Trio produces mind blowing cosmetics from Marula tree
Ulla Setswalo | Monday August 17, 2015 18:00
Operating under the trading name, Zurii Essentials, the brain behind the business idea, is 25-year-old Mahalapye -born Mguni Zulu.
Zurii is a Swahili word meaning beautiful. Zulu holds a B-Com in Investment Management from Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
Zulu met his partners at church; Joyce Modie and Scott Fleming then decided to start a business of producing and selling Marula oil.
Modie 30, who hails from Tonota, is the Director of Operations and has done AAT at IDM. Fleming, who is Co-owner and Director of International Sales and Marketing, is aged 22 and currently studying Entrepreneurship at a University at Minneapolis, United States of America.
The Marula oil was well received by the public when they did a survey at the Main mall, though the company is only a few weeks old.
Researches made overseas show that Marula Oil is good for removing stretch marks, repairing skin, removal of wrinkles, sun damages, moisturizing, skin and hair care, hydrating the skin, to mention a few.
According to Zulu, the business started when he visited Lerala in Tswapong area. The area is known for abundance of Marula tree and he met with the amazing women who have been harvesting and producing all kinds of products from Marula nuts.
These women who founded Kgetsi ya Tsie Community Development Trust, are unfortunately not making much from their business.
This is where Zulu and his partners came in so as to produce more and supply the market with Marula oil as well as empowering the women economically and socially.
He further said, “ My interest started when I was invited by Kenyans to export products to their country.”
He revealed that he then approached Fleming and Modie about the idea and they liked it. They all invested their savings in the business.
“I saw an opportunity for me to invest in Botswana because of the potential that Botswana and Africa as a whole have for business growth and innovation,” noted Fleming. He said their company is determined to make a difference in the lives of the Lerala women as their company has created employment for these women.
He further stated that after his studies, he plans on moving back to Africa to become an established entrepreneur that impacts positively on the lives of people in the rural communities.
Fleming revealed that they want their products to be “Proudly Botswana” as they are renewable and can diversify the economy.
The trio is looking to expand once the business booms so as to develop a company that can showcase Africa’s sustainable organic resources such that it leaves an imprint on a large number of people.
“We want to tap into the existing market of natural cosmetics in the world because we have the natural resources locally,” revealed Zulu. Zurii Essentials will showcase at the forthcoming week long Consumer Fair which starts on today at Fairgrounds.
This is will be done to sensitise and make awareness of the existence of the product.
People can learn more about the mind-blowing Marula oil on the Zurri Essentials page on Facebook.