Sundaymail Editor
Tendai Chara
ON two occasions, Aaron Chikukuza found himself without a place to call home.
At one point, he slept, for weeks on end, in a car.
On another occasion, he had to contend with sleeping on a bench inside a church building.
Armed with only an idea, determination and a never-die attitude, he rose from depths of nothingness to the zenith of power and influence.
The 36-year-old Chipinge-born businessman is the founder and managing director of Biznvest, an indigenous company that is revolutionising the baking sector.
Biznvest is known for manufacturing the revolutionary Ngoda Ovens.
Ngoda Ovens are used to bake standard loaves of bread and other confectionery products using cheaper and readily available energy sources such as wood, cow dung and charcoal.
Today, the Ngoda oven is one of the most preferred tools for empowering underprivileged communities, schools, churches and individuals.
The Ngoda oven has found itself in the homes of thousands of individuals’ homes and in institutions across the country.
But who is Aaron Chikukuza?
“I was born in Chipinge and my father died when I was still young.
“My mother took over as the family’s breadwinner.
“After passing my “O” Levels, I couldn’t proceed with my education since the person who was paying my school fees indicated that he was taking a break because he had done his part,” Chikukuza said.
In 2005, a determined Chikukuza made the long trek to Harare in search of the fabled greener pastures.
However, for Chikukuza, the pastures proved dry in Harare as he found himself homeless on two occasions.
“The first time it was after the house that I was living in with a relative was destroyed during Operation Murambatsvina.
“For three weeks, I slept in a car.
“The only sensible option that I had was to return to Chipinge but I decided otherwise.”
In 2007, the youthful businessman got a job as a gardener but two years down the line, he found himself homeless for the second time in four years.
“My employer told me to leave. Just like that. I had nowhere to go and I ended up sleeping on a church bench for three weeks.
“I would go into the church around 10 pm, conduct prayers until about midnight and after the prayer session, I would then sleep on the bench,” Chikukuza narrated.
He was advised to return to Chipinge but he elected to stay put.
A relative took him in and he started working as a carpenter and a builder’s assistant.
Chikukuza’s breakthrough came in 2015 when he formed a WhatsApp group in which members would discuss business ideas and advertise their products and services.
“In 2017, we decided to get a slot on one of the national radio stations and after getting the slot, we would invite companies to advertise their products on our slot.
“My life started to change as I was getting a bit of income.
“I opened an office in town,” he said.
Then came the idea that gave birth to the Ngoda Ovens.
“In 2019, my girlfriend then, who is now my wife, was doing a baking course at the Harare Polytechnic.
“Being an innovative entrepreneur, I was pondering what my future wife would do after her baking course.
“That soul-searching gave birth to Ngoda ovens.”
He added: “As I was thinking about what we were going to do with her course, an idea struck. My mind, by the grace of God, dwelt on the opportunities that might arise in the baking sector. I saw a yawning gap. I saw gaps in the baking industry and decided to fill those gaps.”
The innovative businessman said he noticed that there was a gap in the market.
There were no baking ovens that used the traditional cheaper sources of energy like wood, cow dung and charcoal.
“I also noticed that one of the problems that we had was that companies that produced bread and confectioneries were centralised.”
He decided to cover that gap by manufacturing an oven that would allow people in both remote areas and in towns to bake their own bread.
Now armed with an idea, he wondered where he was going to get the capital to turn his idea into an actual business venture.
Once again he turned to radio.
“I went on radio and announced that I was producing an oven that would empower communities.
“The response from potential customers was over overwhelming. Remember, the Ngoda Oven was then still an idea and I did not have any samples.”
After the radio show, clients thronged his offices seeking to buy the oven.
“As a very honest and principled entrepreneur, I told my clients that I had not manufactured any oven yet. I told them I was very sorry; the oven was not available but I was going to make it.”
One woman who said she believed in his idea paid for the yet-to-be manufactured oven. A close relative also came forward and paid for another one.
“Using the money that I got from the two, I ran around looking for someone to sub-contract. The first sample of the oven that was brought to my office was not perfect. We further worked on it until we got the right oven,” said Chikukuza, who is a devout Christian.
The rest, as they say is now history.
His company now has branches in Harare, Bulawayo, Mvurwi, Masvingo, Karoi and Mutare and employs 25 full-time workers.
He is, however, worried about the emergence of counterfeit ovens on the market.
“We are not afraid of competition. Competition is actually very healthy. We are faced with companies that are using our name to manipulate, infringe and mislead customers. It is sad to say that there are lots of counterfeit Ngoda ovens out there on the market,” Chikukuza said.
Online Reporter