Herbalist grows from vending to recognized entrepreneur with BVTO’s Support
Cindy Nobubele Mulelo, founder of Cindy herbal products in Bulawayo, a company specializing in treatment of various ailments through herbs and massages recently won an award as an Outstanding Best Service Provider at the Imbokodo Women Business Awards.
Speaking in an interview, Mulelo highlighted that being a member of the Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Organisation has ensured her business grows exorbitantly as she has witnessed it gain traction, to a point of being recognised nationally.
“As l started to work with BVTO, my business started to grow and gained more recognition from the community as BVTO works very closely with communities,” she said.
Through the membership, she gained business management skills which include knowledge on how to run a business, preparedness to deal with potential risks, company and Tax clearance certificate registration, various legislative bodies that affect the informal sector as well as basic entrepreneurial etiquette. The BVTO also introduced her to networking spaces by taking her to exhibitions including the One Hub Market Fair run by the organisation, which has supported her to get the needed market and other key stakeholder linkages.
A nurse by profession, Cindy decided to venture into alternative medicine in June 2013 as a means to realise a dream she had. Working in clinics, she used to observe different conditions and health issues that conventional medicine struggled to heal. She then started practicing using indigenous herbs from the garden and local trees, which worked well as she saw sick patients recovering. This brought about confidence on the power of herbs, alternative foods and other therapeutic treatment for herself and clients.
Eventually, she wishes to get even more individuals interested in using alternative medication known to provide a whole-body perspective, focusing on energy alignment and the mind-body connection, as opposed to the symptom-specific focus of other medicine.
“I want to reach out to the broader communities with herbal products, to reduce the number of people who suffer and die because of the lack of therapeutic hands and herbal medicine that we provide,” she added.
Her original vision was to have more people understanding and appreciating healing practices using herbs and therapeutic massage, which she is since taking forward.
“The use and appreciation of herbal products is increasing greatly, and individuals are fast partaking in using these natural and undiluted remedies as our forefathers lived long and strong eating and living these herbs,” she advised.
Encouraging fellow Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to register their businesses and follow all the by- laws, she highlighted that part of the success leans more on learning to effectively utilise and grow the little capital that anyone can have.
“People have to be involved in learning skills especially from organisations like BVTO who can assist with access to resources needed for their businesses and some of their projects,” she advised.
Cindy is but one example of the many members whose success and growth can be attested to being a part of associations recognised and recommended by both local and national government, such as BVTO.
“BVTO has done a lot not only for me but for the broader community as a whole especially empowering women and youths,” she said.
The Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Organisation (BVTO) is a membership-based organisation with a mission to create opportunities for vendors and informal traders to run viable businesses, improve their livelihoods, and meaningfully participate in public discourses for their own development.
It features services such as life, medical and funeral cover policies from Champions Insurance Company that was negotiated to rates affordable for informal traders. To ensure all potential members have access to these services and more, BVTO membership was pegged at only USD$1 once off registration fee, with a monthly subscription of only USD$0.50.
