What started off in his mother’s garage has now taken Khayelitsha by storm!
has been attracting many locals' attention since launching in 2016. After nine years of being in the industry, this local entrepreneur is looking to take his business to the next level.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Sikelela Dibela started his career as a dishwasher at Vida e Caffe and worked his way up to a barista and soon after, was promoted to store manager. His passion, commitment, and dedication to delivering exceptional and memorable customer experiences lead to him being chosen to go to London to open a Vida store and train their new staff. After spending two years in the UK, Siki returned to South Africa and worked in various coffee houses in and around Cape Town before deciding it was time to open up his own coffee shop. He launched Siki’s Koffee Kafe from his mother’s garage, including a seating area, a courtyard and even a small internet cafe offering WiFi. All of this, however, came with many challenges as any start up would. According to Siki, there were many lonely days and few people visiting his shop, but thanks to word of mouth, the news about his delicious and great quality coffee and service spread around the area of Khayelitsha and his spot quickly became the favourite hang out spot for youths and township entrepreneurs. It has been going so well that he even created his own special coffee blend! It is a mix of top quality African beans that originates from Kenya, Ethiopia and Burundi. The beans are roasted by Mzukisi Xhati, one of the best local roasters who was trained in the United States. Siki has recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to help him achieve his future career goals.
THE THUNDAFUND
Siki had been looking to expand his business and introduce it to a wider range of people. He has been doing really well so far, with the business being very financially stable, but he was ready to take things to the next level and reach new heights. He was inspired to share his story on a crowdfunding platform. According to Siki, for a small business like Siki’s Koffee Kafe, crowdfunding is the perfect opportunity to raise funding. With that being said, Thundafund is a great platform to share his story with people and possibly get them involved as well. The fund is close to it’s mark point, so far he has raised R26,860 of his R90,000 goal! He has had people respond from all over the world, from backpackers to locals, all gaining inspiration from his story. Ideally, once he has reached his fundraising goal, Siki would like to make Siki’s Koffee Kafe mobile. He would like to be featured at events, markets and different areas in Cape Town as Khayelitsha is not on everyone’s go to list. He would like to buy his own mobile coffee machine and increase visibility in different communities.
THE BIG DREAM FOR SIKI’S KOFFEE KAFE
Siki would really like to impact the coffee industry in Cape Town. He wants people to experience quality African coffee that is roasted and blended locally, and then made by quality baristas. Siki’s mission is to integrate communities with his coffee blends. He wants to have franchises of Siki’s in the future and to see more Siki’s Koffee Kafe in other parts of Cape Town. He would also love to pass on his skills and experience to others. According to Siki, he feels we need more entrepreneurs in this country. One of his dreams is to also start a Barista Academy to train people and give them the opportunity of a future in the coffee business.
HOW TO HELP SIKI REACH HIS DREAM
Siki’s ultimate dream is to expand his business and in turn, empower and contribute to skills development in his local community. The adventure of creating a coffee culture within Khayelitsha has just begun and he is asking all to help him reach his goals of moving his business to greater heights. If you would like to donate to his campaign and read more about his story, you can check out his Thunda campaign here: https://www.thundafund.com/project/sikiscoffeerevolution#startup.
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