By HELEN ZULU –

• Nosiku Mubila displays some of the chitenge products she makes in Lusaka yesterday. Picture by KENNEDY MUPESENI

A LUSAKA-BASED entrepreneur has started manufacturing tailor-made products using local raw materials.
Nosiku Mubila makes shoes, earrings, purses, wallets, bangles, necklaces and other products using local materials like glue, bottle tops and chitenge materials.
Ms Mubila makes these products to the specification of a customer in terms of colour and number of pieces per set.
A teacher by profession, Ms Mubila makes various garments, accessories and pairs of shoes from chitenge materials and is in the process of incorporating the business as Siku Concepts.
She got the concept by looking at the work of others on  social media and started making products from traditional Chitenge materials.
In a walk-in interview at the Times of Zambia offices in Lusaka yesterday, Ms Mubila said  she was currently  making the products on orders from customers and the response was  so far overwhelming.
“I would like to incorporate sewing dresses into my business as most customers would like me to make dresses suiting  with  shoes, bangles, earrings and purses and I am procuring a new sewing machine,” she said.
In terms of the current sales from orders, she makes at least K500 per week, but hopes to increase sales when production and customer base grows.
Ms Mubila plans to establish a shop for already made products rather than waiting for orders from people and would employ a few workers.
“I want to grow capital to establish a shop just like others. I want to be making a lot of shoes and necklaces for sale not just to wait for orders, I want people to be walking into my shop and choose for themselves,” she said.
Ms Mubila, 34, and a resident of Libala South, further urged youths in the country to explore their talents and develop them to create jobs for themselves and others instead of waiting for government to create employment  for them.