adminOliver Kazunga Senior Business Reporter
THE quest to empower locals aspiring to venture into self-help projects led to the birth of a local engineering firm, Profit Ideas. Established in 1997 the firm, owned by George Gwanzura, has carved a niche market for itself given its unique products. The company, which is based in Bulawayo, makes equipment such as grinding mills, peanut butter machines, candle moulds, soap making machines, oil press machines, maputi guns and poultry incubators, among other machines.
Gwanzura, a former Standard Chartered Bank employee who quit his job, said he turned to entrepreneurship after discovering a niche on the market.
“Initially, I used to work for Standard Chartered Bank after finishing my high school in the early 1990s. The department I was in was responsible for approving project proposals and giving loans to clients and it is during this time that I discovered that a number of people came up with project proposals that focused on self-help projects,” said Gwanzura in an interview with Business Chronicle.
“Some would travel to South Africa to buy equipment to start up their businesses. As a result, I discovered a niche which forced me to quit my job to form my own company.”
His firm seeks to create employment, alleviate poverty, improve livelihood by developing and fostering sustainable growth and development of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through innovative and cost effective ways of producing goods.
He said his company started as a private business corporation before it was transformed into a private company in 2007.
“When we started, it was a private business corporation and we realised that we were liable to litigation thus we decided to transform it into a private limited company in 2007, a development that saw us relating with statutory bodies such as the National Social Security Authority and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority,” said Gwanzura, whose firm employs 25 people compared to five when it started.
Asked about what it takes for one to be successful in business, Gwanzura said: “You should have financial discipline, a vision and know where you want your business to go. We’re at the moment planning to introduce a franchise called supplier franchise where our customers, apart from securing equipment from us, are also given say material up to packaging and once they produce, we can also buy back the products.”
The supplier franchise, Gwanzura said, was a growth route they think would create employment throughout the production chain.
“Our market is everyone with a business mind to make extra income, whether in rural or urban areas. Our machines can be manually or electronically operated and we also train our customers how to operate or service the machines,” he said, adding that their customer base largely comprised civil servants and non-governmental organisations targeting poverty alleviation.
“We also have field agents who get orders on our behalf from prospective entrepreneurs in different parts of the country.”
Profit Ideas, Gwanzura said, sees teamwork on every project as the key success ingredient.
In 2009, the company registered a charity organisation after realising that a high number of people including child-headed families were approaching them seeking financial assistance.
“Through our charity organisation, we now give them machines to start self help projects. We also assist them with the marketing of their products. Of late, we have discovered that if you give them such machines, they rarely come back to us seeking money, instead they come to thank us for assisting them to eke out a living,” he said.
To produce different machinery, he said, the engineering concern apart from its own engineers also worked with tertiary institutions.
“Our engineers also work with engineers and research students from the University of Zimbabwe and the National University of Science and Technology. The teams are built by combining the strengths of the individual members and refining the skills to meet and exceed the customer’s expectations. We also believe in a hands-on approach to all our projects,” he said.
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