Chronicle Editor
Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
POPULARLY known as Amora, Mr Amos Chikutira was 18 years old when he acquired his driver’s licence and started working as a commuter omnibus driver in Gweru.
He thought that was it yet it was only the beginning.
Frustrated by other drivers and touts who continuously bullied him, Mr Chikutira decided to enrol at the Gweru Polytechnic College where he trained as a diesel plant fitter.
Today he is the proud owner of a haulage trucking company called Fix It logistics. The self-made employer is one of the entrepreneurs who started their journey with no capital and no experience.
Despite the odds, Mr Chikutira was able to start small and is growing. It’s not common to hear about entrepreneurs who used the wealth they made from a previous endeavour to build a thriving new start-up, or seasoned business owners who took over a decades-old franchise and transformed it into something new.
These stories are inspiring in their own way but it’s even more inspiring to hear about people like Mr Chikutira who started with nothing.
From a young age, the father of two children — a boy and a girl, always wanted to be an entrepreneur. He has two trucks that are hired mostly by big companies on long-term contracts to ferry goods in and around the country.
“I was born in Gweru and grew up in a family of four. I attended Mpumelelo Primary School in Mkoba 15 suburb then did my secondary education at Mkoba 3 High School and wrote my O-level in 2007,” he said.
Mr Chikutira said because of financial challenges he was facing then, he didn’t proceed to A-level like most of his peers.
In 2009 after realising that he was wasting his years doing nothing, he started doing all kinds of jobs to make a living in Gweru.
“I didn’t go to A-level because of financial challenges and I started hustling. Firstly, I sold ice at Kudzanayi Long Distance Bus Terminus to vendors who were selling cool drinks and other beverages and managed to raise money to get my driver’s licence with the aid of my single mum who used to be a cross-border trader.
“After I got my driver’s licence in 2010, I started driving a kombi and it was a hard time because I was the youngest driver at the rank. TM rank was then the busiest local rank in Gweru and was notorious for touts and rank marshals who at times could be a menace even to members of the public,” said Mr Chikutira.
“I then decided to quit the job just after eight months. Obviously, my family members were disappointed by my choice then because they didn’t want me to just stay at home doing nothing. Remember my mother had gone out of her way to raise funds to assist me to acquire the licence. So quitting was to them the worst decision.”
Mr Chikutira said he then traded the licence for a career in the workshop.
“That is when I decided to go and pursue my dream of becoming a diesel plant fitter. I enrolled at Gweru Polytechnic in 2011 and did a course which changed my life for the better,” he said.
Life at college, he said, was not that difficult for him since he didn’t have to bother his mother about transport fares.
“I didn’t pay bus fares since I was enjoying my benefits as an ex-commuter omnibus driver. The drivers back then would give me free rides to and from the college and all went well. I went for my attachment in Harare at Premier Forklifts and came back in 2013 to Gweru Polytechnic to do my final year,” said Mr Chikutira.
“After college, I secured a job as an assistant fitter at a local company for two years but unfortunately the company closed.”
Mr Chikutira said he then worked for a Chinese company from 2015 to 2020.
“It was a fascinating experience for me to work with the Chinese because I learnt a lot about running a business and dealing with employees. At first, it was hard because of the language barrier but as time went on we started understanding each,” he said.
Using my savings and some side hustles, I managed to buy my first box truck in 2019 and through hard work and persistence, I now have two box trucks.”
Mr Chikutira said starting a business from scratch is very scary.
“The name of my company is Fix It Logistics and we offer transport services. We carry anything around Zimbabwe. I have two drivers and if there are any challenges, I also drive,” he said.
Mr Chikutira said his future plan is to own the biggest transport logistics company in Africa.
“The path to success is not always easy and one must remain focused on their dream and anything is achievable with the right mindset,” he said.
Online Reporter