Thursday, March 28, 2024

Interview with Time Machine Zambia founder Duncan Sodala

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Duncan Sodala founder of The Time Machine Zambia
Duncan Sodala founder of The Time Machine Zambia

 Time Machine Zambia is a Collectibles Business that started operating at the beginning of 2016. It is a business dealing in Comic Books, Graphic Novels, Vinyl, Action Figures and a lot more. They saw that there was a demand for nostalgic items and felt that they could meet that demand. The Time Machine Team is currently made up of Duncan Sodala ,the founder, as well as Nkole Malauni and Muhongo Chenda who are Sales Consultants/Comic Book Experts.

 time-machine2

KAPA187:  You are mostly known as being the manager of Zone Fam, a Hip-hop artist and music promoter. What made you decide to start a non-music related business?

DUNCAN SODALA: I am passionate about a lot of things and Memorabilia happens to be one of them. I am a recovering Hoarder so it made perfect sense to go into this Business. Music will still be a part of this Business especially that we are dealing with Vinyl which is slowly making a comeback in the retail space.

 

KAPA187: Is there a huge demand for comic books, anime and the like in Zambia?

DUNCAN SODALA:  There actually is a huge demand but we need to make the people more aware of our presence. So many people are into the Fan Boy/Fan Girl Culture – The Gaming, Art and Design communities in Zambia are HUGE!

 

KAPA187: Tell us about your experience at the recently held Lusaka Comic con (Lscon).

DUNCAN SODALA:  Lscon our Local Comic Con was great! A lot of people came through, it was our first big outing as Time Machine and we had a great time. A number of people were happy that we brought something new to the market and most of our customers have been with us since that day.

 

The Time machine Zambia at LsCon
The Time machine Zambia at LsCon

KAPA187: Do we have many local produced comic books?

DUNCAN SODALA:  Yes we do! The most recent Locally produced Comic Book is “Bantu Clan” from Zed Comics – It is a great concept that embodies Zambia Culture by Muma Seketa, London Kamwendo and Bwanga Kapumpa. We also have the Sweeper by Mwelwa Musonko and Tawonga Bedding, Chimwasu Njapawu is also working on something called Zambian Superheroes so we have these and a lot more to look forward to.

 

KAPA187: Where can people find you if they are interested in purchasing comics books, Vinyl’s, Action Figures and other Collectibles that you sell?

DUNCAN SODALA:  We have no fixed location at the moment; we frequent a lot of events, food markets, shopping malls and the like. People can reach us on various platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We do free deliveries within Lusaka and Partnered with www.Truzed.com to deliver outside Lusaka.

Facebook : time machine zambia

Twitter: @TimeMachineZed

Instagram: time machine zambia

 tmz-stand

KAPA187: Do you plan on opening a physical store in the near future?

DUNCAN SODALA:  Not in the near future but we are definitely planning on having a physical store once our Business grows.  We have alot planned for the Business as we venture into different aspects of Nostalgia.

 

KAPA187: What challenges have you faced in your business and how have you overcome them?

DUNCAN SODALA:  Dry spells…we have to constantly update on social media and lookout for what events are happening and at the right time.

 

KAPA187: The Time machine Zambia recently started a podcast. What do you discuss on it and where can people can to listen to it?

DUNCAN SODALA:  We discuss mostly about stuff we sell; movies, music, latest trends and randomness – People can preview and download the show on Soundcloud or Hulkshare.

Sound Cloud: time machine podcast

Hulkshare: time machine podcast

KAPA187: There are many entrepreneurship opportunities out there, why do you think many youths are hesitant to start something new and mostly opt for something that is done more commonly.

DUNCAN SODALA:  I think it’s a fear of failure of course a lot of Startups in Zambia struggle to find Startup capital – I started this Business from money I saved up. There are a number of options people can look at to jump start their Business. As for doing something everyone else is doing, it is attractive if it gives immediate returns but eventually it becomes saturated. If you build a unique Business slowly, you could build something that will last and bring you good returns in the long run.

 

KAPA187: Where do you see the time machine in the next 10 years?

DUNCAN SODALA:  We see ourselves as a fully established Collectibles/Nostalgia Business meeting the needs of every Zambian from young and old. Our establishment will be a meeting place for different personalities and tastes.

 

KAPA187: Any last words…

DUNCAN SODALA:  Dream and reach inside yourself, don’t be limited by your environment.

time-machine

 

BY KAPA187

 

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