05 Aug 2019

Gaborone Bonnington North MP, Adv. Duma Boko has donated 10 mobile tuck-shops to entrepreneurs in his constituency, in a move to enable them to reach out to larger crowds within the city.

Speaking at the hand over ceremony recently, Adv. Boko said the mobile tuck-shops that were in a form of trolleys included a car wash, mobile cooking trolley, snack trolley and a mobile cut and go salon fully stocked and equipped with bicycles would enable owners to access a wide customer base.   

He said the initiative targeted those that were already operating small businesses to empower and uplift their businesses.

Adv. Boko, who is also president of Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), said the initiative was meant to assist small enterprises because they had the potential to create employment.

“As the UDC, we believe that small enterprises are a potential solution to a wide range of social and economic problems affecting communities within our country, and investing in the creation and expansion of these enterprises can be both impactful and profitable,” he said.

He said he had initially interacted with constituents operating small businesses to understand their problems, hence, he came up with the initiative to ease their way of doing business, adding that the mobile tuck-shops would assist in nurturing and growing what they had already started.

“During my interactions with them, I realised they lacked the acumen on customer care and approach and the necessary hygiene that is requisite in food handling,” he said.

Prior to the handover of the mobile tuck-shops, the beneficiaries were trained in customer care and record keeping.

One of the beneficiaries, Mr Wame Thomas said the initiative was a key in the empowerment of small businesses and the growth of the informal sector.  

He said they appreciated the training, adding that this would help in growing their businesses.

He said the training would help them to manage the daily running of their small businesses. 

“We appreciate the gesture and we will do our best to grow our small businesses so that we employ other people. This initiative will also give us financial security,” Mr Thomas said.

For his part, Mr Kevern Whitman, a head facilitator at Fresh Standard, who is in partnership with the UDC on the project, said that when properly managed, the mobile car wash had the potential to accrue good profits that could enable them to make ends meet. 

He said they had donated a tuck shop to a lady in Shoshong who was able to make a profit of P2 500 per week. 

Meanwhile, at the same event, Adv. Boko also donated sanitary pads to learners living in Extension 27 in Gaborone. ENDS