The 2010 Fifa World Cup presented many opportunities, and it inspired entrepreneurs to start businesses.
Kaffa Hoist and Sherberts is one of the many businesses that were started during the 2010 World Cup.
The business operates as mobile café in Honeydew, Johannesburg. The founder of the business, Bulumko Govuza, used to work as an investment analyst before she seized a new business opportunities during the 2010 World Cup.
Initially, she wanted to open a restaurant but due to financial constraints, she started a mobile café instead.
“My father had multiple businesses and I realised that his food business was bringing him consistent income throughout the year,” said Govuza.
She had to find a competitive and innovative business model because the food industry is dominated by multinational food companies.
“We started with only R15,000 from a credit card and, now we have assets worth over R200,000,” she said.
The idea that starting a business in the food sector requires a lot of money is not necessarily true, one can start small and grow from there.
Kaffa Hoist and Sherberts is a mobile café that specialise in selling sandwiches, boerewors rolls, pastries, coffee and smoothies.
By running a mobile café, Govuza saves on paying expensive rent in a fixed building and gives her business flexibility to diversify offerings. “We are unique because we are able to do pop-ups at parties, events, office end-of-year functions or anywhere where food is required,” explained Govuza.
The ability to grab new market access opportunities is important in entrepreneurship.
“I’m proud that we have partnered with Radisson Blue Hotels to supply them with coffee beans. We are also a catering supplier for Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda),” she said.
Giving back is close to Govuza’s heart and she is proud of her partnership with Selati’s skills development initiative.
“My business trains barrister students for their programme,” she said proudly.
With SAs high unemployment rate and uncertain economic times, Govuza is proud to be able to put food on the table for her children. “Being a mother has inspired me to use my business to create generational wealth for my children,” she said.
Leaving a corporate job to become an entrepreneur was a wise decision that came with many challenges. “As a small business owner, I can’t negotiate buying prices and because of this I’m unable to control my profit margins,” she explained.
Her other big challenge was managing the service standard her staff was offering to customers.
She overcame this challenge by sharing her growth plans with her staff so they can also become passionate about her business.
As an entrepreneur that was raised in Ngqamakwe, a small town in the Eastern Cape, creating jobs and economic development is close to Govuza’s heart.
“Through my business, I create jobs and I offer free training to young people, so they can apply for jobs in the hospitality sector,” she said proudly.
Entrepreneurs need to be innovative and grab new opportunities. The 2010 World Cup gave South Africans a chance to dream big and venture into entrepreneurship.
Even though the World Cup is over, there is still a chance to start an innovative business today.
This article was first published in SowetanLive
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