Episode 17: Mariam's Nutritional Product Business in Tanzania

In this episode, Danielle Serge, HerStart Programs and Partnership Fellow in Tanzania, speaks with Mariam Mussa Haji, founder of Muzne Product – a social enterprise that makes nutritional products and powder. Mariam discusses her goal of improving health and nutritional deficiency in her community and how YCI's HerStart program helped her journey to becoming a social entrepreneur.  

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Welcome to Youth Challeng Internationals Hair Start Hair Story podcast series Youth Challenge International O Y C I launched the Hair Start Innovate the Future program in 2020 as part of our initiative to advance women's equality globally, our goal is to provide 10,000 women in Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda with the resources and supports they need to successfully launch and grow their social businesses. We are sharing real stories of young women who are leading change in their communities. Y CI's Hair Start Innovate. The Future program is funded in passed by the government of Canada to progress Canada's feminist international assistance policy. Learn more@yci.org or hair.org.

Speaker 2: 1:03

Hello, my name is Danielle Serge and I'm a program and partnership fellow with Youth Challenge International's, her start program in Tanzania. Today I'm speaking to Miriam about Zuni products. Miriam is a participant in the Her Start Grow Your social venture program. Miriam is also a recipient of the Her Start Catalyst Fund. This funding provides women-led ventures with critical seed funding that can help them thrive their businesses. Um, today we are meeting with Miriam in her home, um, which is also where she has runs her business. Um, so Miriam, can you tell me your full name, age and occupation

Speaker 3: 1:40

[inaudible] I go by the name Maryam[inaudible] and I am 29 years old. I am also an entrepreneur.

Speaker 2: 1:48

Miriam, can you please tell us what your business is?

Speaker 3: 1:52

My business is called Muslim products and this is a business that makes nutritional products such as nutritional powder targeting people best on age groups and mostly for babies. But we also make fruits that can be consumed by all age groups, including all the people. We also make fresh juice using fruits that can be sourced locally.

Speaker 2: 2:19

Wonderful. And why did you start this business and where did you get this business idea from?

Speaker 3: 2:27

[inaudible] product. Product is idea of making diet and supplements came as a result of seeing people around my community are nutritionally deficient. But also looking at the policy of the revolutionary government of Zanzibar wishes to see its citizens with a better health. This is when I decided to embark on this business idea. For instance, with powder or diet supplements, we have children from the age of six month is old. Normally they cannot consume heavy food stamps. So children from this age up to five years, we have created a product special for just this group alone. There are also pregnant women who have just given birth and they are not healthy enough to even breast feed. So we have special products for this group, but even special groups of people living with AIDS and people with the drug addiction, someone with the drug addiction, we understand that most of the time they are not healthy. So I have also taken this group into consideration. When comes to fruits we see that a lot of people in my community lack awareness on proper diet because we tend to eat only one type of food and we find ourselves welcom coming all sorts of illnesses. Anyone that comes into my shop, they will find fruits but can also find fresh juice that has a lot of nutritional benefits.

Speaker 2: 4:06

Can you share with us your, how your business operates on the day today?

Speaker 3: 4:12

Normally on daily basis, my business tries to reach the target customers wherever they are within the vicinity of Zanzibar Town. But because at the moment I do not have a permanent store or shop, I have also employed someone who helps to make deliveries. Also through social media, I have accounts such as Instagram, Facebook, but I also use data section on WhatsApp to attract more customers. I then take my grains to the MyLink machine. After MyLink, I head back home with a nutritional powder.

Speaker 2: 4:50

And how do you create your products?

Speaker 3: 4:54

I prepare my grains first, cleaning them so that they are in its cleanest form. Once I have cleaned them, I speed them on a mat exposing them to natural sunlight. In order to dry up, I use my backyard to avoid any kind of insects and dust that could destroy my product. I then take my grains to a mining machine. Immediately everything is mad and mixed it together. I head home with a powder for the next step, which is removing all kinds of residues that are visible because sometimes the machine fails migraines. Well as I mentioned earlier, I target kids from the age of six monkeys, so it is crucial for me to remove all kinds of residues that could pose a negative impact on their digestion. After that, I start packaging the powder using a nice and laboratory paper package, while at the same time using a waiting scale. Since I sell my products in two packages, a quarter package and a half kilogram, and the only way I can be precise is through the use of waiting scale. When it comes to fruits, I normally source them from the farmers locally by visiting their farms, which it brings my production cost down. After purchasing them, I bring fruits to my house where I wash them with water and prepare my bowl special for packing fruits and pack them ready to eat. But how exactly do I reach my customers? For this group of customers, I have session where they can reach me and buy fruits, but for those who prefer delivery, I charge them extra amount to cover for their delivery. Actually a lot of of a lot of my customers buying fruits prefer a delivery.

Speaker 2: 6:54

So what are some of the challenges you are facing with your business?

Speaker 3: 7:00

There are several challenges in my business, but among them is getting a sustainable market. There is a lot of uncertainties in my market when I got, when I get out to look for markets the people interact with say no without taking a look, a look or knowing the benefits that come within it, but also getting registration of the business from the government is also a major challenge. There are some requirements that are really difficult for an upcoming entrepreneur to meet. You might be asked to have physical premises that has had operation for years and have essential services such as running water and washrooms. You find that for an entrepreneur who is just starting, it becomes a major challenge. There is also a challenge such as transport to ensure that my customers receive my products tomorrow you could be told that the price of petrol has gone up and this affects my market because the price goes up and customers opt to move to a different vendors.

Speaker 2: 8:13

How has her start helped you and your personal and professional goals?

Speaker 3: 8:19

Stead has been able to help me in my personal goals. I had goals to employ myself as opposed to being employed by someone. Now I am happy that I can confidently say that I have been able to employ myself, but Halstead has also empowered me to be more confident. At the moment, if any person ask me questions regarding entrepreneurship, I will not feel challenged because I can respond to their questions. Most importantly, hazard has provided me with enough knowledge to understand the building blocks of social enterprises and later on giving a grant to start up my business.

Speaker 2: 9:04

So what accomplishments are you most proud of personally, professionally, and educationally So far?

Speaker 3: 9:11

In terms of accomplishments, I would say I have accomplished, accomplished my personal goals. I am parents and I have family that depends on me and now I can help my family and run a household. Also, in terms of accomplishments, I'm proud of my business wise. I would say right now if you to mention the name Muslim products to the same revolutionary government of Zanzibar under the Ministry of Investment. They are aware of my business and have been called a couple of times in many forums to showcase my business as well as learning more about entrepreneurship.

Speaker 2: 9:51

Thank you. So which individuals played a role in your personal growth and how have they helped you along the way?

Speaker 3: 9:59

Some of the individuals that have played an essential role for my personal growth, I would say family. And when I say family, I'm referring to my husband. He has really been helpful because based on our religion, a lot of women do not allow women to progress in terms of learning or even taking a vocational skills. My husband has been at the forefront to allow me to pursue my dreams and even the times I have given up, he has always been there to give me advice and encourage me to continue to pursue my goals. Another group of people that have been fundamental in my growth is my teacher In the Hasad project, these individuals have provided me with good knowledge on the kind of business that I needed to do, ensuring that it is a social business and at the same time making profit

Speaker 2: 11:00

So how do you wish to expand and grow your business? What do you envision for the future of your business?

Speaker 3: 11:06

I hope to grow my business first. I would like to have a space where I can permanently conduct my business, but I also have to employ three more youth that can help me conduct my business. I envision to be a good example of woman that has been able to employ herself and been able to lift others and hopefully one day I can build a factory that will be dedicated to produce nutritional products of various kinds.

Speaker 2: 11:40

Thank you so much Miriam, for your time. Is there anything else you wanna share? Do you have any words of wisdom for other, um, women's social entrepreneurs?

Speaker 3: 11:50

Firstly, I would like to give my appreciation to Youth Challenge International for taking the responsibility of empowering youth women, but I also have a piece of advice to young women. We should not look, we should not look to ourselves as individuals that cannot succeed just because we tried once and felt we need to be strong and look for trainings and information to the ones that I have gone through the business for support so that they can reduce rate of dependency in the society.

Speaker 2: 12:27

Thank you for speaking with us today, Miriam. So looking forward to where your business goes in the future, um, and all the impact you'll make. Thank you. Ill ham for translating Miriam's words and we acknowledge that the challenge of translating sometimes as meaning can be lost. So thank you.

Speaker 4: 12:52

Thanks

Speaker 1: 12:52

For joining us today and learning about how you challenge International has partnered with young women to advance gender equality globally and create a social entrepreneurship ecosystem with the positive impact for all. If you enjoy this hairstyle, innovate the Future podcast episode. Please subscribe and share our episodes on social media. A special thanks to the fellows that volunteered their time in Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda, who helped create these episodes. Y CIS Hair Innovate. The Future and Fellowship programs are funded through the government of Canada's volunteer corporation program, providing skilled Canadians opportunities to volunteer with global partners and advance Canada's feminist international assistance policy. Join us in thousands of young people around the globe creating a better future together. Learn more@yci.org or.org for

Speaker 4: 13:53

It.