Mmabesi forges ahead against odds

AMOGELANG GAEFHELE
Correspondent | Friday March 5, 2010 00:00

However, Pelotona did not leave out men who also needed empowering. Mma Pelotona, as she is affectionately known, then gathered 10 women with whom she formed the Mmabesi Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society. The society now has eight members - the director Mantho Lesedi who is assisted by a young man who answers to the name Albert Kenosi, and the secretary Letta Phutitsareng.

Thebe Selogilwe is another youthful male member who, alongside Tshenolo Bagwasi, Gaoate Ebineng and Moji Motalaote, is an additional member. Keinyatse Kebarapele recently passed away.

Each of them contributed P600 towards the start-up of their business and later applied for funding from the old Financial Assistance Policy (FAP). Since then, they never looked back and are looking to breaking into the international market.

Under the label 'Phatsima,' they produce household detergents in the form of a fabric softener, a window cleaner, an all-purpose cream, foam bath, hair shampoo, a dishwasher, car shampoo and a hand-washing soap.

When Mmegi visited them recently and found the director and the secretary busy at work, they presented a perfect image of determination. The one-roomed structure that serves as both factory and 'warehouse' is dominated by two machines and shelves. They outfit sources most of the ingredients and containers from South Africa and say transport costs are hefty. 

These industrialists say they started without much market research and admit that it was a blunder because they experienced difficulties selling their products.

However, a form of blessing in disguise presented itself when they were often mistaken for sales assistants for South African companies. They eventually approached their Member of Parliament, Ramadeluka Seretse, who assisted them with finding a market for their products.They now supply the lucrative Choppies supermarket chain whose Marketing Manager Rama availed 37 shops countrywide. They recently managed to purchase one vehicle, a Hyundai one tonne truck, which they use for mainly marketing and distribution.

One challenge the co-op is currently facing is lack of a trading licence, which often results in some institutions turning them down. The new trade and liquor law does not clearly require cooperative societies to register with the registrar of companies and to acquire a trading licence, which presents a problem to Mmabesi cooperators.  The structure they operate from is actually built on land belonging to Boiteko Trust which was registered by well-known development thinker and worker Patrick Van Rensburg and has different membership from Mmabesi's.

Boiteko owns the land where the Boiteko new mall in Serowe is built. Unfortunately, a fissure has developed between the two, with Boiteko demanding rental from Mmabesi. Mmabesi initially accessed the property on the strength of Mma Pelotona being a member of Boiteko Trust.

'We are not making much money at the moment due to the trading licence issue and we actually struggle to pay salaries,' the secretary says. Despite all these challenges, Mmabesi Cooperative Society is making some strides. Thanks to the Women's Affairs Department, some of its members have travelled the region to learn various ways of running a business.

In 2007, they got third position in the 8th National Women's Expo and bounced to the top to scoop first position in the 10th expo in 2009. That exposed them to a number of potential clients like the BDF, technical colleges and parastatals. They have also taken part in various Vision '16 initiatives and were rewarded with the award of contributing towards achieving the pillar of 'A Prosperous, Productive and Innovative Nation' in 2009.