Cham washing powder finds market traction
Pauline Dikuelo | Tuesday September 12, 2023 06:00
It took the duo eight years to grasp their share of the market. Their journey in entrepreneurship started in 2015 with plans to manufacture sugar. However, they never made it due to lack of startup capital. They then tried manufacturing cooking oil and ended up closing shop as well as they did not have the machinery to produce for the market. The disappointments did not deter them as they kept trying out other ideas until they came out with the Cham washing powder business. Just like their previous ideas, they struggled to get funding to procure machinery.
That was until last year when they applied for the Youth Fund, which is housed at the Ministry of Youth, and were finally assisted. In an interview, one of the founders of United Chem, Letshwiti said they got funded to the tune of P446,000 which they used to buy machinery and some stock. “Even though we are grateful for the funding, we are still struggling to make ends meet as we had to find ways of covering other expenses like rent, clearing the machinery and buying additional stock from our pockets,” Letshwiti told BusinessMonitor.
Lack of sufficient capital has however made their progress slow despite the overwhelming reception they received within the two months of production. He said they are slowly missing out on the opportunities to penetrate the international market as they cannot meet the requested orders. “We were fortunate to be amongst the chosen local business by Local Enterprise Authority to go on a trade mission to Zambia where we met people who are really interested in our product,” Letshwiti said. “They got samples and called back with huge orders, which we never supplied, as we currently don’t have the ability to do so. To be sustainable we need to have atleast six months of stock and working capital which we currently don’t have.” Currently, they supply 14 Saverite stores across the country, Square Mart and Thuso wholesale in Serowe.
He said even though they are getting stiff competition from the already established international brands, they are doing well adding that their product is of premium quality. “We have realised that we need to market our product more because if it was known locally, we are certain we can give the other competitors tough competition. The feedback that we got from those who used our washing powder is impressive and they are even referring others.” For their marketing, the duo is heavily reliant on social media to market their product as they have engaged some influencers for this endeavour. For their future prospects, Letshwiti said they plan to penetrate the international market with their premium quality washing powder. He said they are currently seeking for some additional funding to fully automate their production in order to meet the retail markets and supply other countries regionally. “BITC {Botswana Investment and Trade Centre} has also been instrumental in enlightening us about the export market as well as assisting us to be ready to export,” he said.