The cut flower market in the Middle East and Africa is expected to grow from $1.5 billion in 2019 to $1.9 billion by 2027, per research. It is documented that East African countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, and Mozambique are the most interested in the floriculture industry.
For many people, their interest in the sector is born out of passion. One such person is Mozambican entrepreneur Gita Langa, who has turned her passion for flowers into a flourishing business enterprise. Langa owns Floural, a specialist business in Mozambique offering beautiful flower arrangements and floral gifts to customers in the country. Besides her passion for flowers, she was inspired to venture into the field by a desperate friend who wanted to create a gift for his girlfriend.
“It was on a Sunday, there were not too many options in Nampula city, so I decided to go around with him picking some items to prepare a special gift, including flowers. On that occasion, I got the idea to open a flower business,” she recalled in an interview with the Lionessesofafrica.
Venturing into the field of entrepreneurship is not surprising for Langa as she comes from a family of entrepreneurs.
“I used to play and laugh at my father as he was always creating a new business. One day, I realized that I am just like him. My head never stops, always creating, imagining, dreaming, it’s just unbelievable,” she recounted.
After helping her friend prepare a gift for his girlfriend on their 1st anniversary, she said her first flower bouquet was so perfect that she decided to start the business selling in the Mozambican city of Nampula where she was living in 2008. She started by selling particularly for special occasions such as Women’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and Christmas.
In 2018, she decided to expand her business to give meaning to the Floural slogan — “More than Flowers”. Langa did this by introducing aroma diffusers to her range of products and other gift sets.
“This was always my vision, to add something else that could make a perfect match with our beautiful flowers,” she said.
Last December, she said she had opened a store at Serena Polana Hotel, an exterior building in Julius Nyerere Av. that was still under development. She opened this store in partnership with Mafastela, a talented eyewear business.
For those who want to become entrepreneurs like Langa, her advice is to “remove the elephant that is blocking your dream.” Also, she wants new entrepreneurs to start slowly and not compare themselves to others.
Langa has a background in Auditing, Compliance and Business Management and a full-time job as Global Compliance Manager in an International non-profit organization.
