#CSIMonth: Stop in for a little Khof & Khuk

Amaphiko Academy graduate, Thato Mafokoane doesn't just want to run his own bakery. No, Khof & Khuk is much more than that. It's a place where Mafokoane can do what he loves, while teaching baking skills to the local and disabled youth, thereby assisting in community development and upliftment.

By Shan Radcliffe

26 Jul 2017

Thato Mafokoane

Here Mafokoane tells what inspires him, and what his long-term vision for Khof & Khuk is...

Who are the brains behind Khof & Khuk Bakery?

Myself (Thato Mafokoane) and Jimmy Mmeshi, who is a close friend.

Tell us about your start-up and the inspiration behind it?

My mother - Elizabeth Mafokoane. She's the strongest person who best defined "hustling" by actions in my entire life, and made me understand that we all start somewhere; that if I want to change the state of my community, then I should think differently. "If the job I want will benefit me alone, then I am not doing anything, I should rather create jobs," my mother told me a while back. So I took the means of using my skills and talent to nurture the youth in my community, so that we can outgrow our current situations.

Where do you plan on taking it from here?

Nationwide, step by step, but we need more franchises opened, more lives touched and people seeing the difference.

How important do you feel it is to be introduced to entrepreneurship and innovation at educational level?

One of our intentions is to have consumer studies at some of the schools around here, and an NGO which is more based or practical work - because not all of us are gifted academically. So yes, I will actually live for that to happen, and I'd feel very happy about it. We have to change lives.

How necessary are initiatives like the Red Bull Amaphiko Academy to the development of entrepreneurship in South Africa?

They will be of great use - positively because they are helping people in disadvantaged townships. These businesses have what it takes to make it big, so with the exposure and mentoring the Red Bull Amaphiko Academy brings to us, we surely can go places and grow.

What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs who are just starting out themselves?

Believe in your product, believe that it is worth life, and see only the reasons why it will make it - rather than the reasons it won't. Because it's only then when everything starts to make sense. When you finally have gathered the firewood, coal and lighter, get someone to teach you how the fire can last longer - khof & khuk. Go out there, because the world you live in is already your own.