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EDITOR — When Linister Goremucheche (39) from Harare lost her job in 2007 with a private firm based in Belvedere, she was depressed and spent days in bed.

With no money for rentals, food, let alone fees for her child, Linister could not imagine how she would manage the financial burden that lay ahead.

One day while she was coming from pleading with her landlady to extend the deadline for rentals, Linister decided to use the last $20 in her wallet to buy motor car accessories for resale.

That decision was a turning point in her life.

Today Linister now runs a thriving hardware, a catering kitchen and manufactures engine cleaners and related accessories in Warren Park D.

“Losing my job made me realise that I was good at many things, and I could actually make more money than being a mere employee,” revealed Linister in an interview on the sidelines of a meeting organised by the Zanu-PF aspiring Member of Parliament for Warren Park, Cde Gilbert Muponda.

Less than three months after starting her small project, Linister was already getting big orders from neighbours and friends.

With only $50 worth of supplies for resale against a backdrop of huge orders from customers, one day Linister approached her supplier for more stock, promising to pay after receiving payment from her customers.

Touched by her commitment, the supplier of Indian origin instead offered her the formula for manufacturing engine cleaner, battery water, battery acid and degreaser.

She immediately enrolled for a short course at a private college in the capital, to improve her skills in manufacturing the accessories.

Linister, who has since earned herself the moniker “MuIndia” for her consistency in supplies, implored youths and women to venture into entrepreneurship as a way of sustaining themselves.

“I often hear people saying they would want to start a business, but are looking for financial assistance, yet they own a handset which costs more than $200, and are not willing to part with it.

“Any amount of money can be used to start a business, no matter how small,” she said.

Linister, who employs three youths in the area, now boasts of a huge clientele base in Warren Park and its environs.

Ruth Butaumocho