Aventina Amélia Biza

Aventina´s business is located in the 3rd de Fevereiro district of Maputo, about 20 minutes away from the center of the city and next to the enormous, busy marketplace called Xiquelene. While the chapa drops the loan officer and me off in Xiquelene (it seems like all the buses in Maputo stop here!), we choose to walk the 2 miles or so to her home as waiting in the lines for chapas that take us closer to her neighbourhood will take us longer than simply walking. We arrive at her business selling a variety of drinks and refreshments, and I have to say that I am truly impressed! It´s located within a quiet cluster of other restaurants and similar businesses selling drinks, but her business is enormous compared to the others I have visited in the past – encompassing three different rooms, one where she sells the drinks, another a seating area, and yet another with a pool table. It´s a lazy Saturday afternoon, quiet, and while many of the other restaurants are empty, her own seating area has a number of customers and she greets us warmly as we sit down so I can learn a little more about her business and life.

Aventina has been running this business selling drinks such as beer, wine, juice, and soda to local customers for 15 years. She has the beer delivered to her every Monday and Friday by a local factory, and she purchases the other drinks from a warehouse in Xiquelene, travelling there to restock weekly. Her most popular product with the locals is the beer she offers, and she sells beer by the bottle as well as by the glass. Prices range from 25 Meticais for a bottle of wine to 9 for a can of coke, and she charges 5 meticias per person, per game for the pool table. She is using her current loan specifically on increasing the stock of drinks in her business, and explains that business, interestingly, fluctuates depending on whether it is the middle of the month or the end of the month. Because people are generally paid at the end of the month, business tends to be quite strong and just from Friday to Sunday, she can sell 5000 Meticias in drinks (people also buy drinks from her in bulk)!

Her past loans with FDM have been essential in allowing her to expand and grow her business – the first loan allowing her to experience a growth in profits large enough to open a savings account, and the second, to repair the roof over the area with the pool table (which would leak when it rained). This is currently her third loan, and she hopes to continue using the next loan on augmenting her business, though the use depends on inventory prices and how business goes during December.

Aventina is 36 years old, and while the business description states that she is married, she is the single mother of two children (ages 16 and 18). Both her children are currently attending school, and while they are on break, they enjoy helping her with her business because it gives them the chance to both help and spend time with their friends. When I ask Aventina if there are any particular problems her business is facing at the moment, she explains that she has been running this business for so long, that she rarely faces difficulties. As I described before, Aventina has had this business for 15 years, and she explains that initially, she began only with the small room filled with drinks. With time, she was able to buy her neighbors stand and expand the business to add the seating area and more storage room. Then, she was able to buy the next stand next door and open the pool table area! Needless to say, Aventina is a true businesswoman, and I feel lucky to have been able to get the chance to talk to her.