Are you ready for the red wave? Join Milco below. Milco’s first store will be pop-up store at Sefika Complex in Maseru and will look something like what’s shown on had picture.
“The idea is to create a simple but modern design using the simplest local materials for the first store,” says Sibongile Lesiea, Milco Enthusiast. “The idea is to start small and set a stage to expand to other districts.”
By paying as little as M50 a month, you can part of Milco! Made In Lesotho CO-operative (MILCO) is the proposed chain-store that will sell ONLY Lesotho products and services. It will be three in one (1) Physical Store, (2) Online Store and (3) Wholesaler.
This legally registered cooperative is incubated under the National University of Lesotho (NUL) Innovation Hub. “As its name suggest, Milco is a game-changer,” Matasane said. It will be owned by Basotho and it will sell products made in Lesotho ONLY. Even more important you can join Milco TODAY!
1. HOW CAN I JOIN MILCO?
a) First, pay M100 to the following bank account:
Account Holder: Made In Lesotho Retail Cooperative Society Ltd
Bank Name: Standard Lesotho Bank
Account Number: 9080008250096
Branch: Roma Branch
In that M100, M50 is your registration fee. Another M50 is your minimum share capital. After paying this amount, you can send your Proof of Payment to the following WhatsApp number: +266 53764766.
b) You will then get a form which you will fill and return. In that form, you will show how much you need to have your bank account charged on a monthly basis. Each charge contributes to your increasing shares. For instance, M50 buys you one share each month (M100, two shares, M150, three shares, M500, ten shares and so on, each month). You must buy at least one share each month.
c) Milco is setting up a website that will make online registration simple.
2. WHO CAN JOIN?
a) You must be a citizen of Lesotho living in either Lesotho or any country in the world, (Lesotho’s Cooperative Act allows only Citizens to be members). Even babies can join Milco through their parents as long as they have valid IDs.
b) You must have a bank account in any of the Banks registered in Lesotho. Your contribution will be withdrawn from your account on a monthly basis. Bank charges for such withdrawals are involved e.g. (M15.79, for Standard Bank users). We are engaging mobile money platforms for those who prefer to use this option.
c) Why continuous buying of shares? Milco will establish medium scale stores all over the country and beyond. Continuous buying of shares will ensure there is enough capital for expansion.
3. HOW WILL MILCO OPERATE? IT WILL:
a) Concentrate all Lesotho products and services into one place in each district of Lesotho and in other countries.
b) Give Lesotho products and services the attention they deserve until they gain prominence by protecting them from external competition inside Milco.
c) Slowly professionalize, not only the products and services, but how they are produced and sold. Basotho producers will go beyond the hustling phase (boitšokoli).
d) Provide (whenever possible) producers with a means of transport of their products from their place of production to Milco space.
e) Be a vehicle to export Lesotho products to the outside world. Milco in Johannesburg means Lesotho products in Johannesburg.
4. HOW WILL MEMBERS BENEFIT?
a) Members also become shareholders. The amount of shareholding you contribute will relate to the amounts of dividends you will get once Milco starts making profits.
b) For the first time, you will have a chance to sell your products or services in a store that sells ONLY Lesotho products in s store owned by you.
4. WHY IS MILCO DIFFERENT?
a) It will not just be about selling Lesotho products and services. We are going to make Lesotho products and services cool to consumers.
b) Technology will be our life-blood. We have plans to use technology to the maximum.
c) As part of the NUL Innovation Hub, we will always be driven by innovation. We will always strive to come up with better ways of doing things at all times. Wait for the excitement!
5. CAN I REGISTER MY PRODUCTS WITH MILCO?
Yes! Check the details here:https://www.facebook.com/847853251970285/posts/4445331165555791/. Remember, you don’t need to have your products sold by Milco to be a member and you don’t need to be a member to have your products sold by Milco.
Yes, for the first time, you will see that, indeed, Lesotho can have its own amazing products and services when you see them all in one place and you see ONLY them!
