#Gomora – How Alex fast food outlet Baily’s is coping in lockdown

March 31, 2020 214

In the hustle and bustle of the township, a tribe emerges with a drive, passion and determination for a unique human interest: entrepreneurship.

What does it take to run a successful business e kasi? What challenges does an entrepreneur face that is unique to their location if any and the real question being WHAT makes these unique to Alexandra.

Continuing on our quest to elevate and celebrate the intricacies that are apparent in township economics, we’ve identified individuals within this tribe that are dedicated to growing their respective industries with a particular interest in repping their hood.

One such individual is 22 year old Botlhale Baily- co-owner of family run Baily’s, a fast food eatery established in 2019 which he says is part of the legacy he’d like to leave behind.

Being from Alex, Botlhale is adamant how this a definitive identity marker and as an entrepreneur, understanding the dynamics of the hood, the environment and trials of the community add to shaping his thinking- to maximize on opportunities even in the wake of the scarcity of resources and to always think outside of the box.

He notes that ultimately what enables him to be the street-smart, innovative entrepreneur he is, is taking advantage of the environment- location & accessibility to provide his customers with a quality product & service and what drives this passion is the ability to provide his community with an entity they can claim ownership of because it’s for them, by them.

Employing the youth of Alex and creating a path for them, by making a success of his business is a huge heart-string for Botlhale who says “making a success of my business will enable other business around Alex to emerge so they too can become successful”

But, at less than 3 months old, the current 3 week lockdown has devastated business operations. Baily’s has distributed all of its stock to its employees in addition to paying salaries to staff that were a percentage above their normal working wage. Botlhale says he is worried about the costs that a business like his will have to incur in order to restart business operations but remains optimistic nonetheless that hopefully things will be running as normal soon enough.