Business owners graduate
THE power of small enterprises to improve the lives of communities was demonstrated when 27 owners from low-income areas in Cape Town graduated from the University of Stellenbosch small business programme yesterday.
Lisa Ndyalivani, 33, owner of WooWfoods, a mobile coffee shop selling hot coffee and healthy food to commuters, students and workers in Bellville, was named the Distell top student with the highest mark overall after completing the sponsored nine-month development programme.
When Ndyalivani realised two years ago that tourism was “too seasonal for sustainable income”, she tapped into the food truck trend and converted her tourist bus into a mobile kitchen.
She starts the day at 6am serving commuters at the Bellville taxi rank and then moving on to the UWC campus from mid-morning to late afternoon.
“When schools are closed and business is quiet, we move around industrial areas like Parow. Being mobile means we can go to wherever our customers are to be found.
“What sets us apart is a focus on healthy food because street food can be very fatty. We practice healthy cooking – grilling our burgers, using fresh salad ingredients in our brown bread sandwiches – and try to educate our customers,” she said.
The next step is to invest in a second vehicle to expand the operation to her birthplace of Khayelitsha and to develop a portable WooWfoods healthy foods stand that can create opportunities for unemployed youth.
Other winners included Jacqueline Julie of Mitchells Plain who celebrated her 50th birthday along with winning the Absa best business plan award for her excellent crunchies and homebakes, which has turned a part-time home-baking set up into a growing formal business that supports her family.
Social entrepreneur Vincent Zokufa, 37, owner of ConnectUs ICT in Eerste River, was recognised for his innovative business model providing training and support to disadvantaged schools to use their IT resources more effectively, with the De Beers Business, with most potential award.
Small Business Academy head Dr Marietjie Theron-Wepener said the winners had in common a drive to succeed and had demonstrated the ability to innovate and adapt their businesses to changing circumstances – “an essential trait of entrepreneurs”.