Entrepreneurs turn scrap into business goldmine
Entrepreneurs living near the Kansanshi copper mine in Solwezi have turned a decommissioned mining conveyor belt into a thriving new business enterprise.
The industrious group of young people from Kyawama Market have seized the opportunity to make shoes and other goods by recycling the rubber conveyor belt that was no longer needed by First Quantum Minerals (FQM).
The provision of the belt, which was previously used by the mine to carry ore from the pit to the mine’s processing plant, was a very practical demonstration of the company’s commitment to youth empowerment, and demonstrated the positive impact that supporting new small businesses can have.
“It is our belief that encouraging young people to follow their dreams and establish their own businesses can lead to significant changes in the youth employment statistics. We know the ambition is there,” said FQM country manager General Kingsley Chinkuli.
Encouraging youth entrepreneurship can provide great benefits for the economy, society and for the progress of the nation besides the individual’s self-development and achievement. In the present climate where countries are transitioning through hard times and adjusting to globalisation, the hope for the youth lies in becoming job-creators as well as job-seekers, he said.
The FQM initiative is aimed at complementing government efforts to provide the right environment to enable aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs to succeed. “The challenge now is to provide young people with the right support and the environment they need to turn their ambitions into reality,” he added.
Tenford Chinugnbe is one of the beneficiaries of the scrap conveyor belt initiative. So far it has helped him and his family to turn around their shoe-making business.
“Kansanshi Mining should continue with this initiative and it should be extended to others to enable them to get an income to sustain themselves and their families,” said Mr Chinugnbe.
Since taking up the offer, demand for the shoes that he and his colleagues produce has risen to the extent that he is now supplying other districts including Solwezi, Kalumbila, Mufumbwe, Kasempa, and Kitwe.
Another beneficiary is Aaron Menda, who has been in the shoe business since 2010. He praised the mining firm for helping youths in the community to be innovative and start creating wealth for themselves.
“Over this period, I have been trying to improve myself, and Kansanshi Mine’s idea could not have come at a better time for me. Ever since the mine made this material available, output has significantly improved and this has translated into a better life for me and my family. Unlike the previous years in which I was struggling to fend for my family, things have been easier for me, and because of this, I have acquired a plot and am currently putting up a structure,” said Mr Menda.
FQM believes that apart from providing shorter-term macroeconomic and fiscal policies to support job growth, establishing entrepreneurship at the heart of the education system is a key long-term initiative that will help provide an atmosphere where the dreams of millions of young people to make an impact and start their own enterprises can be realised, concluded General Chinkuli.