WeeklySA_AdminGRUB: Young entrepreneurs showcase township staple to create jobs…
By Priscilla Malinga
What can South African kasi small-time entrepreneurs export to the overseas market? Founders Xolani Machete and Luvo Limba have an answer to the question: the intention must be to market the proudly South Africa Kota cuisine to the world and proudly present it as a South African cuisine.
Machete and Limba, for starters, intend to take their product to the United Kingdom, and who knows, from then onwards, the world might be an oyster”.
The two-some are confident the cuisine has the potential to create a huge market locally and internationally.
Ten years ago in 2015, the founders Machete and Limba started the Jozi Kota Festival – this after seeing a gap in the market, and getting convinced that the product would be a world “wow”.
As students in and around Braamfontein and Johannesburg, young Machete and Limba slow by slow created a market for their product – “and before we knew people in various parts of the areas and other regions began to support our project”.
To expand the brand, Machete and Limba decided to host festivals, inviting vendors to sell their product in Johannesburg, “this to make Kota accessible to the wider market”.
“The product is a hit in a way we decided to continue to stage festivals on a yearly basis. After much consideration, and as people from other regions got attracted to our festivals, we took a decision to go bigger with the festival,” the two-some said.
And what is a Kota?
It is a quarter of bread stuffed with chips, cheese, polony, atchaar, white liver, and other toppings.
Last weekend the Jozi Kota Festival took place at The Station in Newtown where a number of vendors exhibited their different Kota offerings.
To grace the occasion, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse presented musical items to the delight of the revellers.
Despite the rainy weather, Kota vendors came in their numbers to exhibit their products to the public.
Machele, the CEO, said: “We as leaders of the Kota Festival are humbled by the support we received from the many who attended the event.”
He said he was grateful to sponsorship the organisation received from the three well-known brands – Albany, Clover, and All Gold.
“These brands have giving us full support to make this venture a success. The festival since its inception has created over 5 0000 jobs and empowered about 1 500 Kota vendors in and around the country.
“We are not just in business of entertainment, but we are also trying to curb the spiking unemployment rate by teaching vendors different aspects of business, including creating platform to access their product,” said Machele.
“The intention is to take cuisine to the world and present it as a South African cuisine.”
Said Abongile Dzai, brand manager of Albany: “We saw an alignment with the Kota Festival which goes beyond being a headline sponsor. Each trader is getting products valued at about R25000 for training purposes.”
Marketing trainee Sicelo Nkosi says the Kota Festival was a vibrant celebration of a truly South African staple food.
“It does not only showcase the local culinary creativity but also brings together communities all around South Africa,” said Nkosi.
“Albany is a big brand, and bread is the main ingredient of making a Kota and who better to sponsor us with fresh bread for our vendors than them,” said Buyisile Nkosi.
