Zandile Majavu
When Neliswa Mntungwa started her gourmet kota business side hustle eight years ago while working at a finance department for an engineering company, little did she know that months later she would be retrenched, and the business would become her saving grace. Mntungwa hails from Imbali township in Pietermaritzburg and now owns Kota 2 Nice, a mobile kitchen and sit-in. She opted to launch the business in her third year of a business degree, funded by the same company she worked for.
The scrumptious Kota range includes a basic Kasi Kota, which is R55, and the popular Special Munchie, which is R90. “When we brainstormed the concept with my other two friends, finding Ikota in the township was rare, you would only see skopo and other meat being sold. It just sparked out of a craving for a Kota. Seeing as there wasn’t a place that sold, I decided I could make my own,” Mntungwa said.
Mntugwa, who also caters for festivals, did not work with anyone when she started the business. Now she employs three people for events. “I used to sell the Kota Friday after work; however, in 2019, I decided to make it a fully-fledged business and focus on it since I was no longer working,” she said. Mntungwa recalled some of the challenges she experienced when starting the business, such as not having capital. “Being underfinanced is a huge hurdle for growth, and living off the little you make can almost cripple the business. So, working from home was limiting, especially being in a complex where access is restricted. That’s how I ended up moving business to the street,” Mntungwa said.
When Mntungwa started, she used normal ingredients. But she began playing around with the fillings and used other ingredients, such as meat, that maximised her profits. She told Vutivi News that most customers described her kotas as an experience that always felt like the first time they indulged in them. She is currently working on turning her business into a sustainable enterprise. “Right now, I am focused on stabilising my business and creating a business that will be easily branded. So, I am just trying to get my business going so that when the time comes, I can start franchising my business in KwaZulu-Natal first and then other provinces,” she said. Mtungwa is also looking forward to the eThekwini Kota Festival in June and other local catering events, such as the House and Garden Show in Durban.
