The Mandela University Africa Hub was established in 2024 to drive youth entrepreneurship and social innovation, starting with our Entrepreneurship and Incubation in Action students and young township entrepreneurs in Gqeberha and expanding this to the Eastern Cape, South Africa and ultimately to other countries in Africa. In the past year, the Centre for Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator (CfERI) at Nelson Mandela University has incubated 42 small businesses over the past year, creating 96 jobs.
From a takeaway spot in 2021, Anita Sodladla’s business, The Patio, has expanded to a restaurant for 50 people, a catering business and two mobile food trucks.
“I’m a chef and an entrepreneur, and in June 2021 I established a takeaway spot called The Patio,” says the community entrepreneur. “A year later I expanded, and I now have a restaurant for 50 people, a catering business and two mobile food trucks for festival and markets.”
The restaurant is situated between Gqeberha’s industrial area of Struandale and the Zwide/Kwazakhele townships.
Sodladla lives in Kwazakhele and she started the three-year CfERI incubation at Mandela University in 2024 “because as an entrepreneur I need assistance with regards to running and growing my business, including drafting contracts, doing accurate quotations, managing finances and tax, and upscaling.”
All systems go
“Through the incubation I have also learnt how to apply for funding to grow my business,” says Sodladla, who successfully applied for the R100 000 grant per qualifying entrepreneur from Mandela University’s Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) finance division.
“I have used the grant to get a second food trailer, for renovations to my restaurant and I have employed two more people to help manage our growing kitchen. We are a team of six now, with two teams.”
Sodladla says that in the restaurant business, “we need to keep up with the times and put ourselves out there on social media and with printed flyers. Being close to the industrial area, in addition to our individual clients, we have attracted management level from companies near us, such as Volpes, Big Daddy’s, Heineken and Stainless Accessories. We do catering for them for functions at their venue or at The Patio. Our catering side has grown a lot, and we do weddings and events.”
“I make sure my pricing is right.”
Sodladla says that her passion for both food and her clients drives her.
“Two of my most popular dishes are loaded fries – fries with different sauces such as cheese, bacon, jalapeno and mushroom, and the ‘Gatsby’ – a bun filled with garnish, fries and either grilled chicken, pork or hake and finished with our special house sauce.
“I make sure my pricing is right, and I update the menu according to what our clients like to eat. Recently we added braaied meat – chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, beef, wors and sosaties, and our drinks menu has expanded to include mocktails, different varieties of coffees and juices. We also serve the cake of the day for dessert, plus waffles, ice creams and milkshakes.”
The Patio is especially busy on weekends as well as when people get paid, which is mid-month and month-end. The trailers are used to sell food at markets and festivals, and she also rents them out to other vendors.
“This year I applied for R250 000 in funding from SEDFA Asset Assist which I would use to buy my own bakkie as I have to hire at the moment, and further expand,” she adds. “I’m a chef with a mission and my vision is to have several outlets of The Patio, and to franchise it one day.”
Read more in the latest BizYouth magazine, showcasing the pioneering work being done in advancing Nelson Mandela University as an entrepreneurial institution.