CAPE TOWN - A Cape Town entrepreneur is not allowing anything to stand in her way as she conquers business one chick at a time.
Ncumisa Mkabile, 27, from Khayelitsha, made headlines last year when she entered the agriculture sector.
Having studied tourism and travel, she explored other ways not only to sustain herself but to also create jobs within her community, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
On May 20, 2020, she planted seedlings and by July she had harvested over 1,000 bunches of spinach.
She employed seven people within the community, six of whom are women.
She then began to dabble in the poultry industry and has yet again made a success of her business.
Speaking to African News Agency (ANA), Mkabile said she started investing in broiler chickens in March 2021.
A broiler is any chicken that is bred and raised specifically for meat production. Most commercial broilers reach slaughter weight between four and seven weeks of age, although slower growing breeds reach slaughter weight at approximately 14 weeks of age.
“I started meat production in April and started with the stance of meat production only.
“My aim is to grow my brand and I want a distribution company to, at a later stage, take over from me.
“In this sense I will also be able to employ more people at the farm in Mfuleni. One has to take the current pandemic into consideration as well as the overall job scarcity in our country,” she told ANA.
Her brand, Mamcube, has seen her sell 400 chickens to date.
There is a variety of packs, including the popular mixed-portion braai packs, chicken feet, whole chickens and much more.
“I am overwhelmed because it has always been my dream to have my own brand and it is an even nicer feeling knowing that people will be eating chicken that was produced by me. However, I still need all the support I can get, to make sure I am sold out,” Mkabile said.
She has also set her sights on raising egg-laying chickens, to add eggs to her product line.
Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs afraid to take the risk is: “Start small and gradually grow. Don't wait on the government to fund you, but give the government something to work with.
“We must also be able to create opportunities for ourselves, because if we don't no one is going to create those opportunities for us.”
ANA