Staff Writer
A young entrepreneur from Waterfalls has started an ambitious project to empower at least 500 youths by 2023 through his newly formed bicycle errand service company called Mutsapuri.
Jeoffrey Ncube (29) who is the founder of Mutsapuri said his dream is to impact the lives of young people in Zimbabwe who have endured years of unemployment due to economic challenges facing the country.
“Mutsapuri is a new and environmental friendly way to move your parcels from place to place using bicycles, anything from important documents, groceries and medications among other things.
“The company empowers the youth to earn as they ride.
“The end user can enjoy a delivery service from as little as $1 USD around Waterfalls which is 70 percent cheaper than the usual delivery fee minus the long queues and potholes!
“With Petrol prices constantly on the rise, and traffic a night mare in Harare, Mutsapuri is a simple and efficient solution.
“You know, l grew up in the ghetto and l know how it feels to be unemployed, it pains me to see young boys and girls abusing drugs, so this is an opportunity for those without good academic qualifications, he said.
He added that he took advantage of the transportation challenges that a lot of residents were facing during the lockdown and he had to come up with a solution.
“I started this initiative in August after realising that a lot of residents are having challenges, moving things from one place to another while maintaining social distance and other Covid-19 measures.
“The idea of a delivery service came to my mind but I had to be innovative and avoid competing with other established start-ups, so I registered Mutsapuri, bought five brand new bicycles using my savings and got uniforms for the team I assembled to handle deliveries.
“So far the response is overwhelming, a lot of people are appreciating the initiative especially the elderly who are no longer able to do their day to day errands by themselves,” he said.
He added that his vision is in support of the new dispensation’s mantra of creating jobs towards the attainment of an upper middle income economy by 2030.
“l would like to see Mutsapuri employing more than five hundred youths by 2023 which is in line with President Mnangagwa’s mantra of creating jobs for the youth in Zimbabwe and by the time we become an upper middle income economy by 2030, Mutsapuri will be a multimillion dollar company employing thousands of youths.
“So far l have employed five young boys and three girls directly and more than six indirectly, the team is very passionate about the business because they understand the vision.
“We decided to start with a niche market that is Waterfalls where l stay, we are hoping that by the end of the year we will be servicing other parts of Harare and beyond.
According to Ncube the team first collects money from their customers around Waterfalls, cycle off to collect whatever is needed, from restaurant meals to groceries and any other errand, and return with the change less the $1 USD fee that they charge per local round trip.
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