Kapana is a delicacy that is enjoyed by many Namibians. It is because of this realisation that a group of friends were enticed to start a pizza and kapana delivery service in and around Windhoek.
The service is tailored to cater for pizza and kapana lovers who do not have the time to visit the markets where kapana is sold.
YouthPaper sat down with two of the founders of Pizzeria and Kapana; Zaven Smith and Lucas Mukiri, who share their business story.
Their company, Pizzeria and Kapana consists of five young men; Zaven Smith, Kevin Uanivi, Santos Pendro, Lucas Mukiri and Gabriel Don Polo who all share the same dream. Describing the structure of their business, Smith, who is Pizzeria and Kapana’s marketing manager told YouthPaper that every member is tasked to head a certain department of their business.
“I am the marketing manager, Uanivi is the general manager, Mukiri is the head of transport while Pedro and Don Polo are shareholders who contributes vastly to the growth of our business,” said Smith, adding that Windhoek Fast Food Delivery service is the umbrella body that houses their business.
Speaking on what inspired them to venture into this kind of business, Smith said that as business savvy young men they have noticed that there are few businesses in Windhoek led by young people that specialise in delivering pizza and kapana.
“There are quite a few established and small companies around Windhoek but few of these companies specialise in delivering both pizza and kapana. We discovered this market and decided to take advantage of it,” said Mukiri. Mukiri added that their goal as a pizza and kapana delivery service is to revolutionalise the lifestyle of Namibian people.
“It is the 21st century. You do not have to leave your house or workplace for small things that you can just arrange to be delivered to you in the comfort of your home or office. We are just a dial away,” said Mukiri.
Speaking on the benefits of running a business that consists of five partners, Smith shared that it makes it easier for them to solve problems and make decisions. He mentioned that because they are a group, there are more ideas. Mukiri said that in the business world, things change frequently and for a business to be successful, it needs different approaches to make it profitable. Despite these benefits, Smith and Mukiri admitted that a business that has more than one owner comes with its challenges. They shared that the challenges that they endure as business partners are disagreements during decision making.
“We are human so we disagree a lot as partners but we always make it work because we share the same goals for this business. At the end of the day, we all want to see this business grow as it will benefit us all,” said Smith.
Asked, what their future plans and projections are for their business, Smith revealed that the plan is to make Pizzeria and Kapana a franchise and open new branches outside Windhoek.
“We want to decentralise our services to other parts of the country. We are opening a new branch called Lemon Boom this March,” revealed Smith.
Smith shared that their business has grown in leaps and bounds and the growth has given them confidence that their dream of making it a franchise will one day materialise.
Smith said that they started making three kinds of pizzas at home but with time they have managed to afford to rent a place in town along Independence Avenue. The three kinds of pizzas they sell are Mazoho, meat supreme pizza and pizzas.
“We are thankful to God that our business has grown as we are now able to rent a place in town. Our customers can now come to our place order pizza, kapana and have it at our mini lounge,” proudly said Smith.
To sum up, Smith and Mukiri advised young people who wish to start their own businesses not be scared to take risks and not to be discouraged when the business does not make huge profits especially when the business is still young.
“We want to see more young people investing their money in businesses they are passionate about and be persistent,” concluded Smith.
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