'Dial-a-kapana' on the move

Having converted sceptics to customers for well over three years, a Windhoek-based upstart delivery service is intent on setting itself apart from the competition.
Operating from Hans-Dietrich Genscher Street in Khomasdal since 2013, Windhoek Fast Food and General Delivery Services is, at first glance, a typical independent delivery service.
However, besides accepting orders from just about every restaurant in town, the company prides itself in two additional factors – its ‘dial-a-kapana’ service, and a soon-to-be-launched own menu.
“It all started one Saturday morning, when, burnt out from the night out before, we sat around craving ‘kapana’,” says co-owner Gabriel ‘Don’ Paulo.
“But we didn’t have transport, so we started daydreaming about how cool it would be if we could just dial-a-kapana.
“We started with about N$100 in funding, just to buy airtime to make calls – borrow a bike here, rent one there. We initially tried the banks, SME Bank, the major ones, but none of them came through, so we decided we had to do it on our own,” he says.
Customers can choose from a menu offered by the Single Quarters Kapana Stalls, ranging from a ‘Kapana Quicky’ combo for one to a ‘Family Feast’ consisting of kapana (grilled meat), a 2-litre bottle of Coke, two vetkoeks and an onion-and-tomato salad.
“We’ve had a few ups and downs since we started. Our transport was a bit unreliable at first, we once suffered a bike accident, had cancelled orders which hurt our revenue, and a lack of support, which luckily seems to have been overcome,” says Paulo.
Take-away restaurants that frequently make use of their services include Bolster, Eagles Pizza, Garnish Restaurant, Hita Braai, Kabab House and St Elmos Pizza.
“What drives me is thinking how this is not a franchise from outside, it’s a local thing,” says Lukas Mukiri, one of the other three partners in the business.
“It proves that you can really do what you put your mind to if you remain dedicated, and don’t give up whenever failure hits.”
For Paulo, the best thing about his entrepreneurial role is being able to offer opportunities to other young Namibians.
“Since we’re a young company and we’re interested in recruiting young people, we’ve had to step in and pay for our guys to go to Natis and get their driving licences.
“We offer training on how to deliver service, and we’ve partnered with a few kapana vendors at the Single Quarters who we trust, they always give us good quality meat,” he says.
Another highlight, he says, was being invited to a forum of the National Youth Development Programme recently to share with and advise fellow youth on starting their own businesses.
“It was an amazing honour to be introduced to the podium by the minister of youth, sport and culture,” says Paulo.
“And to this day, that opened the floor for guys to come knock on our door and ask our advice when working out their own business ideas.”
Their delivery fee is N$45 to anywhere in Windhoek, as well as 10% commission on restaurant orders.
For more information on their services, visit the Facebook page ‘Windhoek Fastfood + General Delivery Services’.

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