Office-to-Office: Mobile Vendors, Silently Thriving!

A midst life’s difficulties, some business people have taken the initiative to brave the odds by taking their business to the clients rather than wait for them in their shops. Entre­ preneurs like Majolie Ngono who deals in breakfast snacks, carry a transparent box filled with cassava and corn fritters from one office to the other. She has a large clien­ tele and has been in this line of trade for about five years. She visits approximately four admi­ nistrative offices per day, and so­ metimes she makes a profit of FCFA 5,000 to 10,000 depending on the type of customers she meets. She admits that she makes her best sales on weekdays be­ cause offices are open. Other vendors, like Florence Fongo move around offices with sweet treats such as biscuits, chocolates, chewing gum and even female clothing while also advertising her mobile money services. She explained that at the office of the Supreme Court, on a peak day like the swearing-in ceremony of students from the National School of Administration and Ma­ gistracy (ENAM), she makes sales of approximately FCFA 70,000 due to the heavy influx of parents and students. After leaving uni­ versity, Florence Fongu was una­ ble to secure a job. The petit trade, she explained, is what has kept her family afloat. Having been in this business for close to 15 years, she believes th...