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George Maponga 

Masvingo Bureau

In the normally sleepy and ancient city of Masvingo, the name Boss Fidza is synonymous with a life of lavishness and a flourishing business empire whose epicentre is fuel retailing.

Born Phillip Mapfumo in 1978, Boss Fidza stands among his contemporaries as a towering figure when it comes to wealth, having made his mark in the fuel retail industry, formerly a preserve of white elites who at one time ruled the roost in the country’s oldest town.

His rags to riches story continues to inspire many people of his age and others of different backgrounds in Masvingo and beyond as it is testament to a triad of virtues namely discipline, humility and hard work.

Today, Boss Fidza, as is he affectionately known by his fast growing legion of admirers and loyalists, owns many buildings in the fledgling Masvingo Central Business District and is the poster boy of an emerging cast of young black business people who are powering the ancient city’s rapid expansion.

Besides owning several buildings in the CBD that he is reportedly renting out, the self-made fuel retail baron also owns a comfy home in the plush suburb of Rhodene on top of a fleet of luxurious vehicles headlined by a 2022 model GR Sport 300 Landcruiser that cost anything north of US$180 000.

 This is perhaps the first such car on the Zimbabwean shores.

Affable, unassuming and always wearing a broad smile, the rotund and jovial Boss Fidza is now the undisputed face of the fuel industry in the ancient city.

 So close is his attachment and long association with fuel that Masvingo’s most famous and undoubtedly first US dollar millionaire has earned himself the moniker “Fidza Dhiziri” by his huge band of fanatics and followers.

Boss Fidza now owns three state of the art fuel service stations across the city – namely Doczine Unity Road, Doczine Peppler and Doczine Sisk – that are all never short of fuel be it diesel, petrol or paraffin, with the facilities open for business 24 hours every day.

His simplicity and down to earth demeanour continues to confound foes and allies alike despite the vast business empire that he has built in slightly over a decade. So simple and mundane is Boss Fidza that it is not surprising to see the Doczine Petroleum founder sometimes personally serving customers fuel at one of his outlets across the city whenever his workers are overwhelmed.

The cheerful and exuberant moneybag’s simplicity belies the vast riches that he has accumulated today from the time he started selling fuel in modesty 200-litre containers back in 2008. During this hyper inflationary era, he was selling petrol, diesel and paraffin in hard currency, taking advantage of shortages that were blighting the economy.

This took an even brighter turn in 2009 when the economy fully dollarised as he started importing bigger volumes of fuels into the country and from then on he never looked back.

He was born at Hampstead Farm in the Gokomere small-scale farming area, and is the only male in a family of five siblings.

“My upbringing was never easy and I think that played a huge part in shaping me into the person that I am today,” said Boss Fidza. “Sometimes I walked 7km to school and the same distance to go back home in Gokomere where I was born and raised. 

“On a brighter day I would cycle the same distance to school and I must admit it was not easy.”

His two colleagues, Mr Henry Mupiruki and Mr Tinashe Mutambara, who started selling fuel together with him in 2008 are still with him at Doczine.

“From the year 2008, my business experienced exponential growth and has been expanding to where I am today,” said Boss Fidza. “I have bigger plans with Doczine Petroleum, we want to expand to all corners of the province and even spread our tentacles outside Masvingo province.” 

Boss Fidza has four Mercedes Benz (Mirrorless) modern tanker trucks that supply fuel to his service stations and other big customers dotted around Zimbabwe. 

To show his passion for his work he even has one Mercedes Benz tanker truck that he exclusively drives himself.

He also played a leading role in designing building plans for his fuel service stations, having personally gone on a learning mission in South Africa.

“I believe there are vast opportunities for us to commit more bricks to build our country because this is our home,” said Boss Fidza. “Just like what the President His Excellency Dr Mnangagwa always says, “nyika inovakwa nevene vayo”, the onus is on us to continue developing our country for the benefit of present and future generations.”

Boss Fidza is also a philanthropist and believes in uplifting communities where his business ventures are domiciled.

Besides periodically assisting with fuel to ferry the sick to hospital or to help mourners attend funerals of their loved ones, especially in Sisk suburb, Boss Fidza’s humble upbringing shaped him into a person with a special place in his heart for the downtrodden.

“I grew up under difficult conditions and the yearning of a better life drives me to work harder for my children and family,” he said. “We always plough back in the communities where we operate because we believe in mutually beneficial relationships.” 

At Doczine Sisk located in one of the oldest suburbs in dusty Mucheke, Boss Fidza drilled a borehole where residents from the community around form a beeline during anytime of the day to fetch the precious commodity, which is always in short supply in the ancient city owing to familiar stories of pump breakdowns and burst pipes.

“This borehole (at Doczine Sisk) does not belong to us only, it belongs to the Sisk community and anyone who wants is free to come and fetch water anytime,” he said. “This is part of our duty and responsibility to the community where we operate in.” 

On why he sometimes takes over the fuel pump and directly serves customers at his service stations, Boss Fidza says customers are kings and should not be inconvenienced by waiting for too long.

“Personally serving my customers at the pump sometimes helps me to hear directly complains and grievances so that we attend to them and our business to continues growing,” he said.

The high-riding fuel tycoon credits his family, particularly his wife, for urging him on and giving him strength and conviction to enable him to reach the dizzy heights he is on today.

Read more on www.herald.co.zw