Golden Maths Enters Retail Market
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday June 4, 2018 18:00
Barely a year since operation, Moshupa based Golden Maths (Pty) Ltd, currently supplies Choppies supermarkets in Moshupa, Kanye, Molepolole and Thamaga with their products and are in talks with other retail shops.
According to Katele, upon completing their studies at Gaborone Technical College (GTC) where they studied Culinary Arts, they decided to start their own business and put into practice what they learnt at school.
“I have never adored being employed and always wanted to have my own company, employ other people and be my own boss hence the reason why upon completion I decided to start my own business,” she said.
To attain their dreams, Katele said they were fortunate enough to get financial assistance from the Department of Gender Affairs who granted them P245, 000, the money they used to purchase machinery, raw materials, pay for rent as well as branding.
She said their journey began in June last year after getting funding with Atchar being their first product. Katele said they then took their samples to National Food Technology Research Centre (NFTRC) in Kanye for testing where they were also offered training.
“We took our products there because we wanted to produce for the regional market as well. We do have dreams to penetrate outside markets and grow our brand thus create employment in the process,” she said.
Their juice, which was the first to hit the market in August last year, has been well received as Katele said their production capacity mostly depends on the demand. However, she noted that their machinery could produce any amount per day.
“Currently we are producing a small amount depending on the orders we get and hopefully that we would soon improve because we are in talks with other retailers including Sefalana, and Shell filling station in Moshupa who are promising,” she said.
In addition, they sell to individuals and corporates. She said they want to aggressively market their brand something that they have not been doing. Further she said that participating in expositions has been an eye opener to them as they realise that their products have the potential to penetrate the market if they put effort.
Touching on the challenges, Katele said the rent swallows their profits as currently they produce on small scale and are struggling with transport to deliver their products. She explained that they need more financial muscle to boost their business to the level that would be appealing to the larger market.