27 Jul 2015

After completing his Degree in Business Management at the Gaborone Institute of Professional Studies in 2012, Mr Ronald Onalekitso Nkwaila, 26, was unemployed like many graduates across the country.

The young man from Lotsane ward in Palapye combined his love for cooking and his skills to venture into business. Mr Nkwaila learnt to make pizza working in restaurants and hotels while he was still a student.

He registered his company with his school allowance. He then applied for the Youth Development Fund in 2013 and got funded to the tune of P91 000.

He opened The Chosen Pizza House and Snack Zone at Setshege Complex in Palapye.

It has not been smooth sailing for Mr Nkwaila. The location of the pizza den did not make for easy identification by customers at first.

“Advertising was also a challenge because it was expensive. I managed to advertise the business through word of mouth,” he says.

Mr Nkwaila says one of the biggest challenges was the fact that he had no experience in running a business. He only relied on the knowledge he obtained through his degree.

The Chosen Pizza House and Snack Zone is today a well-known establishment that attracts more than 30 customers a day. He has opened another lucrative branch at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology. Nkwaila has employed a total of six young people at both branches.

“The challenge in running two branches is time because both branches demand my undivided attention,” he says.

He says that his long term goal is to open more branches in places like Serowe, Mahalapye and Selebi-Phikwe.

Mr Nkwaila says since he opened his business, he has won more than six catering tenders from government and the private sector. He says that he is now in a position to help his mother and his younger siblings with some of their daily needs.

He credits Palapye youth officers for supporting his entrepreneurial ambitions. Ends