The Sunday News
Roberta Katunga Senior Reporter
STARTING her business during the height of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis in 2005 was not a walk in the park for businesswoman Mrs Blessing Mashangwa. While others left the country and constantly fired vitriol at the Government, she worked her way up the business ladder and managed to successfully set up a cosmetics company, Oceane that today is a preferred brand by most people across Zimbabwe.
With most women said to belong in the kitchen, Mrs Mashangwa defied the odds to break out of that web and in the long run empowered other women in Zimbabwe to take the same route of being business minded, challenging the male figure.
In an interview with Sunday News, Mrs Mashangwa said this year marks her 11th successful year in business and believes women have what it takes.
“Oceane Collection was started in 2005 and this is our 11th year in business. I fell in love with cosmetics while I was studying in South Africa for my bachelor’s degree in business.
When I came back in 2004 after graduating, the economy was at its lowest and basic commodities were beyond the reach of many, let alone luxuries like perfumes. I saw a gap after realising that as much as the “original” branded perfumes were no longer affordable, people still needed to smell good and feel confident about themselves, hence the birth of Oceane perfumes, an affordable alternative to expensive brands,” she said.
Her wish is to see other women in Zimbabwe uplifted, empowered and being pace setters not only for themselves but to improve the economy as well. With many businesses requiring capital for innovation and growth, Mrs Mashangwa said she empowers women who are financially crippled so they can earn a decent salary.
“Oceane perfumes give women products to go and sell without requiring any capital at all. This way any person with the zeal to work is afforded an opportunity to earn extra income or basic income if they are not employed. We also run competitions that range from best seller competitions, best recruiter competitions, raffle draws whereby winners have walked away with cars ranging from Corollas to Mercedes Benz, household and kitchen appliances as well as cash,” she said.
Her company has grown proving that she is a force to reckon with in the cosmetics industry as there are distributors in most parts of Zimbabwe. Difficult as it may seem to run her company and be a wife, her skills have seen her strike a balance and be a successful businesswoman.
“I believe I have the best teams both at home and at work and I have learnt to delegate. At work they are more than capable and at home I have the most wonderful team helping me to take care of my children, they know exactly what to do in my absence, though I try my best to spend time with my children.
“I am married to a man I really love, and I have since made a decision that I am a wife first, I have not allowed my work to take the place of my husband. Besides being my husband he is one of my mentors, a man who has helped me in every way to build the business,” she said.
So far, Oceane perfumes stands as one of the leading perfume companies in Zimbabwe and is a success story because it is headed by a woman who saw a vision to one of the biggest brands in Zimbabwe.
“Oceane is the biggest generic perfume company in the country. We have been trendsetters, we lead and others follow. Of course some players have bad mouthed us, some have taken to lying they are our sister company but let it be known that Oceane does not have a sister company,” said Mrs Mashangwa, adding that her husband’s brother had ventured into a similar project after working with them for sometime, though their approach was different.
Turning to their market in Bulawayo, she said; “Time and chance happen to us all. If your passion or talent is selling, why not try and sell Oceane Perfumes, who knows? You might be that person that God has hand picked to surprise this year with the gift of a car. We offer 33 percent commision which is very good considering other well known international brands that we compete with give their agents commissions around 25 percent. We are busy with our Bulawayo office and from 1 March it will be fully functional so come and be part of our beautiful team.”
She added that plans were underway to launch a company that will give loans to their agents and women, to assist in their business ventures. Some of the women who shared testimonials on how Oceane Collections helped them are Tsitsi Nyaguze from Beitbridge who said she started selling perfumes in 2010 after a friend introduced her to the network.
“I have always wanted to start my own business but like many other people capital limited me. I thank Oceane for giving me and other ladies an opportunity to start with no capital whatsoever. I am my own boss, I work at my own time and I enjoy being totally independent,” she said.
Pauline Marerwa, a cancer survivor who is also an Oceane agent said being diagnosed with cancer in 2010 did not deter her from achieving her goals and ensuring her sales escalated and thus being awarded with a car.
“Because of the confidence and strength I had gained from selling Oceane products and meeting new people with their own stories to tell I gained an award of Cancer Ambassador for Southern African Dialogue Institute, a forum I was introduced to by Oceane,” said Pauline.
