The ManicaPost
Hazel Makani
Post Correspondent
Hustling to create a better life for yourself while taking care of your household is a struggle that is often downplayed by our society.
That’s why in March we celebrate women’s achievements and their efforts to supersede societal expectations.
On that note, we introduce Ms Mercy Katerere, the recent winner of the Megafest Enterprising Woman Of The Year Award.
Ms Katerere is the founder of home decor company, Delvinbrit Homes. She is a woman who has truly outdone herself.
The award-winning Ms Katerere business wasn’t always as smooth as it now seems. After finishing her ‘O’ Levels, Ms Katerere went on to study electrical engineering for four years.
This career path landed her jobs as a technical salesperson for the next six years before she went back to school to study marketing and then coming back into formal employment.
During her years of formal employment, Ms Katerere would run side hustles to cover the income gap.
She started off selling second-hand handbags but had to leave that to her sister due to her demanding work schedule.
When she was able to pick up her hustles again in 2012, she ventured into buying and selling linen and Ms Katerere states that it was when she began to discover herself.
This led to her leaving the corporate industry for good in 2014 so that she could pursue entrepreneurship full-time.
One of the challenges in business is that not all stock arrives to you saleable to the customers so this unlocked yet another level of creativity for Ms Katerere as she began to repair and transform some of the items by herself.
She began making pillowcase sets out of bed linen or duvets and doing general repairs.
By 2016, the innovative woman was beginning to establish her niche in the home decor space.
In addition to sowing and selling her linen and pillows at open marketplaces on weekends, she started traveling overseas to source other products to complement what she was already selling.
This included curtains, home decor ornaments, fabrics, etcetera.
Her first employee also came into the picture at that stage and later in 2017 she hired more people to help with other areas in her growing business.
She managed to secure a bigger shop in Mutare. In 2018, the company was officially established.
One can easily realize what motivates the mom-cum-entrepreneur to do what she does as she named her enterprise after her two children, Delvin and Britney.
The enterprise continues to grow and Ms Katerere stated: “I’m still traveling, I’m still on my journey. I know I will get there!”
She is reaching beyond the stars as was made clear by the award she recently scooped at the Megafest Awards which exist to appreciate business and honor leaders who are demonstrating exceptional business acumen in all sectors.
They say when you follow your passion, success will follow you. This has been true for Ms Katerere.
“We expect to see Ms Katerere’s creativity and groundbreaking ideas continuing to grow Delvinbrit into an even bigger brand in the home decor space in the coming years.”
