In today’s podcast, we talk to Mbasa and Sabu Siyaka, brothers who each run successful businesses in the township of Langa, about nine miles from the Cape Town City Centre in South Africa. Mbasa runs Mzansi Restaurant, which was started in 2008 by their parents, Nomonde and the late Vuklie Siyaka. Sabu runs Ubizo Events & Tours, which also started in 2008.
I visited Mzansi Restaurant while I was in South Africa earlier this summer for EO’s global conference. While the restaurant and experience were great, the family and entrepreneurial spirit were what made it so special.
The Siyaka brothers tell us more about their community and what they learned from their parents.
“It’s the oldest and smallest township with thousands of cultures,” Sabu says about Langa. “Whenever we have celebrations, everyone sits together; no VIPs. We all respect one another because we believe that we breathe the same air, we got the same blood.”
The main topics of today's episode will be:
How word-of-mouth through social media and sites like Tripadvisor built their business after several years of operating at a loss.
How learning every aspect of the business teaches an entrepreneur how to lead.
How opportunities don’t come to you, but rather you need to work hard and go out and find them.
*Due to Mbasa and Sabu Siyaka experiencing unstable internet connection, there are moments where it has caused audio lag when streaming audio.
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