A new life with the magic tree
Born and raised in the northern town of Rundu, Leena Sindano, is a 29-year-old who has established a Moringa Tree product business. Leena says growing up in Rundu was a great experience “because you are closer to nature and the village is just a short distance away”.
Describing herself as down-to-earth person with a very practical nature, Leena says that she is inspired by her parents, who had the foresight to encourage her to start her own business after she was unemployed for a short while after she had finished her second degree.
Dreaming business
“It was hard coming up with a business idea. I made a list of possibles and narrowed it down to two and conducted research on them and wrote my project proposal. Shortly after, I was selected for the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) regional programme in the business and entrepreneurship track.
A key requirement of the programme that Leena was selected for was to have a business idea and to successfully pitch the idea before the graduation ceremony. Throughout the programme the participants received a lot of mentoring from proven industry professionals in order to refine their business ideas.
“That is where I decided on Moringa as my business idea since my parents have been using it for a while now and I have seen its results,” she says.
Leena says that Moringa has always been a popular choice of medication in her home town, specifically with elderly who suffer from chronic diseases. After doing some research Leena found that there were a lot of people in South Africa who were farming with Moringa.
“With the support of good friends and family that kept pushing me and helping me out, I started my company,” she said.
Leena, who holds an economics degree from Unam, went on to complete her second degree at Pune University in India.
“I completed my Grade 12 from a science high school and I chose to study economics at Unam and it was the whole conversion from science to social science, thus making accounting my major weakness,” she recalls.
Leena says she experienced a turning point in her life when she found out that she was at the end of her contract with her previous employer and struggled to find employment despite being adequately qualified.
“For months I prayed and proactively pursued every opportunity. That was a very pivotal time and moment for me because out of necessity my passion for entrepreneurship was fuelled and I strongly believe in helping yourself in life,” she told The Zone.
For the love of Moringa
Leena started her Moringa business in March 2016, and says that she is passionate about using the plant to help the Namibian government fight malnutrition and poverty “as Moringa can be used as a tool to fight food insecurity”.
She funded the business from her own savings and says that the main challenge when she started her business was not having all the products that her customers wanted or were looking for. “I saved up money to fund my equipment and currently I’m producing more than one product.”
In the long run Leena says that her dream is to own her own manufacturing plant, and says that she entered the Moringa market because is not so condensed and overall, there are tons of health benefits that can be experienced by taking the plant.
She says so far the business is still small and new, but she believes that there is strong potential for growth.
“What I love the most about the tree is that it’s a ‘miracle tree’ that can cure plus/minus 300 diseases and is 100% organic. It’s a very versatile and fascinating tree.”
Moringa products
Currently Leena is only selling Moringa oil in a 100ml container for N$200, capsules (850mg) in a small container for N$25 and big container at N$75. She also has Moringa powder 50g for N$50 and seed cake powder in 50g for N$25. She says soon she will add animal feed to her range of products.
As a young business person, Leena described in her own words, the business climate in the country for young people as being slow “because besides providing youth with business equipment or giving them business loans, the other thing that we need here is basic skills training so that all young people can do something productive for themselves”.
“Free mentorship conferences [should be held] to prepare young people for the challenges they face when running a business. Link young people up with people who are running similar businesses to mentor them. Some young people become successful with their fifth business after failing at the first four ideas.
She says that she believes that other young people can also rise to occasion and start their own businesses, and run them successfully. “You have to love what you do and tell yourself ‘I can do it’ by putting your whole effort into it. Surround yourself with friends and family who can support you in any way possible. Be creative and Google can help you with a possible idea that can work in Namibia. It’s not easy but keep on wearing the never-give-up attitude,” she encouraged other young Namibians.
The most rewarding thing for Leena working with a product like Moringa, is the fact “that raw materials are always available from my supplier or the community members who have and are willing to sell.
“With the added benefit of giving back to the community by improving people’s health, it is also enjoyable being a purely local business, meaning that a much larger share of the revenue is recycled back into the local economy, benefiting the whole community,” she said.
Currently Leena is running her business as her only employee, re-investing all her profits back into the business, working from home and doing all manufacturing and packaging herself. She sells her products from her car and at flea markets, or wherever she can set up and share the glory of Moringa.
“I do all my business work after my fulltime job. It’s not easy with sleepless nights and I hardly have a free weekend to myself. If I am not at the market promoting and selling my products, I’m at home working,” she said.
Leena gets assistance from friends and family helping her out at flea markets and packaging the products at home. A dinner invitation with the promise of great conversation are attractive incentives while working,” she shared.
For other young people that wanted to start a business, Leena encouraged that “before you start a business, compile a list of possible things you can do or are willing to do. Then do extensive market research and consult anybody you may know of in the same business to understand the challenges they have faced.
“Start small by doing your own savings or sell something small to give you savings then you can look for big investors in the future. Market your business on all platforms, social networks, newspapers, friends/colleagues and family. Your dreams won’t achieve themselves. It takes hard work and dedication,” Leena encouraged in closing.
Keith Vries
Describing herself as down-to-earth person with a very practical nature, Leena says that she is inspired by her parents, who had the foresight to encourage her to start her own business after she was unemployed for a short while after she had finished her second degree.
Dreaming business
“It was hard coming up with a business idea. I made a list of possibles and narrowed it down to two and conducted research on them and wrote my project proposal. Shortly after, I was selected for the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) regional programme in the business and entrepreneurship track.
A key requirement of the programme that Leena was selected for was to have a business idea and to successfully pitch the idea before the graduation ceremony. Throughout the programme the participants received a lot of mentoring from proven industry professionals in order to refine their business ideas.
“That is where I decided on Moringa as my business idea since my parents have been using it for a while now and I have seen its results,” she says.
Leena says that Moringa has always been a popular choice of medication in her home town, specifically with elderly who suffer from chronic diseases. After doing some research Leena found that there were a lot of people in South Africa who were farming with Moringa.
“With the support of good friends and family that kept pushing me and helping me out, I started my company,” she said.
Leena, who holds an economics degree from Unam, went on to complete her second degree at Pune University in India.
“I completed my Grade 12 from a science high school and I chose to study economics at Unam and it was the whole conversion from science to social science, thus making accounting my major weakness,” she recalls.
Leena says she experienced a turning point in her life when she found out that she was at the end of her contract with her previous employer and struggled to find employment despite being adequately qualified.
“For months I prayed and proactively pursued every opportunity. That was a very pivotal time and moment for me because out of necessity my passion for entrepreneurship was fuelled and I strongly believe in helping yourself in life,” she told The Zone.
For the love of Moringa
Leena started her Moringa business in March 2016, and says that she is passionate about using the plant to help the Namibian government fight malnutrition and poverty “as Moringa can be used as a tool to fight food insecurity”.
She funded the business from her own savings and says that the main challenge when she started her business was not having all the products that her customers wanted or were looking for. “I saved up money to fund my equipment and currently I’m producing more than one product.”
In the long run Leena says that her dream is to own her own manufacturing plant, and says that she entered the Moringa market because is not so condensed and overall, there are tons of health benefits that can be experienced by taking the plant.
She says so far the business is still small and new, but she believes that there is strong potential for growth.
“What I love the most about the tree is that it’s a ‘miracle tree’ that can cure plus/minus 300 diseases and is 100% organic. It’s a very versatile and fascinating tree.”
Moringa products
Currently Leena is only selling Moringa oil in a 100ml container for N$200, capsules (850mg) in a small container for N$25 and big container at N$75. She also has Moringa powder 50g for N$50 and seed cake powder in 50g for N$25. She says soon she will add animal feed to her range of products.
As a young business person, Leena described in her own words, the business climate in the country for young people as being slow “because besides providing youth with business equipment or giving them business loans, the other thing that we need here is basic skills training so that all young people can do something productive for themselves”.
“Free mentorship conferences [should be held] to prepare young people for the challenges they face when running a business. Link young people up with people who are running similar businesses to mentor them. Some young people become successful with their fifth business after failing at the first four ideas.
She says that she believes that other young people can also rise to occasion and start their own businesses, and run them successfully. “You have to love what you do and tell yourself ‘I can do it’ by putting your whole effort into it. Surround yourself with friends and family who can support you in any way possible. Be creative and Google can help you with a possible idea that can work in Namibia. It’s not easy but keep on wearing the never-give-up attitude,” she encouraged other young Namibians.
The most rewarding thing for Leena working with a product like Moringa, is the fact “that raw materials are always available from my supplier or the community members who have and are willing to sell.
“With the added benefit of giving back to the community by improving people’s health, it is also enjoyable being a purely local business, meaning that a much larger share of the revenue is recycled back into the local economy, benefiting the whole community,” she said.
Currently Leena is running her business as her only employee, re-investing all her profits back into the business, working from home and doing all manufacturing and packaging herself. She sells her products from her car and at flea markets, or wherever she can set up and share the glory of Moringa.
“I do all my business work after my fulltime job. It’s not easy with sleepless nights and I hardly have a free weekend to myself. If I am not at the market promoting and selling my products, I’m at home working,” she said.
Leena gets assistance from friends and family helping her out at flea markets and packaging the products at home. A dinner invitation with the promise of great conversation are attractive incentives while working,” she shared.
For other young people that wanted to start a business, Leena encouraged that “before you start a business, compile a list of possible things you can do or are willing to do. Then do extensive market research and consult anybody you may know of in the same business to understand the challenges they have faced.
“Start small by doing your own savings or sell something small to give you savings then you can look for big investors in the future. Market your business on all platforms, social networks, newspapers, friends/colleagues and family. Your dreams won’t achieve themselves. It takes hard work and dedication,” Leena encouraged in closing.
Keith Vries
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