“Sometime early this year, I was called by a friend of mine who was looking for a covid-19 disinfecting company to fumigate his offices. I actually made efforts to help him by calling around and doing inquiries, but did not find any company in Mutare. It then struck me that there is a gap. I did my homework and two days later I called my friend and told him I had found a company. He asked who was doing the service and I said it was me. He laughed but as fate had it he gave me a chance and since then I have been making inroads in the trade,” said Jasiele.

…Urges youths to think outside the box

Ngoni Dapira 

AS the old saying goes, the road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it is possible to achieve the American dream. This is the case with one innovative Mutare born and bred young entrepreneur who believes in creating opportunities where least expected and says the trick is, ‘when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.’

With a high unemployment rate of 5.73 percent according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) 2020 report, innovative entrepreneurship has become the source of livelihood for most youths in Zimbabwe so as to make ends meet. The unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed workers in the total labour force, including workers who currently do not work but can do so.

27-year old Chikomborero Jasiele who in October, won the Outstanding Business Leader of Repute at the 2021 Zimbabwe Ceo’s Network Manicaland awards, is one of those youths innovatively making lemonade out of every sour lemon that comes his way.

Chikomborero Jasiele

Easterntimeszim interviewed the shrewd but extremely humble young businessman, who is already promising to be in the same mould as the likes of Zimbabwe’s own technology billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, who similarly rose from humble beginnings through his technopreneurship experience. His newest subsidiary that was officially registered in June, Fresh Start Cleaning Service, a commercial cleaning services and covid-19 disinfecting company is fast dominating the market. However, it was the inspiration behind its formation that proves he is perceptive entrepreneur that always looks for business opportunities in any situation, even during a global pandemic such as covid-19.

“Sometime early this year, I was called by a friend of mine who was looking for a covid-19 disinfecting company to fumigate his offices. I actually made efforts to help him by calling around and doing inquiries, but did not find any company in Mutare. It then struck me that there is a gap. I did my homework and two days later I called my friend and told him I had found a company. He asked who was doing the service and I said it was me. He laughed but as fate had it he gave me a chance and since then I have been making inroads in the trade,” said Jasiele.

He said he started off using knapsack sprayers to disinfect covid-19 in homes and offices, but he learnt that it was not the best equipment for a perfect job indoors. After two weeks he bought his first fogging machine which is more proficient for indoor fumigations. “I realized the covid-19 fumigation business goes hand in glove with pests control and general cleaning services of carpets and furniture, so I expanded my portfolio,” he said.

A Fresh Start employee performing a Covid-19 fumigation service at the NBS Mutare offices with a fogging machine.

Getting clients was not easy initially he admitted, but Jasiele says good recommendations after a blameless job spiraled his current clientele base. Since June he says he has done covid-19 fumigation for over 50 houses in low density and high density suburbs and cleaning services in over 200 houses. He is also making inroads in companies but says he hopes to get more corporate offers. “In terms of covid-19 fumigations, so far the companies I have fumigated in Mutare are Blutech Mart, Body Focus gym, White Horse Inn, Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) Mutare offices, Suncrest Farm, NBS offices, Tara Bottle store  downtown, Reeldon Timbers and Mutasa Rural District Council offices, which is the most recent, to mention a few. However, to be honest, the market is still skeptic about covid-19 fumigations, but people are slowly realizing the need as a preventive strategy and not just disinfecting after covid-19 positive cases arise,” he said.

Jasiele says like everyone else he has lost family and friends that succumbed to the global pandemic which is why his pricing is very minimal to also become a stakeholder in complementing efforts to raise awareness and help combat the ongoing global pandemic.

“It’s not just about profits. Am also playing my part as an entrepreneur to actively fight this pandemic, but also make a small profit in the process as a businessperson. I have since partnered reputable companies like Nemchem that produces and supplies Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) certified chemicals. I do not want to be sewed for shoddy jobs, so the Hydrogen Peroxide we use for covid-19 fumigation from Nemchem is quality, to ensure best results. Even for cleaning services and pests control, our chemicals are quality to avoid staining people’s furniture,” said the young entrepreneur, who castigated indigenous entrepreneurs in the informal sector that often choose shortcuts with experimental chemicals, which eventually backfires after they become reactive.

The Fresh Start cleaning service unit at work.

He however said the cleaning service business in Zimbabwe is still a new phenomenon, especially in Mutare, unlike in neighbouring South Africa, where he said the trade is among the top paying services on demand especially in office spaces. Jasiele said within five months Fresh Start now has six fulltime workers and 12 part-time workers.

However, Jasiele who started his first company, a trucking and logistics business in 2014 at the age of 20 years, with a tender of moving cargo at the National Foods Holdings Mutare branch, says in business versatility is needed. “The trucking business was my first passion because of my mother in the trucking business. In 2015, I decided to expand my knowledge in the transport trade and applied for a job at the trucking company J&J Beira. I was an o assistant operations manager and after two years I changed to work for First Base Cargo in Maputo managing a fleet of about 400 trucks,” he said.

Jasiele who had to learn Portuguese fast when he got his first job in Beira said the transport industry is a major employer in Mozambique, especially in coastal cities like Beira and Maputo where there are ports. “When I came back home in 2020 following the covid-19 pandemic outbreak, I just decided to stay home. I started a transport broking firm, Trucks and Loads Africa, which is still active, up-to-date. My father is in the timber industry so after coming back home in 2020, I would also help in the family business Kawaka Timbers,” he said.

He added that he hopes to grow his own business empire and is inspired by the likes of tech mogul Strive Masiyiwa. Already he has been running a business mentoring programme with friends to help fellow youths with start up projects and in need of encouragement to develop their business ideas.