STORY: Zambia youth shift to motorbike courier business to make ends meet
DATELINE: July 15, 2023
LENGTH: 00:03:09
LOCATION: Lusaka
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the riders
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinyanja): STEVEN HANG'ANDU, Vice-Chairman of the Downtown Bikers
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinyanja): GIFT NYIRONGO, Rider
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinyanja): GIFT NYIRONGO, Rider
5. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): VINCENT SIACHIYASA, Rider
6. SOUNDBITE 5 (Chinyanja): ACRAS MAPULANGA, Rider
7. SOUNDBITE 6 (English): DIANA MWANGALA, Rider

STORYLINE:

As formal jobs continue to elude many young people in Zambia, some young people have decided to find alternative ways of earning incomes through the informal sector.

Some have since joined the highly growing business of providing courier services using motorbikes, which is slowly gaining popularity in Lusaka, the country's capital.

A visit to Downtown Mall, one of the popular shopping malls in the city, found a group of young people at the back of the mall with their motorbikes waiting for customers.

Some of the young people own motorbikes while others have been employed by people to provide motorbike courier services.

With increased congestion on roads in Lusaka, motorbikes are proving to be the fastest way to travel as they can easily meander through the congestion, a situation that is making the motorbike courier business a success.

The bikers deliver goods, clothes, food and any other thing the client wants to be delivered, with the fees depending on the distance.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinyanja): STEVEN HANG'ANDU, Vice-Chairman of the Downtown Bikers
"We have many bikers now because people feel that this is the business to enter in. People now prefer using motorbikes because they are cheap to maintain, fast and not affected by congestion."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinyanja): GIFT NYIRONGO, Rider
"So I decided to join this industry so that I can start pushing certain things for my personal development."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinyanja): GIFT NYIRONGO, Rider
"This business is about trust. Once the customer trusts you, they will start sending you to deliver goods for them. They will even recommend you to other customers."

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): VINCENT SIACHIYASA, Rider
"I started riding a bike six months ago after facing challenges of finding a job, as you know jobs are hard to find in this country."

SOUNDBITE 5 (Chinyanja): ACRAS MAPULANGA, Rider
"I would like to appeal to the government of Zambia to help us deal with scammers who usually target us when it comes to online payments."

The riders have also appealed to the government to assist them with loans to get motorbikes as some of them were just working for other people.

The motorbike courier business has increased in the Zambian capital and the business has also attracted companies that provide ride-hailing taxis, with some buying motorbikes and employing people to do deliveries.

SOUNDBITE 6 (English): DIANA MWANGALA, Rider
"So far so good. The business is OK, at the company we are given parcels to deliver to different companies."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Lusaka.
(XHTV)