From trying just to survive and sustain her family, to affording the luxuries that she once only dreamt of is the story of hope in the face of hardship, a story of perseverance, determination, and hard work for 37-year-old Beauty Mutanga of Harare’s Mabvuku suburb.
The mother of four did not allow the economic situation in the country to keep her down. She sought ways to change her fortunes to give her family a better life when she joined ZIWEB in 2019 – the Zimbabwe Women Empowered in Business – a Nestlé ESAR initiative which aims to empower women in Zimbabwe with the opportunity to start and sustainably run their own businesses by becoming sub-distributors for Nestlé ’s affordable range of products such as NESTLÉ CREMORA, NESTLÉ CEREVITA and NESTLÉ CERELAC.
Launched in 2019 in one of Harare’s suburbs with 29 participants, the programme has grown to almost 250 participants and has extended to other cities and towns across Zimbabwe, promoting an entrepreneurial spirit in women.
Like all the other women recruited into the programme, Beauty was trained on critical aspects around business management such as entrepreneurship skills, financial, selling, product knowledge and customer care skills. Nestlé also provided her and the other recruits with start-up capital (loan stock) in the form of goods to sell.
Beauty’s story is now one of hope, perseverance, determination and hard work in the face of adversity. A story of personal growth, change, and empowerment that the other 250 women recruited into the programme can attest to.
Through ZIWEB, Beauty’s take on life has taken a turn for the better. Her goals in life have shifted from merely wanting to provide a meal for her family to acquiring things that she once thought of as a luxury and out of reach.
She says: “In 2020, I started shopping around and saving for a car. As I noted increased demand for Nestlé products from my customer base, I managed to buy a Honda Fit fuel saver for my business in January 2021. Currently, I am also doing professional Events Management studies, baking and selling cakes to develop my seven-roomed stand in Mabvuku, Tafara. Through ZIWEB, I am now also in a financial position to help my extended family”.
The road to success has not been without its challenges for her. The COVID-19 pandemic posed the biggest threat to the survival and growth of her business.
“The pandemic was a major shake to our business initially as we service the informal sector which was utterly shut down for business at the start. Most of my savings were spent on providing food for the family, and paying rent as my husband was at home, also affected by the lockdown”
The sky is the limit for this 37-year-old go-getter as her aspiration is to become a bigger Micro Nestlé Distributor, growing from selling the small PPP SKU’s to including all Nestlé products while also recruiting other women to join this life-changing empowerment program.
For more information and to watch Beauty’s story visit www.nestle-esar.com.
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For more information and to watch Martha’s story visit www.nestle-esar.com.
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Contact:
Nestlé East and Southern African Region (ESAR)
Rosalie Ambrose
Tel: +27 79 526 8518
Email: Rosalie.ambrose@za.Nestlé.com
Issued by Total Media behalf of Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region
Delyse Gimani
Digital Media Associate
Tel: +263 783 223 696
Email: delyseg@totalmedia.co.zw
