This ending week has seen this village vibrant with discussions regarding mama mbogas, egg/milk vendors and other “lowlifes” as we would want to call them. On one hand was the brigade shouting how they make their millions quietly. On the other hand was yours truly and co. disapproving the first group. Well, something happened yesterday that made me change my perception.
A certain lady friend (Beatrice) who runs a grocery mentioned to me that she sells ~150kgs of spinach daily. My spinach were ready in the farm, so I asked her if she can buy. We reached a price of 25bob per kg. Wednesday nikaenda farm and got two guys to harvest and put them in ngunias. Wakaweka ngunia tatu. Nikaletea Beatrice. On weighing them, two ngunias were 160kgs which she bought. Nikaachwa na ngunia mzima. Worried that it will spoil, I got two guys @200bob wakazifunga into 223 bunches of 20bob. At 5:15pm jana, nikatokea kasarani hapo equity. Nikafungua boot na biashara ikaanza. By 9pm, I was remaining with 7 bunches. Nikafunga shop.
Lets do the maths together (just for this ngunia I sold retail).
If I bought from a farmer, it would have cost 800 bob. Harvesting would have cost me 100. Transport nilifuel 700 bob. Sellers costed 400bob. Total 2,000. Sales were in excess of 4,000. Profit over 2,000. That’s 60k per month.
So, if the mama mboga saves 30k every month, she can be a millionaire in the third year.
remain a sceptic for as long as you want bt the guys in the informal sector or the ones you refer to as ‘lowlifes’ in jest dont need to seek validation online …,they themselves bear their own untold success stories in their hearts. They are so modest unlike the suits roaming around town
I see perceptions change. I used to look down upon guys in the informal sector, there are guys there that barely make it, but the ones that do, it can blow your mind.
True I know a couple the wife had a small restaurant
…hubby a butchery n extended to a bar,never got employd by anyone bt wuld have money put in paperbags:)
