The country’s visionary entreprenurs are embracing e-commerce and digital innovation, platforms and tools to expand their reach, customer base, and market share.
Meet Timothy Huwa, a 20 year old entrepreneur from Lilongwe’s Area 23, Midland who has taken his online business to new heights.
Hailing from Cham’bwinja, Dedza, Timothy has a built a thriving e-commerce venture, specializing in selling trendy shoes and fashionable clothes sourced from various countries around the world.
Huwa explained how he started his business. “I started my business like a joke to be honest and i can tell you that it was never a plan to do it. This other day, a friend asked me to help him sell his shoe and he promised he will pay me for selling it”.
“Patience Gondwe approached me with a valuable tip, introducing me to supplier who offered better quality shoes at a lower price. I took her advice, checked out the supplier and saw an opportunity” he added
Huma explained that Patience Gondwe was the one who gave him the inspiration to start business. “If it wasn’t for her, I doubt if i would have reached this far. The rest was self inspiration after i saw how my audience was growing”.
Timothy Huwa use the name of “Happy fit collection” as the business name and he explained how the name came up.
In an interview, he said, “At first, I addressed my business as “Huwa General supplies”. This other day as I was ordering a shoe from my supplier, I asked her to use that name on a CTS waybill and she asked and i quote, “General supplier mpaka kugulitsa Nsapato”.
“Later, certain customer posted the shoe in which i sold her with a caption of “Happy Fit” and where i choose to address my business like that” he added.
He further added that, after he learned how to import, he was exposed to more than he can sell and thats where the name of “Happy Fit Collection” pop out.
Huwa explained that his suppliers are from Thailand, China, Zambia and he ordered from Taobao which is a Chinese Application.
He emphasized on challenges he face on his business. He said, “The challenges i mostly face is flight problems. To order for example, a jersey, it takes 16-21 days and with limited flights we have from Addis Ababa to Malawi, sometimes makes it longer for the parcels to reach Malawi thus delaying our business”
He emphasized on challenges he face on his business. He said, "The challenges i mostly face is flight problems. To order for example, a jersey, it takes 16-21 days and with limited flights we have from Addis Ababa to Malawi, sometimes makes it longer for the parcels to reach Malawi thus delaying our business"
Timothy Huwa advised his fellow youths who wants to start online business to start. "To anyone out there who would like to start doing online business please start. There is more to it than you know. Always remember accountability, transparency and consistency is the goal. Stay focused and know your goals. If you would even want to learn I give out lessons feel free to consult me"
Patience Gondwe, mentioned in a story that inspired Huwa, said she is very excited to see someone she inspired doing well. ‘It feels great to give someone a business idea and see it grow. Now, I even buy my things from Huwa”.
She advised that when you’re doing business, you need to be prepared and never give up. ‘When you’re about to start a business, don’t start with the intention of making a lot of money. Instead, start small and gradually build up. You also need to do some research about the business before starting it.’”
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