By Buziwe Nocuze
- Nande Magadla, 34, and his two partners each contributed money to buy their first stock after losing work in the construction industry.
- Magadla sells every last piece each day so his family can eat and he can afford stock for the following morning.
Three men lost their construction jobs and put their money together. Today they sell pork heads and braaied meat at the Site C taxi rank in Khayelitsha, with prices starting at R10.
Nande Magadla, 34, was working as a general worker on construction sites, carrying materials and mixing cement. When that income disappeared, he had five family members depending on him. He called his two partners, who had also lost construction work, and they sat down to figure out what to do next.
They did not guess. They went to the taxi rank and looked at what was already being sold. Nothing like this was there.
“We realised that no one was selling heads and braaied meat, so we each contributed money to buy our first stock,” Magadla said.
Prices run from R10 to R30. They kept them low deliberately. They are new, and they did not want to push customers away before the business had a chance to find its feet.
The margins are tight enough that Magadla cannot afford to take unsold meat home. He sells the soft tongue and fatty cheek, the cheapest cuts, to make sure nothing is left at the end of the day. If he sells out, his family eats and he has money to buy stock for the next morning. If he does not, both are in trouble.
The setup is basic. A 3kg gas cylinder, refilled twice a week. No large fridge. No shelter from the cold, the rain or the sun.
“We have a lot of challenges,” Magadla said.
He is not waiting for conditions to improve. He is working with what he has, one day at a time.
Informal traders like Magadla can get free business support, training and advice from the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (Sedfa), which has branches across all nine provinces. Call 0860 103 703 or email [email protected]
Pictured above: Nande Magadla serves a customer at his pork head and braaied meat stall at the Site C taxi rank in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
Image source: Buziwe Nocuze
