from FUTHI MBHELE in Durban
KwaZulu Natal Bureau
DURBAN, (CAJ News) – THE arts industry’s loss was entrepreneurship’s gain in the case of Thabani Dube.
A man of many talents, the 24-year-old from Umlazi southwest of Durban is the founder of The Pizza Guy NUZ, the vehicle registration plate of the township.
The business has hired four people.
Interestingly, Dube studied Fine Arts.
The Pizza Guy was established in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I identified a gap in the market for black-owned pizza establishment,” he said in an interview with Durban Today.
The pandemic was a blessing in disguise.
“It helped me a lot as the restaurants were closed and people were missing fast food. I started making the pizza, with an initial amount of R500. I used people’s cars to deliver,” Dube explained.
He found his passion for cooking at the age of 13.
By then, he was already cooking for his family.
The transition to opening his pizza adventure was thus seamless.
Before starting the pizza establishment, Dube admits he was a rolling moss.
“I have worked in retails and restaurants shops but I didn’t stay for long. I will work for a few months and quit. I would stay at home and would look for another one and quit. I then decided to start my own thing,” he said.
Dube believes divine intervention helped establish The Pizza Guy.
“After not being able to stay at jobs for long time, I figured out that God wanted me to be my own boss,” the entrepreneur said.
He is grateful to the local community and the Ethekwini municipality.
“They invited me to a business fair,” Dube said of the fair that also enhance the growth of his company.
– CAJ News