JUICY WILD IDEA: The case of Livingstone's Mario Nyanga who turned a wild idea into business

ANYONE who has lived in Livingstone, or at least visited the tourist capital at any time of the year will attest to the town’s high temperatures.

In fact, Livingstone records some of the highest temperatures in the country and one way to beat the heat is obviously by staying hydrated at all times.

And instead of just sitting at home and engaging in illicit activities after failing to find a job, an enterprising youth in the name of Mario Nyanga, 32, has taken advantage of the situation and seen a business opportunity out of people’s desperate attempts to beat the heat.

Located on Botswana Road in Livingstone’s Dambwa North township is Summer Splash Enterprise, a wild and healthy fruit juice joint owned by Mario. He started the business in November 2018. What is interesting about the joint is that the fruit juices are made from indigenous Zambian wild fruits.

The self-taught juice maker makes drinks such as lemonade, tamarind juice and smoothies out of baobab fruit, locally known as mubuyu. Mario also makes granadilla fruit juice.

“You know, growing up, we used to just play with these fruits and many times we never even thought of taking the idea of eating them seriously because for all we cared, they were just wild fruits that you could only eat once in a while,” he says.

Indeed these fruits are everywhere and readily available. Anyone who has lived in rural Zambia will agree with Mario that even collecting them requires minimal effort. Mario first started with tamarind juice.

“It was sometime in November 2018 when I started. It was at a time when there was a lot of talk about how beneficial musika (tamarind) is for people, both male and female. I then decided that maybe I should try and make something out of the fruit that was selling like hot cake in Livingstone. Besides that, it was tamarind season then, so it was only wise that I started with it,” he says.

Mario says he was overwhelmed by the response his drink got. “I used to sell it in disposable plastic cups and people would queue up here for it. Then, I hadn’t even built a structure and shelter.”

Since then, he says, the business has been growing and making steady progress. Mario says he makes about K200 per day.

“Today I have been able to put up this structure and shelter, thanks to the business. I have also gone into making other types of juices as well, which many people have been appreciating,” he says.

He adds: “There are plenty of health benefits in tamarind, lemon, granadilla and baobab that many of us have taken for granted. These same fruits have the ability to boost immunity, maintain and control sugar and cholesterol levels in the body. They are also good for the kidneys and have a lot more benefits.”

But like any other business, Mario has had to deal with his own share of challenges. He says the biggest challenge has been sourcing the fruits, bearing in mind that they are seasonal.

“I have had to go to places like Siavonga and Maamba to get supplies for some of the fruits and stock up for use even in times when they are not [in season]. It hasn’t been easy, but I am glad that I have been managing, much as it has been with difficulties,” he says.

He says with the right kind of money, his business, which is legally registered, would have grown to a more satisfying level. “I want to be able to package the drinks nicely in branded bottles or cups and supply them to big chain stores here in Livingstone and other nearby towns, if not the entire country,” he says.

At the moment, Mario stills sells his drinks to those that stop by his stand in disposable plastic cups of three different sizes at different prices. “As you can also see, these juice dispensers and beverage coolers that I am using are not industrial, so it means I have to constantly keep refilling them from time to time,” he says.

Asked if he has ever tried to get a loan or any form of capital to boost his business through the youth empowerment fund, Mario says he is yet to.

“I have thought about the idea of accessing those loans, but it is something that I haven’t really given much thought to. However, the idea that I fancy most is to partner with someone. Otherwise, I know that with enough funds and access to any financial boost, I would have the capacity to get as many supplies as possible and be able to grow the business,” he says.

Mario is a trained auto-electrical engineer. He graduated from Livingstone Institute of Business and Engineering Studies in 2015. He is the last born in a family of six which comprises three boys and three girls.

“I was born to Wilfred Nyanga and Agness Njoolo in Maamba in 1989. I attended Mujala Primary, St. Mark’s Secondary in Choma and also David Livingstone Secondary School in Livingstone,” he says.

After completing school, Mario went on search for job opportunities and a happy life. His pursuit of happiness even landed him in South Africa for a brief stint before moving back to Zambia to start work as a gym instructor.

He relocated to Livingstone from Choma in 2018 and soon after, even without any formal training for it, decided to open his business.

He has gone on to get a food handlers certificate from the council and registered the business with the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) and is tax compliant with the Zambia Revenue Authority.

“As youths, we don’t need to limit our thinking. We should be able to identify business opportunities from everything around us. I wasn’t working when I started this, but afterwards, I think I am okay working for myself,” he says.

Mario says there are a lot of business opportunities in Zambia and all that is needed is for people, especially youths, to apply themselves and take advantage of the favourable environment Government has created for small businesses to thrive.

This article was published in the Zambia Daily Mail Newspaper on November 12, 2021. You can find it on this link http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/juicy-wild-idea/