Zambia is a growing market with a rate of 10 to 15% annual growth. The country is also home to several successful business ventures that have been able to develop themselves as a significant part of the market. One such success story is ZambiaFresh, a platform that provides freshly grown fruits and vegetables to meet the local demand. The company was jointly founded by Sean Moolenschot and Clever Mpoha, the Managing directors of the Savenda Group of Companies.
In this article, we will discuss the success story of ZambiaFresh and how it has been able to establish itself as an entity that enables both consumers and producers to flourish.
Reliable and fresh mark quality standards
ZambiaFresh follows a differentiated quality control framework based on the relevant standards applicable in Zambia. The company has several success stories with other procurement companies that aim at developing on-farm training programs for its producers by incorporating hi-tech practices and intervention plans. However, it is equally important to acknowledge that sometimes the retailer makes a lousy rate. Still, it always depends on the market forces of demand and supply and not the practices of the company. Even in such situations, it is always the priority of ZambiaFresh to provide the best possible rates for both producers and consumers, depending on the existing market situation.
The company has been able to establish a good image in terms of reliable and fresh market quality standards because the quality of products you can typically find in Zambia is in a good state. It always remains consistent with the applicable standards that ensure that the health factor is not compromised at any level. All the production units sold at ZambiaFresh go through a lucrative and detailed quality check process to ensure that the system has sufficient commercial and mechanical capability to check for the quality of grown fruits and vegetables.
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Top priority – The company keeps its farmers as its top priority to look after. The existing operations, trading rules and market infrastructure are designed to meet the interests of everyone, including small-scale producers so that they can get the benefits their hard work deserves.
Both consumers and related parties can get the maximum benefit from the state-of-the-art marketing and trading facility, including facilities such as specialized ripening and cold rooms for storage. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that the company has all the modern facilities and infrastructure it needs to build upon the existing market structure.
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Flexible market operations – ZambiaFresh follows a clear and transparent operational structure that works on the fundamental principle of equality for everyone. With transparent trading times and strict delivery norms, the company has been able to provide an efficient market-producing transportation and trading experience to its stakeholders. You can always expect to find fresh produce flowing in and out from their stock since it is strictly controlled and managed with food quality as its top priority.
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Fair and cost-effective pricing – For any company to survive and thrive in its market segment, it is necessary to have a fair, transparent, and cost-effective pricing strategy. ZambiaFresh has discovered a handful of opportunities to explore fundamental price discoveries in a transparent and fair trading ecosystem.
The existing market prices agree according to the trading floor norms that exist between the customers and selling agents depending on the available supply and demand. It also influences other factors, including weather events and production difficulties which need an efficient electronic trading system to ensure that fairness remains for all suppliers irrespective of their size or scale.
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World-class quality products – ZambiaFresh is known for producing and facilitating year-round grown fruit and vegetables through its electronic trading system and pricing data to empower the farmers. It also provides better plant planting and harvesting schedules to the stakeholders to add additional periods for the growing season of main product categories. Therefore, you can always expect to get your favorite food and vegetables anytime.
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Hi-tech Cashless Trading System – The company operates an efficient electronic trading system for its suppliers and buyers registered with the existing market system to ensure transparency in all transactions in its operations in Zambia. It is because the company believes that cash trading, especially on the market trading floor, can facilitate fast and efficient trading systems and provide numerous opportunities to explore real price discovery.
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Food safety and security – ZambiaFresh follows strict guidelines and norms to ensure the safety and health aspect of its environment to offer world-class quality fruits and vegetables to its customers. The company has strict food handling protocol, strict hygiene standards, mandatory cleaning practices, and easy access to control facilities to achieve this target.
To have an effective market structure in the consumer segment, it is necessary to focus on ensuring a safe and healthy environment for the product. It always works in the best interest of the concerned stakeholders of a business. Therefore, it is one of the company’s top priorities to ensure their safety in handling and production.
Clever Mpoha – The Man Behind the Successful Venture!
Now that we know about the success story of ZambiaFresh, it is also necessary to know about the person behind this great idea and successful venture. It is none other than Clever Mpoha, the founding member of the company who started his career as a businessman and is now able to handle multiple million-dollar business ventures across the globe successfully. Despite all the difficulties he faced during the initial time of his career, he developed phenomenal success stories that can serve as a substantial inspirational tale looking forward to making a mark in their career.
He had followed the principle of Genesis of philanthropy ever since he was a child when he wanted to create a different and positive experience for people. His intention to provide a better environment for his community members and other people in the society explains how dedicated and different a person he is. Moreover, his excellent business acumen and capability to take any business to Heights is what everyone appreciates. Irrespective of whether it is a startup or a business in a growing year, he is a kind person who can quickly bring out the best from a business idea and make it a practical reality for the related stakeholders. One of the examples includes the announced plans of Savenda group that decided to enter into a new venture with the launch of the Zambia Lusaka market, which is Africa’s first formal fresh produce market and commission agent for the company.
The market currently offers differentiated and creative Fresh Market experiences to its customers and other stakeholders to create a unique experience and market model for them. It also provides intelligent and sustainable solutions for small-scale producers and other fragmented African small-scale horticulture sector producers. For this particular insight, Clever Mpoha provides that he always looks forward to new projects and discoveries to help him come up with new ideas to help the society be a better place for everyone to live.
Even for his business ventures, he believes that farmers and consumers will always have an opportunity to get the best out of the hygienic market environment by focusing specifically on the products and ensuring that it delivers the right quality. Therefore, it is necessary to take lessons from the failures and implement them for what is about to come, whether it is a business venture or anything else in life!
What is in for the future?
ZambiaFresh constantly looks forward to establishing itself in the global market and recognizes any possible opportunity to help it reach there. It also requires careful assessment of whether the market is primarily geared towards satisfying the local demand through its supply or there is a global demand for the produce. Although due to the lockdown regulations, the company had to put necessary risk restrictions on its operational capacity, there has been no slow down in the process ever since things have become normal.
Company founders believe that Zambia is an ideal market for business from both agricultural and geopolitical perspectives. It is a stable market with many other growing markets around it, serving as a home to around 300 million inhabitants, which is still an opportunity with its due recognition. Therefore it is necessary to look into the opportunities and see if there is a scope to establish new production and trading units to meet the growing demand for a product. Of course, the interest of producers and consumers always remains a priority for the company since it aims to help both producers and consumers flourish!
