Cane Farmer Turned Entrepreneur
Pragdish Gounder, a sugarcane farmer, has ventured out to open his own family business in Wairuku, Rakiraki.
The Vitawa, Ra, native opened up a roadside carwash and fast food shop a month ago.
He said it wouldn’t have been made possible if it wasn’t for sugarcane.
Concept
“Almost a month ago I decided to finally take advantage of being located by the Kings highway,” he said.
“The concept was born when I noticed as I was travelling between Nadi and Lautoka how residents took advantage of their location on the roadside. “We have been lucky to have received a lot of customers who are passing by.”
He first opened a carwash and noticed most of his customers were passing by.
The 45-year-old pondered on how to take advantage of the opportunity.
Mr Gounder decided to invest more into his business by building a space for customers to wait while their cars were being
serviced.
He used his own savings he made from his sugarcane farm to start his fish and chip shop. “The money I saved up is a small price to pay compared to the feedback I get back from customers.”
The cane farmer is already forced to expand his business because of popular demand.
He is now building more space
in his restaurant to be able to meet the demand of customers he received since he opened. “I have invested another $5000 into the business to build a bure to allow more sitting space for the high demand we have received.
“This would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the money, I have been able to save from my cane harvest.”
The father of two said he has more developments yet to happen and will depend on how well this goes.
Kings Fish and Chips and carwash is located on Kings Road only two minutes away from Vitawa Village in Rakiraki.
Their operational hours are flexible depending on traffic.