Maungo Craft – Giving The World A Taste of Botswana

Each and every day presents an opportunity to celebrate the work Batswana women do in the agricultural sector. Farmers Review Editor, Rocky Gofamodimo, sat down with Bonolo Monthe to find out what Maungo Craft is all about…

Summarise your business:

We make unique, reduced sugar jam and marmalade out of the indigenous fruits of Botswana. As we say, we put “Our Culture in a Bottle”.

 Why does it suit you?

Our company started as four friends just having fun making jam. We got a stall in Julia Farmer’s market in 2016 and have since won 10 local and international awards for our jams. This suits me because I am very proud of our country. I love to push boundaries and to show all what i am capable of not just as a proud Motswana but as a woman. I love being the Managing Director of a young female led company.

Where did you get the idea from?

Maungo Craft gives me the opportunity to use all I have learned from my parents and brother, watching them run their own businesses. My background influences my ideas as Maungo Craft pushes to grow the food manufacturing sector in Botswana. Having worked for human resources performing psychometric assessments has also been an invaluable experience. With Maungo Craft I have traveled and met new people.  I have traveled on behalf of the company for trade shows from South Africa to Denmark to America and Japan. I love that we make some of the most inventive jams anywhere in the world and watching the reaction of people trying our jam for the first time is priceless. To get that positive reaction from people and to see the role that that personal bonding over food plays in business has been invaluable.

We got our idea as a company, as the founders, from looking at Morula season. The fruit is everywhere and abundant in the season. This is what first sparked our interest in the jam, the fact that too much of this wonderful fruit was left to waste and remained unused. We did our research and found that Morula oil companies are not able to use the fruit and this is not good for the cosmetic industry as well. So we decided to start making jam and see what we could do with the fruit. It has been an amazing journey ever since.

 How did you get started? Did it take much investment?

We started out in our kitchens with a borrowed pot and a spoon and have been blessed with gradual growth ever since. In terms of investment we dedicated our savings to the business at the time. Which was not a vast amount in general terms. We have not had any outside investment since and are in the process of sorting out funding issues as I speak.

How did you find and grow your customer base?

We found our customers on farmers markets. We found them at trade shows and events. We found them on the internet. Being a young company that has bootstrapped its business we found it necessary to use a “guerrilla marketing approach”

 What skills do you need for the job?

When running your own business you need a mixture of many skills. One needs math and economic skills.  Nothing in life is ever a straight line and one needs to develop patience and wisdom. One needs the wisdom to know that they do not know everything and the skill to know what kind of people to surround yourself with.You need people skills in order to grow a business but also to manage business relationships inside and outside the business. Maungo Craft is a team sport 🙂  With that said one needs an inquisitive mind that is always asking questions. You may not know everything but this does not mean you should not ask everything you can to learn and grow.

 What’s been your biggest challenge so far? How did you overcome it?

Maungo Craft makes unique jams and marmalade. Our biggest challenge has always been our biggest advantage. Using indigenous fruit, we make some of the most unique jam products anywhere in the world. Getting people to try and buy something that they are not used to is a challenge. We overcome this by getting our product to the people. By getting them to interact with and then taste the product first.

 Where do you see the business in five years’ time?

In five years I see our products being sold in shops around the world. I see Maungo Craft products in the Asia, America, Europe, across Africa but most importantly playing a major role in developing the indigenous fruit industry in Botswana. What can I say, a girl can dream right :)?

 What do you do when you’re not working?

When i am not working I love to listen to music. I love to listen to inspirational messages and recordings.  I love to chill at home and watch TV or to go out and travel.

 Who inspires you and your business?

I am inspired by my family. I am inspired by anyone who has ever had a dream or vision and gone out and chased it. I am inspired by my partners in pursing this dream with me. I am inspired by the people of Botswana and the beautiful landscape. Most importantly I am inspired by my Faith.

 Any advice for those who want to venture into agribusiness especially with a ground breaking product

My advise to anyone who has a ground-breaking product is to know that you will be tested. You will be scared and this fear you will find paralyzing. You will be scared of the risks and you will be scared of the consequences of choosing to go into business. You should not use this as a reason not to do what is in your heart but as motivation for why you must chase your dream. This discomfort is a gift that tells you your dream is capable of causing a change in your life. You must work hard and you must work smart with a plan. My advise is embrace your fear, this is the gift of discomfort. You must then work hard and work smart.