The co-owner of Estratweni Mobile Foods, Thando Mavumengwana (centre) and his colleagues Thimna Mdloyi (left) Nonkoliseko Somagu (right) distributed sandwiches to job hunters and school children in the CBD. Mavumengwana said they were inspired by their recollections of when they would go long days without having something to eat while queuing to get their small business registered in the CBD.
CAPE TOWN - Job-Hunting during a pandemic comes with its own stresses and doing so on an empty stomach is something many have to face in their determination to find work.
But co-owners of the small business eatery, Estratweni Mobile Foods – Thando “Space” Mavumengwana and Siphumeze “Blax” Ramncwana – who themselves struggled to keep afloat after being hit by the effects of Covid-19, embarked on an eight-week feeding scheme in the CBD, serving about 1 800 people while on their quest to find employment.
Schoolchildren were also assisted with breakfast packs.
Mavumengwana and Ramncwana became business partners off R200 and a dream in 2016, despite having to pick up the pieces from the devastation dealt to the hospitality industry during the hard lockdown months.
They were inspired by their recollections of hardship during the time they tried getting their business off the ground, and would often go long days without having something to eat while queuing to get their small business registered in the CBD, said Mavumengwana.
“In the township especially, one is reminded so often that something must be done (to help), but it’s often just said and nobody does anything. But we realised that yes, something must be done and that is when we decided to serve breakfast refreshment packs to jobseekers and youths on their way to school who often did not have anything to eat at their homes in the morning.
“When we were in the process of setting up our business and doing the registration and everything, we remembered how we would stand in long queues almost for the whole day without having eaten anything. It was so tiring and when you looked around you, you saw other people able to pack their own lunches.
“And this is why we did the refreshment breakfast pack to boost the morale of those who desperately needed it. It made me realise that people still face these challenges, and if we can start something small then let’s first care for each other and be kind,” said Mavumengwana.
The story of Estratweni (meaning ‘on the street’) has since become one of survival, hard work, reinvesting profits, inspiration and opportunities grasped, with their roots always firmly embedded in Philippi and Gugulethu from where their small businesses are run.
Their business was kickstarted from a R200 which Mavumengwana’s sister gave them to buy ingredients to bake muffins.
The muffins were sold door to door, at train stations and taxi ranks, and due to demand by clients who “wanted something meatier” in the afternoon returning from work, they soon added burgers to their offerings.
“In 2017, after reinvesting our profits into the business and through hard work and commitment, we were able to buy our own and first trailer from which we served food and this made us famous in the township,” said Mavumengwana.
The business partners established a container restaurant in 2019 and are busy renovating and revamping their stores.
That year, after participating in a UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB) incubation programme, a three-month course to help small businesses grow, the pair had expanded and owned three trailers with a rich complement of staff.
However, Covid hit in 2020 “just when we were reaping our benefits”, they said.
“We were devastated. We were back to square one, as organisations which had sustained us with big volumes of food orders, could no longer do so. During the lockdown, a good thing happened with a lot of small businesses opening up shop in the township, and they then became our competition.
“We are cognisant and grateful for our competition as it gives us the drive to rework our model and always stay one step ahead, while offering our clients the best,” said Mavumengwana.
In 2020, the pair got a business cash injection when they became the winners of the alternative fintech lender Retail Capital’s Comeback competition on Facebook, and walked away with R15 000.
The competition sought to find SMEs that had survived the lockdown through innovation and share their inspirational stories with others to motivate them to keep going.
Assembly of the Unemployed spokesperson, Mooketsi Diba, commended the efforts of the entrepreneurs.
“What these small business owners have done and taken the initiative for was truly a (great) move. They understand the needs that exist when our people are seeking employment. There are days they go searching for jobs on empty stomachs and return empty handed, because the search was unsuccessful.
“They definitely have their hearts in the right places and we hope this kind of action can knock on to all the provinces. These kinds of initiatives also show the government that there is a great need for basic income,” said Diba.
Diba has implored corporations to come on board and support these initiatives.
“The money that jobseekers use is used to print CVs and for travel expenses, forgetting the most basic need of eating first. We thank the owners of Estratweni for the help they have given,” said Diba.
Cape Times