Two brothers launch their own fight against the coronavirus

At only 21 and 22-years-old, brothers Choolwe Chipala and Patrick Chipala are gearing up for mass production of their Zambian made, UTH approved, hand sanitizers, in hopes of helping in the fight against the infamous COVID-19.

21-year-old Choolwe Chipala on theft, with his bother, 22-year-old Patrick Chipala holding their hand sanitizers

The pair, one with a background in Chemistry and the other Business Administration, initially launched their product in 2018 as a pilot project to fight the cholera outbreak that left close to  5,900 Zambians sick and 114 dead. But with high import costs on their key ingredient, ethanol, they were forced to put their product on hold.

The Chipala's hand sanitizer

“When we had this in 2018, it was a bit hard for us to get the raw materials like ethanol. You get 2.5 liters at approximately 550 kwacha. And if you produce this, you actually don’t make anything.” Patrick said.

It wasn’t until last month when the brothers, urged by the aggressive spread of the coronavirus, decide to revamp production on a mass scale.

Their product even drew the interest of Lusaka Mayor Miles Sampa.

Patrick and Choolwe meeting Lusaka Mayor Miles Sampa, on March 20

“He called us to his office and asked to check out the product. When he saw the product, he advertised the product for us on his page.” Choolwe said, describing the moment he met Mayor Sampa in person for the first time.

Now with the government’s decision to suspend taxes on foreign goods like ethanol, Choolwe and Patrick say they’ll be able to produce more sanitizers at a cheaper rate for a lower price. 

“It was a really good move because we are now able to get the ethanol, 2.5 liters, at 300 kwacha.” Patrick said.

 Already they’ve slashed their prices from 20 kwacha to 10 kwacha making their sanitizers one of the cheapest on the market.

“Our clients are mostly based in Copperbelt. We are exporting more of the hand-sanitizers to Copperbelt because of the lack back there.” Patrick said.

Patrick says more than 100 people, in Lusaka alone, have already bought their product and hundreds more in places like Mazabuka, Kitwe, Kafue, and Kapiri Mposhi.

The goal is to empower and reach as many communities as possible at a time when finances get tighter, critical goods like sanitizers get more expensive, and as more cases of COVID-19 are detected in Zambia.

By: Niza Nondo