The story of entrepreneur Mrs. Oliver Shewiyo, founder and director of Kipipa. How did you start your company? “After quitting my job as a teacher I started as a farmer growing my own crops, such as maize and rice. I bought a small maize processing machine in 2003 to process the crops and add value. The machine had a processing capacity of 4 bags per day. At first I only processed the crops I produced from my own farm, but the demand kept on increasing and soon I started buying from other farmers in the area. My company has grown vastly to processing more than 200 bags of maize per day now. In 2012-2013 I won the award of Best mid-sized company in Tanzania! After winning the award a lot of financial institutions have been visiting my company soliciting for a finance deal, but nothing materialized.” What are the biggest challenges you face? “The limited availability of capital is the main challenge. My business needs a lot of capital, mainly to buy raw materials and to invest in storage capacity. Also the lack of spare parts to repair the machines makes it difficult. If spare parts are available, the quality is poor and the prices very high. Machines are therefore left idle sometimes. Lastly late payments remains a major struggle for smaller businesses like mine. In our case, we deliver most of our products to the Government, who pay irregular and months later. It seriously effects our cash flow situation.” How does SME Impact Fund support you? “ The working capital loan of SIF allows me to buy raw material when prices are favorable. We process the raw material during the year to allow regular supply to our clients, and at the same time get a good price. The provision of working capital really boosted my business to the next level. Even next year I’m thinking of more and better machinery to improve my business.” How does the growth of your company effect the entire value chain? “ The growth of Kipipa Company Limited mainly effects the Small Holder Farmers because now they have a secure market to sell their maize harvest. In addition the communities benefit from the high quality food products we supply to schools and government institutions. In the end even the Government benefits since we are paying more taxes.” What are your dreams for your company? “ At night I’m dreaming of buying a big silo for the storage of maize and better machines to increase the processing capacity and quality. After some time I want to explore the possibilities of exporting my products and maybe even become a large corporate like Bakhresa. And even if I will not be able to complete this dream myself, I believe my children would be in a good position to realize my dream!”
