If you’re a car fanatic as I sometimes consider myself to be, you have probably seen Top Gear several times, and check out cars when you are in the highway. I catch my breath every time I see a Navara, or a California Ferrari 2012 (on screen of course), and let’s not forget one time when I was in the back seat of a 2011 BMW 3 Series(320i); the speed, smell and thrill were amazing.
Honestly one thing you can trust me to do is be in awe when I see a beauty and that’s what happened when a friend posted what looked like a convertible jeep in white and red stripes. He later told me who remodelled the car and sent me their contact. This is where PIMP Malawi Motors come into the picture.
I went to their page on Facebook and to my surprise they have been remodelling, customising, and working on cars for some time now and the catchy red striped beauty was there and for sale at less than 2 million Kwacha. I then spoke to Mlinda Mudzi Kalua, the man behind PIMP Malawi Motors. At 33, he is an electrical and elctronics engineer by profession and an entrepreneur who decided to start this venture because he loves cars and because he had the idea of introducing spinning in Malawi as which is a South African motorsport that involves driving cars at high speed in circles and performing stunts in and out of the car.
When I asked about the people he works with, he emphasised on how the brand is a joint venture with several people crafting and working together, many of whom the company has trained. He believes in working with other people, and has customers in Kenya, South Africa and other parts of Malawi like Dedza. Mlinda’s passion for cars is something he learnt from his mother who taught him how to drive at the age of 14, and he has been driving ever since. Growing up around cars and having a knack for building, he decided to mix his passion and school knowledge and went into the motor business.
Although the business started as a group venture, Mlinda branched out and has grown from one branch to over 4 in the country, two branches in South Africa and one in Zambia with the prospect of a new one in Kenya. Apart from customising cars to add features like power banks and charging ports, rebuilding, painting and body swaps, they also offer pimping training for young people looking to get into the business. They also do charity work including paying school fees for selected needy students.
Mlinda also took time to study business administration so he can be both a creative and an entrepreneur. He cites Apple’s founders as his inspiration. Some of his notable work includes remodeling a car with a flame thrower system, a first of its kind in Malawi and in the spirit of recreating (with El camino in mind) they made the first El Gusheshe in the country which was sold for 2.5 million Kwacha and whose patent was also sold to the owner so the same version can not be recreated without the buyers approval. The El Gusheshe led them to be accredited internationally by BMW Car Culture, becoming the first motor sport company to get this recognition.
Pimp Malawi Motors is still aiming high, working to becoming the first in different designs and remodelling in the car industry but also creating a culture that values cars even when they are old vintage cars. Now to the most important question, when can we expect spinning in the country? Mlinda told me “maloto samatha” the dream is still alive and they are currently working with spinners from other countries to join the ones here to host a spinning show in the near future.
