Startup Story
Rukudzo Hillary Mukwenha is the founder of Hilsmag Corporation Private Limited, a research-based housekeeping solutions company in Zimbabwe providing solutions for both consumers and job seekers. She is also a passionate mother of four. Rukudzo is extremely motivated to constantly develop her skills and learn something new every day. She has an unapologetic interest in serving and empowering other young girls and women hence setting up of Hilsmag. She has managed to create a working value chain within her business which has been in operation since 2020. Rukudzo is a holder of a Bachelor of Accounting Sciences in Financial Accounting as well as a Human Resource Management Diploma from IPMZ. She is also a member of Junior Chamber International, Lionesses of Africa and PROWEB. The business has 6 employees.
LoA chatted to Rukudzo Mukwenha about the inspiration for launching her business and her vision for the future.
What does your company do?
Hilsmag is a research-based housekeeping solutions company with 4 units – retail of cleaning products, cleaning services, training and recruitment of domestic workers and cleaners. The 4 units housed under Hilsmag feed into each other creating a one stop shop not only for consumers but for job seekers. The company has enjoyed steady growth based upon forward integration. The retail unit supplies local, UK and South African specialty cleaning products and cleaning equipment to consumers. 90% of the products are vegan, cruelty-free and eco-friendly as we believe in supporting a green global future.
Our training focuses on capacity building of women from the marginalized communities. Domestic work is largely looked down upon as no special skills are needed for employment. This is the narrative we are changing by upskilling the workers through continuous training programs such as Communication and Emotional Intelligence, Housekeeping and Grooming and Etiquette. The recruitment unit assists job seekers to find jobs, these registered workers usually feed into the cleaning services unit which ensures they have access to either full time or part time work. This unit is licensed by the Ministry Of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. Our cleaning services unit serves both the residential and corporate clients.
“I have a passion for assisting people to move from a place of despair to a place of hope.”
“Hilsmag is unique in that it is a one-stop-shop housekeeping solutions company which is able to offer cleaning services, recruitment and training services under the same roof as well as a retail unit for cleaning products.”
What inspired you to start your company?
I have a passion for assisting people to move from a place of despair to a place of hope. I noticed that most jobs in the informal sector are characterized by extremely low pay and unbearable working conditions. Domestic work presents an opportunity for work to females without an education. However, domestic workers and cleaners have not been spared from the unbearable working conditions and their work is frowned upon. They also struggle to initially get into employment, sometimes employment fails to last as the work quality is also poor.
There is lack of access to decent work in Zimbabwe for domestic workers and/or cleaners. Over 40% of households in the country employ domestic workers and 90% of companies’ employ cleaners. The challenge is three pronged – lack of access to the skilled labour for employers (recruitment and training), lack of access to the job market for the employees (training and cleaning services) and lack of necessary skills usually leading to abuse and poor working conditions (training). There is no formal training required for one to become a domestic worker or cleaner in Zimbabwe. The above problems have brought about issues such as increase in poverty, increase in gender-based violence, increase in crime rates and lack of social safety nets.
I have a keen eye for dirt, and throughout my professional career I noticed that there is a gap in cleaning standards whether in the homes or in the offices. It’s this gap that we also seek to close and by merging my two passions I decided to set up Hilsmag. The importance of a clean environment is often overlooked until there is threat to health or depreciation of assets.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
Hilsmag is unique in that it is a one stop shop housekeeping solutions company which is able to offer cleaning services, recruitment and training services under the same roof as well as a retail unit for cleaning products. The interlinked services will ensure that all job seekers are well capacitated and employment is almost guaranteed through the cleaning services unit and retail stores of the same company.
Secondly, Hilsmag offers cleaning services carried out by trained workers as opposed to casual inexperienced workers. All the workers under Hilsmag have access to continuous training which ensures that they are able to maintain a high standard of cleaning as well as professionalism.
“It’s so key to have a buy-in of the vision from team members as a business can only grow to the level of the employees and their understanding of where the business wants to get to.”
Tell us a little about your team
Our team is made up of an Administrator, two Training and Development Officers, two Sales Executives and a Managing Director.
Our Administrator, Tanaka Jinjika, deals with the day-to-day enquiries of the business, all administrative issues and ensuring that the jobseekers and client database is kept up to date. In her spare time, she likes enjoying great food and different lifestyle events.
Our Training and Development Officers handle all the training enquiries and ensure a smooth onboarding process for training clients. One lady, Edna Masvingise, holds a Bachelor of Social Science Honours with majors in Law and Sociology and is very keen on community development issues and Talent Mbama who grew up in the Harare Children’s Home holds a Bachelor of Human Resource Management from Midlands State University. Talent is a driven young lady who is passionate about defying the odds.
The Sales Executives, Graham and Easter are currently stationed in the retail unit and their main responsibility is to market the cleaning supplies and ensure an unforgettable customer experience.
The Managing Director is responsible for developing and executing the Hilsmag strategic business plan, overseeing all the units, building and maintaining a good relationship with all stakeholders and overseeing the financial performance of the company.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
My entrepreneurial journey has been extremely insightful so far, a lot of learning from a lot of mistakes! I was inspired to take a leap of faith and become an entrepreneur after I travelled to Estonia in the summer of 2019 and met many young people running sustainable businesses so it was really more of an epiphany rather than a long-term plan! I always wanted to help women from the marginalized community but I did not foresee the challenges that would come with wanting to change the status quo. In the first year we started we were interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic which slowed down the operations immensely. Fortunately, the business still had a one employee who was myself and virtually no fixed costs so largely I spent the first half of 2020 trying to establish the recruitment unit, running free training programs for domestic workers and building the database of job seekers. In the second half of 2020 I added a third shareholder and director to the business and this took a load off my shoulders. Being an accountant by profession, I quickly realized that I lacked the pertinent skills needed to run a recruitment agency and carry out effective training so in 2021 I took up a Human Resource Management Diploma with the Institute of Personal Management of Zimbabwe.
In 2021 I found myself having to refine the business model and offer services that I had not initially intended to. These were the cleaning services. I discovered that adding the cleaning services would ensure a value chain in the business as we could leverage on the access to labour through the recruitment unit. As an entrepreneur I discovered that ideation is as a process that can come even from the existing clients as they are also able to see opportunities that we might have missed out on. Cleaning Services was one such opportunity.
My biggest lesson in 2021 was the importance of the right talent acquisition. It’s so key to have a buy-in of the vision from team members as a business can only grow to the level of the employees and their understanding of where the business wants to get to. As a business we also became a member of the Small and Medium Enterprise Association of Zimbabwe to benefit from trainings and networking opportunities.
This year has been another year of discovery. I now have 6 employees and a 4th unit which is a retail unit launched on the 11th of July. It has been a very busy year but we are grateful of the milestones reached. As a growing entrepreneur I continue to look for ways in which I can improve my business management skills so I applied for the African Women Entrepreneurship Cooperative (AWEC) Cohort 5 and was accepted into the program. AWEC a 12-month, high-touch leadership and management training program that empowers women from across Africa with the skills and network needed to establish and grow their businesses. The program has been life altering and I am able to implement all lessons learnt to the running of the business.
I didn’t come from an entrepreneurial background; my mother and father are both teachers by profession. They have been so amazing in supporting my journey. My passion for training and upskilling domestic workers definitely comes from both of them so I guess to a large extent I am also a teacher! At one point my father worked as a part time cleaner to raise funds for his Master’s Program. He was extremely meticulous in his approach to cleaning that he managed to impress someone who then funded part of his studies. This attention to detail certainly rubbed off on me as well and is much appreciated the cleaning industry.
“My vision for Hilsmag is to have it be positioned as a market leader in the cleaning industry through implementation of sustainable solutions that are environment friendly.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
I intended to have capacitated the cleaning services unit by 40% of the equipment needed by end of 2022, and 100% by end 2023. This will enable the business to provide indirect employment to at least 600 women annually, i.e., 50 women per month both full time and part time employment. Equipment and the training on the equipment will ensure we are positioned to secure long term contacts with different corporates. Currently we are working to secure the funding needed for this equipment.
For the training unit we plan to set up a fully-fledged training school by June 2024 that is able to provide formal training to domestic workers and cleaners. Our recruitment unit will also be launching a mobile application by Q4 2023 to ensure a smooth process of matching between residential clients and job seekers.
The retail unit is working to become a one stop shop for all cleaning products including pool care and car care. To support the BUY ZIMBABWE campaign and also local industry we will further add to the value chain by introducing our own manufactured cleaning products which will be made using local raw materials.
My vision for Hilsmag is to have it be positioned as a market leader in the cleaning industry through implementation of sustainable solutions that are environment friendly and also through community engagement. Hilsmag will be the number 1 preferred employer for females looking for a career in the cleaning industry.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
A life that has been transformed through contact with our organization gives me the most satisfaction. Our recruitment unit is called Shanduko - meaning change. The whole organization is premised on the value of service. Service to those who might not be able to give us any reward, but we are able to transform their lives for the better. As an entrepreneur I view success as the number of lives that I have transformed. Being able to build a profitable business that will stand the test of time also means that the business is resourced enough to transform more lives each day through provision of training and jobs.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Have a clear vision before you start your business. Its normal to have different people offering advice and trying to assist with ideas so what will help you know what to take and what to throw away is having a clear-cut vision. I do not believe in drawing up an elaborate business plan but something basic before you start is enough as the market with show you that your business is viable or not. Be willing to learn and unlearn along the way. Always research about your offering. Even after you start running the business it is important to stay up to date with industry knowledge not just locally but globally as well, this helps you to stay relevant in your own business.
Contact or follow Hilsmag Corporation
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL hillary@hilsmag.com
Why LoA loves it….
They say that if you want to make a difference to the lives of others, and create opportunities for decent employment, you have to look for a gap in the market to start an impact driven business. That’s just what Rukudzo Hillary Mukwenha, founder of Hilsmag Corporation Private Limited, has done with her one-stop-shop housekeeping solutions company. She has managed to create a working value chain within her business which empowers other young girls and women and transforms lives. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa