HE HAD no office, but used a truck he had bought from his earnings as an office. It was from this ‘office’ that Joseph Neene Nakaanga sold his charcoal and mushrooms.
But today, he smiles as he manages his three companies from the comfort of a spacious and air-conditioned office in Lusaka.
He minded less about people’s comments then that he was driving aimlessly in the streets with a second- hand truck. This perception gave him confidence and was a stepping stone to success.
Nakaanga says it sounds easy today that he is running three companies namely Citimop Limited, Kaleya Trade Limited and Safer Foods Traders with his siblings whom he teamed up with to fight the pitfalls of life by simply working hard and ensuring their dreams were not shot down by failure.
[pullquote]“Many people think that it is money that will make them rich but it is the idea that you need to create wealth in life. I had an idea which I sold to my brothers and we started our first company, Citimop Limited in 1999,”[/pullquote]
He never thought that one day he and his siblings would run businesses but one thing he was certain of, was that poverty should not be allowed to be ‘a guest’ in their family. He comes from a humble Christian family which values hard work.
He says for one to be successful in business, he or she does not need to have a lot of money but bankable ideas coupled with good values that can propel their business aspirations.
Nakaanga, who was born on September 14, 1964, explained that attaining his dream to be a business man did not come easily.
He says it was not how much money he invested in the businesses but how many bankable ideas and what he invested in them that mattered.
“Many people think that it is money that will make them rich but it is the idea that you need to create wealth in life. I had an idea which I sold to my brothers and we started our first company, Citimop Limited in 1999,”
He said he bought a second-hand small truck after getting his US$3,200 (K10 million then) retirement package from Galaun Holdings Limited in 1992. He did not directly manage the company but his brothers did.
Nakaanga earlier on graduated from the Copperbelt University in 1988 and got his first job as a graduate assistant accountant at Galaun Holdings Limited where he worked for four years.
In 1992, he joined Horizon Communication Systems Limited where he worked for five years with his last appointment being finance and administration manager.
He left Horizon Communication Systems and joined the hospitality industry in 1997 when Lake Hotels Limited hired him as its chief accountant and company secretary but he did not stay there long.
In the same year, Nakaanga went back to Galaun Group of Companies where he worked as management chief accountant until 2005 when he resigned to focus on his company, Citimop Limited.
“In April 2005, I decided to concentrate on my private business, Citimop, a company I founded as managing director and chairman in 1999,” he says.
He said establishing the company was not easy, especially that at first its offices were a second-hand truck where mushroom and charcoal were sold from.
The mushroom and charcoal business was not viable, so the company went into waste management, a service sector where Nakaanga had never ventured before although his passion to live a better life compelled him to try a new business venture.
“Citimop emerged from the inability of the Lusaka City Council (LCC) to service the entire city adequately. This created a gap which needed to be filled,” he says.
He recalls that a number of small companies sprung up in a bid to meet waste management needs in the city but some failed because of various reasons, including inadequate and inappropriate transportation systems.
His company was also dogged with its challenges such as the demotivated staff that had to work from a truck with less pay but he used to tell his workers one day the company would grow big. But did the firm grow?
[pullquote]“Citimop emerged from the inability of the Lusaka City Council (LCC) to service the entire city adequately. This created a gap which needed to be filled,” he says.[/pullquote]
“Doubt not, today, Citimop employs 36 staff servicing about 2000 households and 400 corporate clients within Lusaka city,” he says.
Nakaanga says in 2003, LCC with the support of the Danish government decided to introduce a waste management system under the Lusaka Solid Waste Management System Unit (LSWMU).
The aim of the LSWMU was to empower private solid waste enterprises to manage the waste throughout Lusaka urban.
As opposed to watching from the terraces, Nakaanga sensed the opportunity and started providing the waste management services to the city populace.
“Our vision is to be a leading integrated waste management company in Zambia, pioneering environment-friendly waste management processes in order to deliver sustainable waste solutions for our client,” he says.
He explains that the company’s integrated approach to waste management endeavours to deal with a complete spectrum of issues affecting clients such as commercial waste being generated by shopping centres and office blocks.
Nakaanga says he has a dedicated team he groomed as he believes that for every business to grow, different skills are needed to enhance the vision and the objectives of the company.
“Citimop is run by a board which is chaired by me as the chief executive officer. The composition of the board is indicative of the company’s ambition to be the leading waste management company in Zambia,” he says.
He says as the company was growing, he decided with his siblings to start two more companies Kaleya Trade Limited and Safer Foods Traders in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
Talking about his family and poverty, he remembers the hurdles his family went through when he was a toddler. Poverty visited and forcibly entered the home of his parents, who were devoted Salvation Army church officers.
His father, Shaderick Nakaanga, and his mother, Daka Nakaanga, cherished hard work and honesty but poverty did not spare them despite being Christians.
“At a tender age, I used to sell munkoyo – a local refreshing drink – and fish in the street with my eight siblings. After selling, I remember we could give all the money to my mother,” he says.
Nakaanga says his parents disliked poverty but they cherished honesty and hard work in life and these values were passed on to all the children.
“My father, despite being a Salvation Army officer, was a welder who worked with his hands but I did not want to be like him. I wanted to be in an office when I finished school,” he reflects.
He says his father left him with nothing but these words, “We never see each other (Nakaanga) but I will give you something no-one will take away from you. I will give you education.”
He recalls that when his father died in 1987, their relatives grabbed property leaving them without anything and heart-broken. But he soldiered on and got the necessary education to improve not only his status but his family as well.
He says life is full of ups and downs but what keeps the people especially those in the business fraternity moving, is the will to triumph over poverty and failure.
Nakaanga said education is not a substitute to success and encourages everyone to continue improving thier lives.
To this effect, he is a proud man who, in addition to his bachelor’s degree in accountancy and finance he got from Copperbelt University this year, is completing his Master’s degree in Business Administration from Mancosa in South Africa.
He says he does not only manage businesses and study but also offers his expertise as a licentiate member to Zambia Institute of Certified Accountants (ZICA) and has membership with the Zambia Institute of Directors as well.
Nakaanga says he is also the current president of the Solid Waste Association of Zambia, an association which is dealing with the country’s waste management.
He says any person who wants to succeed in life should not abandon education because of poverty but they instead should cherish books to be winners in life.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Start small with a big idea and with persistence it will become your golden egg.
Nobody started a million dollar company in one week.
You are an inspiration.Tell those people sitting idly waiting for more money into their pockets that hard work is the road to success.
I know him, he wants to stand as an MP on MMD ticket in Chikankata. That is why you have seen this advert. He has worked hard but watch this space, he will be an MMD candidate in Chikankata constituency.
Whats his net worth? I just read two paragraphs and i was scrolling down to see some numbers. He has done a great job but it doesn’t sound like a “rugs to riches” story to me.
He had a start up capital of $3200 right? Then there is nothing unusual about this bull*&%. Give us some news LT
I am sure he will add value to our Parliamentary debates if he were to be voted for by the people of Chikankata. Tongas just love to work hard and eat from their sweat. Inspiring story. Am sure LT will add numbers to such stories next time they right one. It will help us imagine big.
He featured on Chibamba Kanyama’s Business Values TV show on Muvi last night. He is very passionate about his job. I liked his phrases, ‘we turn waste into wages, trash into treasure, garbage into gold.’
Great story. Wish him all the best this what real men do instead of waiting for government handout. I real case of a man who has shaken off the Kaunda mentality
Good hard working man you are worthy your sweat not the Kafupi and the gang who thrives on poverty stricken people and store all their wealthy then becomes consultants of political mercenary international tricks dribblers.
This should inspire Sata to start a farm or a buisness rather than coniving with homosexuals.
I am sori to say no. 4, the so-called “Nsimbi ni Nsimbi” is a big hater full of discouragement.
iam inspired by him.
Excellent stuff, i wish lunatics like Senior citizen were looking at life from Mr Nakaanga’s stand point. He’s doesn’t lick nobody’s butt but he’s still able to put food on the table . Good job.
We need more of his kind to grow our economy. More graduates need to come up with ideas like this one. That we can be part of the solutions to our high numbers of unemployment brough down. Keep up the good work. Forget about #4, this world would be less interesting without people like him or her.
A hard worker indeed. Hands up 4 him………………………….
Number 4 you are a loser. This is a great living example to the young. Anyway what is your story, probably working for someone and making money for him? You are a very negative person and people must be careful about characters like you. You seem to be interested in numbers, this guy is an accountant and he knows his numbers too.
iwe chi no.4 …just scrounge and you will die with vigamba and string of bastards you cant feed.this fool is so uncivilized with his pull him dowm sydrome.typical bemba fool.
In zambia we have more *****s like no.4 nshimbi ni nshimbi sata nyoko.
Testimony that zambia is a land of opportunity.The working MMD GRZ has provided a condusive business environment for anyone to stretch him/herself to the limit.Continue believing in the 90 Days utopia and you shall die a pauper.
@
Ku South Africa, well stated Kaunda destroyed the independent thought process in most Zambians. This is great For all of us, the young and the old, plus the middle agers. Zambians employing Zambians, and this my friends is how Japan and south Korea developed.
Great guy indeed.He was my senior at Namwala sec school.Down to earth guy.I remember him selling meat at Galaun Butchery years ago even though he was a graduate already.Its not how you start but how you end that matters.CONGRANTS MAN.YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION
I spot a hater amongst us, what shall his net worth prove. His intellect alone is greater than the sum of 76% of LT bloggers.
# 4 I agree with you, at least he had an education to start with.
The story of Mr Nakaanga is very inspiring indeed. How I wish all the youth would use their God given brains and start up small businesses for themselves….instead of being used by some disgrantled politicians to cause violence in our society. Mr Nakaanga keep it up….
The two Bembas agreeing with each other with their PHD( pull him down) syndrome. No# 4 Nshimbi and no# 22 Mwamba. Why can’t you guys just congratulate someone for their honest hard work? Everyone else is not jealous, but the usual suspects just had to be jealous cause a brother and his family are doing well, at the same time employing 36 Zambians with families. Look at the big picture please.
If something is important, then you will really find time to it. Its an encouraging story to some of us who one day dream running business enterprises. %%-
This Story is fake!Nakaanga was my boss at Luscold(Galaunia) as Chief Accountant and our MD was Mr Lacey (is Still)and Chairman was Michael Galaun (is still) the son to the late Galaun senior.This was a time that he was starting up Citimop and his offices were at Grand house.I do not agree with him that he started Citimop from Charcoal business.If he used to sell Charcoal then its long before he even went to CBU.Am shocked that pepole can say that they are INSPIRED by falsehoods like these.This man was a Chief accountant who was paid handsomely hence able to start Citimop not that it was from RAGS to RICHES.
the good thing is that he started from somewhere and his hard work proved it
These are the people we need in our society as role models, even if it means going into politics, the man can help the youths to get somewhere with the little CDF. They say you cannot lead others when you yourself is blind, work for your own and be able to feed your family thats when you can claim able to feed the nation as you are a leader. In Lozi we say you cannot sweep your friend’s house when yours is in a mess. Viva people of substance who mean well for the nation. These lazy macholis should remain in their corners as we the hard working move on.
Independence Observer – is another young Zambian based in UK who has been an inspiration to most of us living in Diaspora. He has preached about having dreams and visions. This young man works as an Investment Bank Equity Trader and earns about £1million plus a year. Just a while ago, he was featured in the UK Financial Times and City AM News paper. I guess we Zedians can get inspiration from such kind determined Zambians
#4 has a point its true the man didnt start from nothing when you look at the dates you wonder, when was he using his truck as an office? He had held all those high positions before but ended up selling charcoal in a truck? #26 side of the story sounds true. Anyway whether he started from something or nothing at least he is employing others.
this is great man..such good ideas need to be shared..haters ..go and hang..thieves..!
I am shocked to hear that there is waste Management in Lusaka. What about all that garbage/trash in the city?
That aside this is a feel good success story. LT where is the picture of the man?
Very motivating indeed especialy for some of us who know you . We were young then but you still inspired us even at the level of primary school. You were the best at school in your intake at Namalundu Primary School in Kafue Gorge. I was in the same Class with your sister Winnie.But I want to differ with you when you talk of poverty becuase your daddy had a well paying Job in Zesco and I guess by the time he was dying you were not too far away from graduating from CBU. Overal you are an inspiration to us. I must not shy away from saying I am indeed proud of you.
inspired by his hard work.
Where is it written that its a rags to riches story, because it isn’t iwe number 26. It doesn’t say he was poor either. Are you still employed because you need that job evidently you cant manage your understanding
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