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Victor Maphosa
“One day, I read a poster inscribed, “Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and look forward to what could go right,”  These few but many words became a source of inspiration which acted like a catalyst in Phillip Marova’s newly found territory.”

The above insertion motivated a young man from Chitungwiza, into windscreen chip repairing business.

Before he ventured into his now flourishing business, Philip Marova was first gripped with the diaspora fever and crossed Limpopo River into “eJoza”, to put it into the youth diction referring to South Africa, in search of greener pastures.

Let me be clear here, Marova did not cross through the crocodile infested dark waters of the great Limpopo River. He used his valid passport which allowed him to stay legally in South Africa.

He landed a job at Combined Motor Holdings, in Durban and he did not waste time to realise that windscreen chips can be repaired successfully.

What drove him the most was the benefits which comes with repairing the chips to the environment.

“After one of my colleagues, a white guy who owns a panel beating workshop in Durban introduced me to the idea of repairing chips, I did not waste time, I enrolled at one of the organisations which trains people on those areas.”

“What I discovered during the training even motivated me, you see — when a windscreen is hit by a stone and develops a chip, the chip easily develop into a crack and eventually the whole screen needs replaced.

“By replacing, it means the windscreen is removed and thrown away, it is this part which caught my attention, the screen is made of glass and that glass would be thrown into the environment where it causes a lot of harm to it, so  I realised that I will save the environment at the same time earning a good living,” he said.

Having completed the course in chip repairing, Marova thought of investing back home, where he knew there was a ready market thirsty for his skills.

In 2016, armed with the skills bound to change his life at the same time saving the environment, he formed the PHIL-IT Windscreen Repair Centre in Borrowdale, Harare.

This reporter met the windscreen “technician” in one of the elite garages in Harare and was amazed with the way the young man was restoring a chipped screen into a clear and “user friendly” to the driver.

This reporter had a fine talk with the technician who was very much willing to tell him about his special work.

“Before founding PHIL-IT Windscreen Repair Centre in Zimbabwe, I worked in South Africa under CMH Group at the same time doing a course in repairing windscreen chips, I was certified as a windscreen repair technician.

“I told myself I would use my skills back home and in 2016 founded PHIL-IT Windscreen Repair Centre — Harare after realising that there is need for a mobile, cost effective but above all environmentally friendly alternative to windscreen replacements.

“At first it was a challenge to penetrate the market since I was introducing a new concept but as time went on, I made it.  To date I have repaired thousands of windscreens. Repairs of chips take between 20 and 30 minutes and we usually go to where our clients need our services.

Marova said his services contribute much in making the environment healthy as disposal of broken glass affects the soil which in turn affects growth of vegetation.

He said this year they have already embarked on an awareness campaign to educate vehicle owners of the importance of repairing chips and not replacing it by disposing into the environment.

The campaign is dubbed, “Lets go green.”

“A chip compromises the strength of your windscreen which then negatively impacts on your vehicle’s body strength. A properly repaired chip on your screen restores the windscreen to its original manufactured strength.

He added, “The sooner the chip is repaired the better. Most people do not know that chips are repairable, they will leave them to grow into cracks and then replace the whole windscreen.

“It is important to get a chip repaired as soon as possible to reduce the amount of moisture and dirt entering it for these increase the chances of the chip to develop into cracks.”

Today, Marova is earning a decent living and his business is booming, at the same time participating immensely in making the environment a healthy place to live in.