Lilongwe-based entrepreneur, Daniel Manduwa is on course to defeat poverty after launching a manufacturing enterprise that specialises in the manufacturing of biscuits using sweet potatoes as the main raw material.
Manduwa, 37, has told ProjectM in an interview that the drought that hit the country last growing season, forced him to innovate and look for other ways that can help him survive economically.
Using Sweet potatoes that he harvested in abundance, Manduwa, a holder of a Masters degree in Horticulture Science, began exploring ideas that he can use to add value to his harvests.
“That’s when I settled for biscuit-manufacturing using the potatoes and I must admit that the idea was innovative and timely because otherwise I would have sold my harvests at a low price,” he said.
The biscuits are manufactured by his company, S125 Merchants, located in Lilongwe.
“We normally use orange-fleshed sweet potatoes which are then sorted, crushed and processed into biscuits,” said Manduwa.
The biscuits have so far received a positive response on the market, with Manduwa adding that currently, his company is failing to meet the demand.
“With only two employees at our company, we are failing to meet the demand as more people are eager to taste our product,” he said.
Currently, Manduwa says he is planning to start distributing the product on an industrial scale for more people to access it.
His company is also planning to sub-contracted several farmers from Lilongwe who will be supplying potatoes.
Cathy Mwale, a farmer of orange sweet potatoes has hailed Manduwa, saying his enterprise has driven her potato profits up.
“In the past, I used to sell my potatoes at low prices because we had nowhere to sell, but now things have changed,” said Mwale.
