Chronicle Editor
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
UPON realising an opportunity to address the persistent pothole issue, while contributing to his home country, a Bulawayo entrepreneur made the bold decision to forgo his relocation to Dubai and has instead founded an innovative pothole patching venture.
The company is focused on manufacturing materials for repairing potholes, with the original concept originating from South Korea. Motivated by a desire to make a positive impact on the city and the country as a whole, Mr Ridwaan Cummings initiated the production of an emergency pothole-mending solution named Speed Ro Pocket. The innovative product aims to aid individuals in repairing potholes in their driveways as well as assisting businesses in patching areas near their workspaces.
Under the banner of Wulftech, Mr Cummings became the first local manufacturer outside of South Korea to utilise the products, which are already in use in China, Vietnam, Australia, and several other countries.
Having spent years working abroad, Mr Cummings expressed his decision to return to Zimbabwe as a result of identifying the pothole problem and realising the potential for meaningful contribution. His choice to remain in Zimbabwe was influenced by an enabling business opportunity created by the Government and the compelling opportunity that had presented itself, ultimately leading to the establishment of his innovative business venture.
“I was running a trade office for a South Korean company in Johannesburg, South Africa, that is how I got to know about this product. I was coming to visit my family and relatives for two weeks and I was planning to leave for Dubai. I had come to say goodbye, but I saw the opportunity. In the past two years I have seen the great developments in the county such as the Beitbridge Border Post, and even driving around you see the construction that is going on so there are a lot of positive things that are going on and the opportunities are there. This made me stay,” said Mr Cummings.
He said he identified the opportunity and for the last two years, he has been trying to get the product out into the market.
“What you do is simply clear out a pothole and remove whatever debris or lose soil and objects then put the bags in between two to five centimetres above the surface of the road around the pothole. From there, the road is straight away open to traffic. It simply requires vehicles to drive over. When the mixture is compressed and exposed to weather elements it begins to harden and cure. The traffic driving over it assists to make it cure. Alternatively, we can simply pour our mixture straight into the pothole and compact it,” said Mr Cummings.
Mr Cummings said his company was importing the chemicals used to manufacture the tar and have been visited by the inventor of the product.
“This is a small venture at the moment, we have set up a pilot project in Zimbabwe. The inventor of the product came to Zimbabwe in September last year to visit us in Bulawayo where we were manufacturing from a small yard. He also went around looking at the Zimbabwean roads and the differences with those overseas. He helped us make a few adjustments to our formula and we are continuously working on improving our product to this region and the weather conditions,” added Mr Cummings.
He added that they were now getting ready to launch the product officially and have managed to also test their product in Masvingo, Bulawayo, and Harare and the repaired potholes have been in place for two years now.
Mr Cummings said people in the diaspora must build networks back home to speak to the right people for their businesses.
“It is not very easy, people must not return home and assume it’s a walk in the park. Everything takes time like anywhere else but I would certainly say if you return home you can identify opportunities and add value to give back. There is no better place to do it than back home,” he added. – @NyembeziMu.
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