From Small Beginnings To Big Brands

The stories of the businesses that I am profiling, provide more detail about the founders of these companies, as to how they went about establishing the companies in question, from the beginning until they became what they are today. Some of these people started out small but made it big ultimately. Here, I am talking about Raymond Ackerman (#Pick 'n Pay), George Sombonos (#ChickenLicken), Craig Mackenzie and Andrew Harvey (#DebonairsPizza), Richard Maponya (Maponya Group), Fats Lazarides (#OceanBasket), Allen Ambor (Spur), Allan Hirsch (Hirsch's), Brian Joffe (Bidvest), Nonkululeko Gobodo (SizweNtsalubaGobodo), Tommy Makhatho (BiBi Cash 'n Carry) and more. What makes the story of Nonkululeko Gobodo to stand out, is that she was the first black woman in South Africa, to qualify as a chartered accountant in 1987. She was following in the footsteps of Wiseman Nkuhlu, who was the first black South African to be a chartered accountant in 1976.
What is particularly exciting about the story of Debonairs Pizza, is the fact that it was established by two university students in Pietermaritzburg. This shows that starting a business is something that can be done by anyone, irrespective of their age.