A jobless Zimbabwean-has hit a jackpot in the UK after he won £300,000 worth of orders for his homemade shampoo and skin oil. Wellingt...
A jobless Zimbabwean-has hit a jackpot in the UK after he won
£300,000 worth of orders for his homemade shampoo and skin oil.
Wellington Chaparadza, a father of four arrived in the UK
in 2002 and had been unemployed for years.
Chaparadza, from Wolverhampton, was brought up by his
grandmother and has her to thank for the astonishing success story.
He won a scholarship for underprivileged children run by
the Zimbabwean President’s wife, which allowed him to study in Cuba, Russia and
the UK and saw him start a chemistry PhD at Keele University, which could not
be finished through lack of funds.
Down on his luck, he recalled seeing his grandmother use
Maheu to clean pots and pans. He decided to use his chemistry skills to
investigate the phenomenon.
He used some of its contents, such as lactic acid, and
added others while developing a personalised fermentation process in a bid to
develop environmentally friendly natural shampoos, soaps and cleaning products
Chaparadza mixed a string of different formulae at home
before accidentally hitting the jackpot by spilling some of the latest
concoction onto the kitchen floor.
When he wiped it away he realised the dirt had disappeared
with it. He recalled: “It was trial and error. From that moment I knew that I
had cracked it but had no business experience.”
He contacted Wolverhampton-based employment and skills
charity Access to Business. Their advisors gave him assistance on development,
branding, marketing and dealing with distributors.
Its chief executive Josie Kelly said: “We saw he had
fantastic products.” They introduced him to Jay Patel from Wolverhampton Growth
Hub, which is supported by the city council and Wolverhampton University.
He helped with product trial runs, pricing structures and
marketing strategy, while also helping him to find a unit on the Sunbeam
Industrial Estate under the BC AIM Project and will now assist Wellington apply
for a Black Country Gold grant to mechanise the plant.
Patel said: “He was using natural materials and once he
dipped a dirty coin in the solution and it came out shiny clean I knew he was
onto something big.
“Once he starts getting regular orders he can begin taking
people on.”
Chaparadza, who lives in Ettingshall, said: “It has been
hard for the past few years but now I am very happy. They have all been very
helpful. Without them this would have been a dream lost.”
He will showcase his products at the Access to Business
‘Spring Into Enterprise’ event at The Hayward Suite at the Molineux Stadium at
10.30am on March 22 and the Black Country Chamber Business Festival at the same
venue on May 3. Express and Star
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