Unemployment in the Eastern Cape is among the highest in the country. An unemployment rate of 41.2% means there are many unemployed young people in the province than in any other region. In a bustling town like Umthatha, employment opportunities are as scarce as finding gold reserves in Canada.
As many young people in Mthatha depend on the R350 social grant, it is not unusual to find a graduate pushing a trolley at shopping centres to make a living. Despite all these challenges, a few young people like Asanda Maqabuka are determined to create jobs in this sprawling town. She is a co-founder of Chicken Bar, a popular restaurant in Mthatha. Her restaurant serves mouth-watering chicken dishes and kotas that embrace what it means to be African.
The current business partner Asanda is her mother, Zanele Maqabuka. Several years ago, she quit her full-time teaching job to venture into book publishing. Zanele grew the Vivlia Publisher’s brand to become one of the well-establish black-owned businesses in the country.
“When I started Chicken Bar, my mother was critically ill, and I decided to start this business so that she could come back home to something. Three years later, people started showing interest in our business, and we are now inundated with calls,” said Asanda.
Few black women participate in franchising in South Africa, especially in the fast food space. Asanda said she is one of the few black female members of the Franchise of South Africa. She was recently a panelist for the Women’s Economic Assembly. “It was such a great honor being around the most amazing women in business,” she said.
Chicken Bar employs about five people, and Asanda plans to extend her footprint to Gauteng and other provinces. “We are now in the process of opening a second store for Chicken Bar in Joburg. We expect to launch the store either in December or early next year,” she said.
Restaurants across South Africa report dwindling profits due to load-shedding that drives customers away. Asanda said in Mthatha, not only does she have to contend with load shedding but with incessant power cuts, too.
“Electricity goes, then it comes again, then it goes again. Those are some of the biggest challenges we are dealing with as a business,” she revealed.
Business owners like Asanda often don’t have the capital to fund their businesses and a strong enough credit rating to receive funding. These issues are exacerbated by cycles of social injustice and gatekeeping.
“There is a lot of gatekeeping we experienced when we tried to open stores in other areas. You won’t get anywhere if you don’t know anyone. At some point, I had to hire a white consultant to try to knock on doors for us. And the government is not doing much to assist entrepreneurs like me, “she said.
Apart from running a restaurant, Asanda owns a food delivery app startup that delivers food around Mthatha. All her businesses are currently self-funded, but she said they are actively looking for investment opportunities.
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