Impact story
Sweet success: How ILO training supported an enterprise to grow
Yollanda Mambeu's pastry shop, Yoyo’s Yummy Cakes and Baking Supplies, has become a household name in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Since opening her first shop in the high-density suburb of Dangamvura after COVID, her business has seen phenomenal growth
3 April 2025
Mutare (ILO News) - Yoyo’s Yummy Cakes and Baking Supplies, has become a household name in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Since opening her first shop in the high-density suburb of Dangamvura after COVID, Yollanda Mambeu's confectionery business has seen phenomenal growth. By January 2024, she had registered her business and opened a second outlet in the city centre. Her client base grew from 300 in September 2023 to 1200 by September 2024, a result of her strategic marketing efforts, including securing slots on a local radio talk show for small enterprises.
The opening up of business after the lockdown saw her business grow. She secured contracts to supply confectioneries to various entities, including a bank, the country's revenue authority, and a non-governmental organization. To meet the growing demand, she invested in a heavy-duty mixer and oven from China, valued at $2500. Her business now also supplies baking ingredients, tools, party supplies, spices, cake toppers, balloon stands, and edible printing for wholesale.
This diversification has made my business resilient and enabled it to thrive during tough times.
Yollanda Mambeu
"I realised I could not rely on just one business model, so I expanded my offerings to include ready-made cakes alongside customer orders. This diversification has made my business resilient and enabled it to thrive during tough times."
Yollanda turned the Covid-19 challenge into an opportunity. During the challenging and quiet times of the COVID-19 pandemic, she used the long lockdown hours to refine her baking hobby. The presence of her family at home due to the pandemic, provided a readily available 'group of experts' that critiqued and gave feedback on the variety of pastries she was attempting to refine and master to fulfil her dream.
The role of the IYB and SURE training
Yollanda attributes her growth to the 'Sustainable and Resilient Enterprise' (SURE) program and the 'Improve Your Business' (IYB) training, both part of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Sustainable Enterprise Development of Women and Youth initiative. This initiative, funded by the African Development Bank's Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Multi-Donor Trust Fund, aims to promote business growth and create decent job opportunities in Zimbabwe.
The SURE programme taught Yollanda the importance of crisis preparedness, leading her to diversify her product line. The IYB training helped her enhance market visibility and branding, resulting in a significant increase in her profit margin from $1000 to almost $4000 a month, with peak periods bringing in up to $5000.
Yoyo’s Yummy Cakes and Baking Supplies now uses a point-of-sale system for accurate record-keeping, helping to track every sale and expense. Yollanda's vision for the future includes expanding her venture into a full bakery, an expanded wholesale shop, and a thriving enterprise.
Yollanda emphasizes quality, earning her clients' trust and loyalty.
My goal is to impact as many people as possible
"My goal is to impact as many people as possible. With the growth my business is experiencing, I believe we are well on our way to becoming a household name across Manicaland - and hopefully Zimbabwe as a whole," she concludes with optimism
Not happy with keeping her knowledge and skills in baking to herself, Yollanda started some baking workshops with 25 bakers. She has now train over 100 people aged between 20 and 40 years, with plans to train more than 250 bakers in upcoming sessions. The workshops have now been extended to smaller towns close to Mutare, thereby impacting more people and solidifying her business venture.