Zambian entrepreneur Moses Kabalu is positively transforming the local mining landscape in the country’s Copperbelt Province, where his company MwitMoz Minerals has been making a huge and successful impact in the sector.
MwitMoz Minerals is a mineral dealing company based in Zambia, with offices located in the Copperbelt and Lusaka Province. The company specializes in various base metals, precious metals, gemstones, and industrial minerals.
“I was born in the Kitwe area of Zambia. Entrepreneurship is quite practical, so I learned the ropes by imitating those before me and trying out businesses I was passionate about until I found my own niche,” Moses, managing director of MwitMoz Minerals, says.
Growing up in the Copperbelt
Raised in Zambia’s famous and mineral-rich Copperbelt, it is not surprising that Moses ended up pursuing a career in the mining sector. He attributes his entrepreneurship drive to a combination of an inquisitive mind and a strong desire to solve problems and challenges.
“Our company deals in minerals. I may say it is a solution driven business mixed with personal interest for minerals. Growing up in Kitwe, Copperbelt province I was surrounded by mines and minerals and perhaps became curious at a very young age,” explains Moses.
“Minerals have a very high demand whichever category you think of and so we set out to be renowned as an efficient and dependable ‘go to’ dealer for anyone looking to source or sell. We are based in Kitwe and our team is made up of eight employees,” he adds.
Strategic Planning
Just like many other entrepreneurs, Moses carefully plans the direction that MwitMoz Minerals takes to ensure the company not only meets the expectations of their clients but also achieves set targets.
Says Moses: “As a business, we have a very simple strategy which is to be as efficient as we can. Efficiency to us means time, cost, transparency, and the ability to be called reliable.
“The landscape has evolved with many players ‘racing for the same limited products’ so we network a lot to stay updated and constantly keep learning and refining our industry knowledge. Of course, experience always helps too.
“Getting enough capital has been a challenge as well as underestimating risk management. However, experience in this case is always helpful. Also this industry has a lot of trends that you need not to rush into, we stick to the strategy.”
International Goals
The inroads being made by MwitMoz Minerals has encouraged Moses to consider the export market as he looks to grow his company by spreading its wings beyond the borders of Zambia.
“We hardly advertise our services conventionally and rely more on referrals, we have been engaged and recognized by a few international clients with large scale projects and this has given us confidence and a sense of success,” he says.
Key to his strategy going forward is to embrace technology and ensure they stay ahead of the curve in the mining sector. Moses firmly believes that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will become more and more of a major factor in the Zambian mining sector in the not so distant future.
“There are some interesting solutions AI is offering with identifying minerals and testing them (plus many other things), that will definitely make certain processes easier.
“So it is certainly a good time to be alive. I look forward to attending some awesome events that will help us to fully embrace these technological developments,” says Moses.
‘Keep Learning’
Moses advises those at the helm of emerging businesses to be patient and to build their companies stage by stage. Business, he says, is not about quick returns and requires long term thinking and planning.
“Do as much research as you can, be practical, keep learning. There is no quick route to making money.
“Business is an ecosystem. Everything works well together so appreciate everyone, be passionate, be consistent and manage risk properly,” Moses explains.
