, which are already being harvested. 

Musemvu plans to expand further into planting other crops to expand his niche in the sector. With one box of tomato fetching an average price of K200 at a local market, the farmer has so far cashed in about K16,800 as per day. 

He harvests three boxes of tomatoes, and has already been harvesting them for a month. Having tested how profitable the horticultural industry is, Musemvu is positioning himself for rapid growth as he is now planning to acquire a bigger piece of land where gardening activities will be expanded and will comprise cabbage, carrots, egg plants, tomato and green maize among others. 

On the other hand, he has also planted a nursery of fruits such as oranges, avocado, and bananas. Musemvu has not yet registered his business, but intends to do so in January 2022. 

“I have so far acquired five hectares of land specifically for fruits in Solwezi’s Lwamakanda area where I will transplant one hectare of oranges, one Lima of avocado and one Lima of bananas.”