Food lovers take note: there’s something saucy heating up the streets of Francistown. When life gave Batanani Sebetala chillies, she crushed them and made sauces, something she’s been doing with increasing success for the last three years.
Fed up with the long hours and poor pay, the Thamashanba native ditched her job as a security guard, digging into her pockets to start her own business, Meek Products, in 2022. Don’t be fooled by the name—there’s nothing meek about Sebetala’s sauces! “The name was given to me by the Holy Spirit—‘meek,’ simply meaning the character of our Lord, Jesus Christ,” she explains.
Recognising Sebetala’s winning formula, within a year, the government, through the Youth Development Fund (YDF), had given her P91,000 to take the enterprise forward. Working out of her home in Monarch, Phase 5, where chillies grow freely in the back garden, the 31-year-old whips up organic sauces with no preservatives. She produces a variety of fresh, zesty flavours, with lemon, garlic, ginger, and herbs as some of the key ingredients that feature heavily in her all-natural condiments.
However, it is Sebetala’s chilli sauces, ranging from sweet to mild, hot to extra hot, which are proving especially popular with heat-loving Francistowners craving a kick with their meal. “After harvesting the chilli, I crush it, dry it out, and preserve it with sea salt and olive oil,” reveals the young entrepreneur.
From Monday to Saturday without fail, Sebetala can be found at her small, colourful stall, set up outside Knockout Store on Blue Jacket Street. Her sauces, which are also stocked in several tuckshops in Monarch, certainly pack a knockout punch, adding fire and taste to even the blandest of meals—having tried the hot sauce, Voice Money can personally attest to this!
Apart from a blender, Sebetala does everything by hand, estimating she is in the kitchen once a week to blend a fresh batch of sauces. Although she normally works alone, she can hire up to three people when a big order arrives. “My clientele are individuals, churches, bars; anyone is a potential customer, really!” says the softly-spoken Sebetala, who sells her sauce, which comes in 350ml bottles, for P35. Customers also have the option of buying in bulk, with 12 bottles going for a special discounted price of P300.
Keen to keep her business moving, the Meek Products owner recently introduced a ‘gemere’ drink, perfect for cooling down hot tongues!
