When most people think of “home,” they envision being surrounded by loved ones and the taste of delicious, comforting food. With this in mind, Nowethu Lindi created Ekhaya — a traditional African food service — to bring that feeling to others. This is how the 10X Hub taught this cook the recipe for success. 

Despite the fact that Nowethu Lindi brings familiar warmth to others, her early years were unstable at best. 

Born in KwaZulu-Natal, Nowethu was the oldest of her siblings. Unfortunately, their mother was not involved much after their births. Then, both her parents passed away by the time she was 12 years old… 

As a result, they all were being “passed between family members.” 

Ultimately, Lindi was forced to drop out of school to provide for her younger siblings — and eventually, her own children. 

After years of struggling, Nowethu wanted a reliable way to earn income for her family. That’s when the popularity of her homemade dishes amongst her neighbors gave her an idea… 

“FOOD IS ALL ABOUT THE WAY IT MAKES YOU FEEL, I CAN CONNECT AND INTERACT WITH EVERYONE!” 

From that idea, Ekhaya — which means “home” – was born. 

Now, she had a great idea and even better food, but there was one thing she didn’t have… 

Tools to run a company!

Too Many Cooks in the Marketplace

As Nowethu Lindi was getting Ekhaya off the ground, she was running into some common obstacles — capital and competition. 

Apparently, she wasn’t the only food service in town. For that reason, she needed help showcasing how special her family recipes were. So when she connected with the 10X Hub, marketing was a large focus. 

“I WAS TAUGHT EVERYTHING PERTAINING TO BUSINESS, MOST OF ALL FINANCIAL LITERACY. […] THIS HAS BEEN INVALUABLE […] FOR ME.” 

At length, Lindi’s story shows us that with some entrepreneurial strategies, you can turn your talent into a successful venture. 

Nowethu shared that her business is mostly seasonal and will report more on her wins in the springtime. 

In the meantime, we’ll be here with all the updates on our 10X Hub entrepreneurs. 

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