Dr. Mejury Chipato is a Zimbabwean medical doctor and entrepreneur with multiple businesses. She owns ProMJ Incorporated Company and is the founder of the nonprofit Patience of Hope Foundation. She is also a pastor, a life and business coach, a mentor, a leader, and a published author of the book “I’m in charge of my Narrative.”
Under ProMJ Incorporated Company, she operates fashion businesses like MJ Fashions, MJ Bridals, House of MJ and Brand and Merjory transport businesses. Under MJ Fashions, she sells high-quality clothes for men and women.
Under MJ Bridals, she caters for weddings; under House of MJ, she provides African clothing and products and produces modern women’s classy and stylish shoes under Brand Merjory.
“We also deal with other lines of businesses such as transport, farming and agriculture, etc. Worthy of special mention is Brand Merjory which is a brand for stylish and classy shoes (red bottoms) for modern women,” she told thelionessesofafrica.
Chipato said she was inspired to start her company by her “humble beginnings”. Growing up, Chipato built the spirit of winning to change the narrative of her life, family, and her community as well as serve as a motivation and inspiration to other young people.
“I also noticed that in Zimbabwe and Africa at large, we have very few locally owned brands. For instance, in Zimbabwe, a few women like Pokello’s (who inspires me a lot) own a brand of shoes. As a result, the majority of things we wear are international brands like Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Gucci, etc. Few Zimbabweans have made it on the global stage in terms of fashion,” she noted. “Moreover, l am a shoe addict, hence it was easy to come into the decision of specializing into shoes.”
Her entrepreneurial journey started in 2017 when she was studying in China. According to her, she noticed that there were many factories that produced shoes and other products at an affordable rate and decided to take advantage of what she observed.
In 2019, she registered her company, ProMJ Incorporated Company in Zimbabwe together with her Foundation Trust (Patience of Hope Foundation). In 2020, she also started her brand for women’s stylish shoes, which are produced in China, and sold within China and outside China.
Chipato said she works with a team of highly professional people, from her Chinese counterparts who produce the shoes at the factory and ship them, to her team who are involved in the selling of the shoes. In addition, she also works with ladies of high influence who act as her brand ambassadors for her brand.
The entrepreneur said her plan is to establish shoe factories in Zimbabwe to provide jobs to the locals, equip people with practical knowledge and improve Zimbabwe’s economy. Recently, she was named the Zimbabwean Achievers Award Winner for Fashion Designer of the Year 2021 (China Edition). She was also listed as one of The Most Inspiring Women Awardees of 2022. Chipato further won The Young Achievers Award presented by the Pride of Africa Awards and received The Leadership & Inspiration Award from Gumiguru Achievers Awards 2022.
