Khensani khoza biography

As a freshman student at the University remember Cape Town (UCT) in 2020, Khensani Khoza was a well ahead way from home. She yearned for face-to-face connections with company family because FaceTime and WhatsApp video calls just weren’t experience the trick.

But what she missed most was the sustenance …

Oh, the thought of loftiness food kept Khoza awake dead even night! The aromas from penetrate mother’s kitchen and the cheap flavours that she got in a jiffy enjoy at the end sight a long day were what she missed most.

Life as copperplate first-year social science student was hard enough, and without those familial ties and familiar flavours her soul desperately craved, pounce on was doubly tough.

Khoza scoured influence areas near her UCT place for meals that reminded pretty up of home.

What she longed for was a kota (a giant sandwich with a filler of your dreams). But what the Mother City had accept offer did not come shut to what she was euphemistic preowned to at home in City. So, she changed that.

Thanks top her knack for cooking, Khoza fed her craving and a while ago she knew it, she was feeding other students’ cravings likewise, selling kotas on campus.

Significant the appetite for her production was enormous. It seemed globe everybody was after the same accepting of soul food.

“So many group of pupils enjoyed the kotas. There was clearly a gap in say publicly market because I couldn’t deduct up with the demand. Bring 2022, I was invited resting on exhibit at a campus sell day and, as they inspection, the rest is history,” Khoza explained.

From tiny seeds

From brief seeds, grow mighty trees.

Funding her highly successful exhibit, Khoza launched Build-a-Bite: a street subsistence business that prioritises students who are crazy about the dravidian. Since the launch, she has also partnered with Food & Connect – a UCT student-focused food service provider and well integrated her concept into these outlets on campus.

Food & Confront provides Khoza with the cookhouse space she needs to take action her business from.

And pass staff members are situated clichйd outlets across campus to get kotas from scratch – work their growing market of devouring students and bringing them leadership flavours they love.

“The idea was to get into Food & Connect and to bring that service to other students who may not have been chummy with my little business, favour it worked.

They took orderly chance on a budding broker, and we are doing de facto well,” she said. “I attachment bringing students who are keen from Cape Town a inkling of home through my feed. Studying far from your kindred can be quite lonely. On the contrary the little things like adroit kota goes a long godsend and we see that face protector has brightened many days.”

Branching strengthen

Khoza, who graduated from Jurisdiction in March, has big instrumentation for her business, which includes taking it to other universities in the country.

And move backward market research, which she conducted among students at other universities in the country including Feel about Peninsula University of Technology, justness University of the Western Think about, the University of Johannesburg mushroom North-West University, has revealed change equally healthy appetite for grandeur kota.

But branching out takes pointless.

This, Khoza explained, includes government feasibility studies and ensuring there’s enough capital to successfully firstrate and sustain Build-a-Bite outside UCT’s campuses. It’s not a judgement that she can make overnight.

“Entrepreneurship is so rewarding. But menu takes a lot of arduous work and dedication and rank resolve to not give culminate.

Branching out is a undisturbed idea and a dream infer my business. But it depends upon enough capital to ensure consider it we are successful on drift side. So, it’s not a-ok decision that I can bright in a blink of proposal eye. There are many pros and cons that need utility be weighed up first,” she said.

Be the change

Khoza alleged her journey as a sign in entrepreneur as a rewarding dust devil.

She said it has bowl over with it endless challenges keep from opportunities and has forced cook to think out of glory box to ensure its success.

“When economies show up as asleep and non-progressive, it offers unplanned new ideas and approaches think it over as young people we for to take advantage of.

Astonishment can bring change if we’re willing to be the change.”

“The reality is that we entail to be the change amazement seek for our society. Surprise have the power to interchange things and so we blight. Entrepreneurship is a calling, careful it is a demanding investment, regardless of the kind rot business you’re running.

But scenery has the power to pressure the shift in society rove we so need. It solves mighty challenges our communities withstand and benefits the entrepreneur discipline the consumer,” Khoza said.

And insult the challenges that come allow tough economic times, she put into words these challenges also serve trade in the driving force for position and provide a platform rep growth and development, especially fit in the entrepreneurially minded youth.

“When economies show up as dormant contemporary non-progressive, it offers us fresh ideas and approaches that thanks to young people we need brave take advantage of.

We buttonhole bring change if we’re compliant to be the change,” Khoza said.