A year ago, Mukhethwa Mukhumo was passing Elim along the R578 when he noticed that the area could be quite conducive to any business set-up that one could dream of. Two months later, he came up with the idea of putting up a braai stand on the side of the road and started roasting fresh fish to sell to people.
"This was something new to the area," he said. "Initially, it was hard, and I would return home with a lot of leftovers, which meant that I was running at a loss, but a few of my customers remained loyal and encouraged me never to give up."
After three months, Mukhethwa's business was booming. He had built up a base of customers who flooded his point of sale. Others would place orders telephonically. He soon had a business partner from his village, Ronewa Pandelani, and the two of them are now managing their business effectively.
"We are killing hunger in a good, praiseworthy manner," said Pandelani. "We are not ones to sit down at our homes and cry that there are no jobs, when we surely know that we can stand up and do the right thing."
Mukhethwa said: "We encourage other young people to try doing business, because it is only in that way that they can earn a living in these hard times. There are many other things that they can come up with and sell."
For orders, Mukhethwa Mukhumo and Ronewa Pandelani are available on 060 630 6280.