“A lot of people were selling Kotas, and no one was selling sandwiches; I saw an opportunity to offer something different that would benefit both customers and me.”
Tirolo Boikanyo is a 25-year-old young entrepreneur from Boitekong Extension 2 in Rustenburg who had a dream of owning his own kitchen and selling sandwiches within his community. But Tirolo didn’t just dream, he acted, turning his vision into a growing business and an opportunity to serve his community while creating a sustainable source of income for himself.
Tirolo had no income after finishing high school and he moved from his village to Rustenburg to look for jobs. Things did not work out as plannedso he decided to create his own opportunity and started a small business with his aunt. The business was a tuck shop at first, but Tirolo quickly recognised the potential for big, generously filled sandwiches. He saw a need and decided to fill it by bringing Dagwood sandwiches to his community and started Boikanyo’s Kitchen.
Besides selling his Dagwoods , he also got an opportunity to serve his community, becoming a community mobiliser for the Social Employment Fund programme at Teach-lead Mentor Foundation. During his participation in the programme, he was connected to Pronet, where he was given further entrepreneurship training, and more doors opened for him. The training has helped him gain knowledge and skills to feel more confident in running and growing his business. The Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda), an agency of the Department of Small Business Development that provides non-financial support to small enterprises and cooperatives was also brought in to talk about funding options that could take his kitchen business to the next level.
“I feel grateful, motivated and inspired by the support I received; the programme has shown me that my small business has a potential and that I could build something bigger if I remain committed and make use of the offered opportunities.” He says.
Tirolo’s biggest goal is to grow his business from working at home to having a bigger space of his own and eventually becoming one of the people who help create employment opportunities in his community. He also sees himself working with bigger companies and catering for major events.
The support he received at home, in his community, and through the SEF programme helped make these ambitions feel possible. What started as a way to earn an income has grown into a journey of creating opportunities. After facing unemployment, he saw a need in his community, created an opportunity for himself, and is now working to grow his business and create opportunities for others.
“I have not forgotten where I come from, and I want my success to inspire others in my community to believe in themselves, identify opportunities and take the first step towards building something of their own.” Concludes Tirelo.
Place your Dagwood order with Boikanyo’s Kitchen on Facebook
