tawandamusarurwa
Youth Buzz
Fatima Bulla-Musakwa
WHEN Ms Junior Bakasa was selling freezits in Glen View as a young girl to raise pocket money, she had no idea her entrepreneurial streak would ultimately define her future.
About three decades later — after studying human resources, psychology and marketing — she is now a renowned manufacturer of detergents.
But her products are mainly retailed in marginalised communities, where hygiene products are largely considered a luxury.
From her base in Aspindale, Ms Bakasa’s work is impacting communities in Kuwadzana, Budiriro, Mufakose, Rugare, Mbare, Chitungwiza and Norton.
Her impact is also being felt in Hopley, Southlea Park, Eastview and White House communities. She is currently spearheading the establishment of hygiene banks, which serve as safe spaces for women to discuss hygiene issues.
“Through our hygiene bank in Southlea (Park), we offer sustainable solutions to sanitation issues,” she told The Sunday Mail.
“Clients come with recycled containers to buy different types of cleaning chemicals and this reduces the cost of the product.
“We also work with communities to address their needs.
“We do not manufacture and push our product into the community, but we involve the community in our programme design.”
This, she said, has promoted buy-in from the communities they work with.
“They tell us the cleaning chemicals they need and we produce them.
“The idea to distribute cleaning chemicals in recycled containers came from the community and this enabled us to provide our products at a low cost.”
She said her road to being an entrepreneur was inspired by her struggle to land a well-paying permanent job.
She had struggled to secure viable job opportunities and would only get work on short contracts.
For her, this was unacceptable.
Deep down, she was driven by a burning desire to work for herself.
She then went back to the drawing board.
Since she had a passion for water, sanitation and hygiene issues, that is where she naturally directed all her focus.
That signalled the birth of her brand — OV Products.
Her initiative is nurturing behavioural change in communities, where she teaches the importance of using hygiene products to fight recurring diseases such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea.
She also founded an organisation called Her Dreams Matter, through which young women go through empowerment workshops and are encouraged to pursue their goals.
“I wanted to use my work to find a solution to an issue I was passionate about,” she added.
“After observing what was lacking in my community, I created OV Products Ltd.
“I am also a humanitarian at heart.
“When I was growing up, I wanted to work for the United Nations so I could be part of those helping mankind, so committing my life to this path was easy.
“I found my space and I am doing my bit to leave this world a better place.”
For her sterling work with communities, Ms Bakasa has won several accolades.
In 2018, she clinched an accolade in the manufacturing category at the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Enterprise Conference and Awards (WECA).
In 2020, she received the Youth Connekt Covid-19 Prevention and Response Challenge Award, supported by the United Nations Development Fund.
A year earlier, she bagged the Proweb Young Business Leader of the Year Award.
◆ Twitter: @BullaFatima
Online Reporter