Making money from buying, selling farm produce

Does the name Mitundu sound familiar?
The place lies seven kilometres from Bunda College of Agriculture in Lilongwe. It is one of the places where a majority of people have dedicated their lives to farming.
But despite the area being known for farming activities, some households still harvest little, such that they are forced to buy farm produce to top up their harvest.
And this is where 41-year-old Overton Kadzombe saw a business opportunity after realising that the need for extra farm produce provided him a market for selling crops such as maize and groundnuts.
Thus Kadzombwe, who is from Magomero Village, Traditional Authority Chilikumwendo in Dedza, established Overton Farm Produce Traders which specialises in buying and selling farm produce.
The three-year-old enterprise is located at Mitundu Trading Centre.
“I started with a capital of K80 000. This end of growing season, I have bought 300 bags of groundnuts and 200 bags of maize,” he explains.
Through the business, Kadzombwe says he has managed to build a three-bed room house apart from buying a one-tonner pickup.
The enterprise employs five people who help Kadzombwe with the business.
“Entrepreneurship is fantastic. I am happy to see my employees getting a salary from me and help their families. Above all, their efforts help me maximise profits,” he says.
Kadzombwe regrets dropping out of school in standard seven, saying the business has taught him the importance of education.
“I am educating my children so that they can become educated entrepreneurs,” says Kadzombe, a father of three.
On the secret behind his success, he says he avoids unnecessary spending of money.
“Money is a scarce resource so I hold on to it tightly,” he says.n