The Sunday News
Rutendo Nyeve
The possibilities of creating value and delivering it to people are endless, as long as you can identify problems that the common man face, and have unique ideas on how to address them and not only to survive and make profit, but to serve local communities.
This is the story of former Sizane High School teacher, Mr Wellington Makonya, who has ventured into stationery distribution and has so far established four branches country wide.
Through Gold Phoenix Bookshop, Mr Makonya has reached out to the breath and length of the country supplying stationery as well as transforming lives in those communities through different corporate social responsibilities, in both schools and communities.
With teachers facing so many stereotypes in many communities, Mr Makonya defiled all odds and made the best out of the profession which he describes as one of the best professions in the world.
“I was actually a teacher for 11 years.
After resigning as a teacher, I worked for Mambo Press, a local publisher and this is the time I got motivated to start a stationery business as I was so much involved in school activities ever since I started teaching.
I started supplying books to schools and colleges then later furniture and Information Communication Technology equipment.
When you are a teacher, you remain a teacher, so I have that passion and I did not leave it because of money.
That profession has a lot of money if you think beyond the line of normal thinking.
We have thus been supplying throughout the country.
We have branches in Masvingo, Gutu-Mpandawana, Gweru, Bulawayo and we are planning to open another one in Harare.
There are a lot of schools supporting us and in return we are also helping them,” said Mr Makonya.
Mr Makonya heaped praise on the Second Republic which has created an enabling environment that has seen the ease of doing businesses being improved.
Apart from government efforts, the new curriculum and Continuous Assessment Learning Activities (CALA) concept has also boosted business in the stationery industry.
“The new curriculum has boosted our sales and that is why we are this far because of the new curriculum. I remember when I was at Mambo Press, we were not as busy as we are now.
There so many requirements in the new curriculum and not only that, there is the phasing out of old text books and bringing in of new books.
So, most bookshops are doing well because of the new curriculum.
You will know that there is CALA now which requires files, so all this has boosted our business’” said Mr Makonya.
The yester decades have seen established stationery shops dominating the market, but however, in the recent years empowered locals have ventured into the lucrative business.
