Page 430 - Volume 2_CHANGES_merged_with links

Community Economic Development

‘ubuntu’ - 'I Am Because We Are'

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But an eye opener. A business that would fulfil many m'zuŋ u Business Consultant's
criteria.

 A product that filled a gap in the market
(Ordinary Africans, not just smokers, are constantly lighting something. If it’s not a charcoal
stove, it’s a small 'paraffin' lamp made from a recycled can. Or something else. And as Africans
live off the most meagre, and often the most unreliable of incomes, every 'saving' matters)
 A product that didn't involve high start-up costs or working capital or investment in
sophisticated machinery or involve 'disreputable' supply chains

 A product that could be transported at low cost on the back of a pickup truck
(A lot more significant in rural regions of Africa. A load of matchboxes loaded onto a pickup is
actually a quite high value load. A self-owned pickup truck is also a lot more reliable and more
flexible form of delivery transport)

And so to the second business.

Plastic Injection Moulding (PIM)

(I know that m'zungu turn their noses up at the thought of producing more and more plastic, but
there's a time and a place. At this time, most Africans find that plastic 'home ware' is their best
investment. It's cheap. Its versatile. It can last a long time. Poor Africans (especially those in a
country where perhaps 40 percent live below that country’s poverty line) can't afford the same
choices m’zungu can !)

To understand the profundity of this business, it’s necessary to appreciate that the Waxed
Paper Matches business provided the platform for a PIM business. It created the wealth

needed for part-funding the PIM business and it provided the 'credentials' that allowed the
borrowing that completed the funding needs.

The brothers and their families first acquired several acres of land situated a relatively

short distance from the international border with Rwanda. (A necessary decision as this would
make international sales that much easier)
On this land, they built a modern suite of 'concrete' walled factory buildings, all

surrounded by a high 'concrete' security wall. The main unit was a form of L shape and

somewhere between 10-20,000 sq feet (I'm not good at estimating measurements, so that's only an
estimate) Then there were two separate small bungalow structures. One used to store

'volatile' materials and the other an admin centre.

At one end of the main building was a massive PIM machine. The sort that when a flat
(2 dimensional) 'blank' of plastic material is inserted in the main slot, will, when triggered,

produce sufficient force to make the 'blank' form the required (3 dimensional) finished