Lesly Marange, founder and CEO of Glytime Foods
“Entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted,” says Lesly Marange, founder and chief executive of Glytime Foods, a Zimbabwean producer of granola and other food products. “It’s a game of patience, it’s a game of resilience, it’s a game of hard work, it’s a game of strategy, it’s a game of partnerships, it’s a game of attitude.”
Marange started Glytime in 2018, producing the company’s first products in his own kitchen. Since then, he has navigated a series of obstacles, from inflation and erratic power supply to lost funds and operational setbacks.
“We cannot stop going to war because of the terrain,” he says, reflecting on the numerous hurdles he has faced. “We need to go to war regardless of how rough the terrain is.”
Today, Glytime’s products are manufactured at several commercial factories in Harare and stocked by major retailers including TM Pick n Pay, Food Lover’s Market, Zapalala Supermarkets and Bon Marché. The company has also expanded into Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique, and now employs 180 people.
Marange describes strategy as an iterative process: “If you ask me the right definition of strategy, strategy is a series of tried and failed efforts, but in the process identifying which is the best way to optimise whatever you need to achieve.”
The demands of steering the business leave him little downtime. “Running a business is a big thing,” he notes. “I don’t have too much latitude to be playing around.”
Still, he plans to take a sabbatical once certain business goals are met. “I’ve been in overdrive,” he says. “Trying to push, push, push, push, push.”
Read our earlier interview with Lesly Marange: Entrepreneur braves multiple obstacles to build food company
