PHANE PIZZA Unlikely topping taking Tutume by storm
FOOD SENSATION:
Phane pizza
Phane and pizza: one is a popular local snack, the other a traditional Italian dish eaten by billions.
Put them together and you have Firehouse Pizzeria’s most popular topping.
The unlikely combination has become a massive hit with residents of Tutume, as the take-away spot takes the Kalanga town by storm.
Established last December, Firehouse Pizzeria is the brainchild of forward-thinking trio: Paulos Nyeku, 27, Oarabile Serabe Thanye, 25, and 24-year-old Masedi Shabi.
The eatery has become famous for its now signature dish, ‘Phane Pizza’.
“Phane pizza, yes, phane pizza, very unusual but you won’t be saying that once you taste it! It tastes as yummy, mouthwatering and delightful as it looks. You barely notice the phane until you can actually taste it in the pizza. Although it is unusual for phane to be a pizza topping, the texture is not any different from others. It is moist, juicy, crusty and crispy,” revealed Shabi in an exclusive interview with Voice Money this week.
Both ‘ phane ya mengwe’ found predominantly at Maitengwe, and ‘ mmitwa’ mompane worms are used.
Explaining how they came up with such an unusual topping, Shabi said it was a way of getting the fast-food crazy younger generation eating traditional cuisine again.
Highlighting the pizza’s popularity, she declared, “We are located in bokalaka area, a location where most people eat and love phane. The pizza is new, unique so people are always eager to taste it. Even people who do not eat phane are always interested in knowing how it tastes. So far, we are the only ones making this pizza so we do not have competition yet.”
Shabi further noted they decided to focus on pizzas as most locals in the area where forced to travel to Francistown to satisfy their pizza cravings.
The pizzas are sold in three sizes, with prices varying from P30, P45 and P70 for a large.
For those after more traditional flavours, Firehouse Pizzeria offers a range of toppings as well as cocktails and milkshakes.
Due to Covid-19 regulations, the trio registered their business as a take-away, using their savings to start the business. They eventually plan to operate as a sit-in restaurant and incorporate other fast food meals intheir menu.
“Just because someone said no does not mean you cannot do it. Persistence gets you far. When you run a business, leave friendship or families at home,” advised Shabi, adding they intend to open new franchises soon.
A total of 10 951 jobs were created last year against a target of 11 400 that was set.
This was revealed by the Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, Peggy Serame, during a media briefing on Tuesday.
Highlighting her ministry’s achievements in the past year, Serame noted that the ministry was able to attract a total of P773.56 million in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) between April 2020 and December 2020.
This was short of the annual target of P2.3 billion in FDI while Domestic Investment amounted to P1,816 billion, still short of the annual target of P3.5 billion.
Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Serame said the ministry departments, as well as parastatals, were also not able to achieve their targets having facilitated just 532 start-ups against a target of 1,015.
“In response to the COVID-19 impact on businesses, short and long-term interventions were drawn to relief and sustain businesses during the pandemic. A wage subsidy and other packages to maintain operations, preserve jobs and sustain businesses were introduced,” said Serame.
The Minister added that these packages included the issuance of economic packages to jumpstart businesses that were hard hit by the pandemic across all sectors and the provision of a 50 percent grant on wages to facilitate job retention.
“In November 2020, the government introduced a long-term Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan to extend financial support to businesses to assist revival of the economy,” stated the Minister.
In this regard, Serame said P700 million was appropriated under the Industry Support Facility (ISF) under the ministry where Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) received P100 million, while the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) and Botswana Development Corporation each received P300 million.
Meanwhile, Serame has revealed that the development of the E-commerce strategy is currently being finalised in a bid to boost economic growth and facilitate the achievement of socio-economic growth and raise the country’s competitiveness in the global economy.
“The ministry received a Final Draft Strategy Report in November 2020 after which a National Validation Workshop was held and comments are being incorporated.”
The Strategy is expected to be launched next month during the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) E-commerce week.