Meet the young fast-food business pioneer Tracey Mbuli from DiChips

Meet the young fastfood business pioneer whose perseverance, passion – and potatoes – have driven the success of her freshest success of her freshest business venture.

Born in March 1994 – weeks before South Africa began its democratic journey – Tracey Mbuli is the first family member in three generations to obtain a university degree. She is also the first in her family to become a businesswoman, earning her the respected title of being her family’s very own pioneer.

Mbuli is the proud founder of DiChips – a successful fast-food business specialising in loaded chips and burgers. With pop-up stalls and bookings at events around the city lined up for most of the year, DiChips is fully loaded and growing from strength to strength.

A self-motivated, energetic and astute hustler at heart, Mbuli is currently a solutions analyst at a leading media company and a proud business owner, holding a certificate in Business Analysis, BCom Business Management degree and BCom (Hons) in Business Management. Things didn’t come easy for Mbuli; she’s had to work hard for her success. She believes her daily mantra – “Victory loves preparation” – and her work ethic have prepared her today, to be victorious tomorrow.

ADAPT OR DIE Mbuli says she was primed to thrive in an “adapt or die” environment and remembers having leadership skills and natural business acumen from an early age. “As early on as primary school, I was everyone’s go-to person because of my networking skills; I knew almost everyone in the school. I was in Northern Academy in Polokwane back then and it was here that people started saying I was destined to be a businesswoman.” With high hopes of passing matric with flying colours, Mbuli dreamt of becoming a businesswoman and pursuing studies in commerce. Unfortunately, she didn’t achieve the results she needed to register at the university of her choice, so she moved to another province to take an extended programme that allowed her to enrol with the marks she had obtained so she could study the course she had planned on.

“I was told to study something that I could qualify for, but my fighting spirit wouldn't settle for just anything. My eye was focused on my goal, so I decided to travel to the University of Limpopo. With grace, luck and a few disheartening challenges, I was accepted into the BCom degree I wanted and went on to be awarded top student,” she recalls.

AN UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENT Despite the challenges of being a young black woman from a home of humble means, Mbuli describes varsity life as “awesome” yet filled with lessons. At the age of 21, and three years into her studies, Mbuli fell pregnant. “My parents decided to revoke my monthly allowance, which meant I had to act like a mom and not a girl anymore. I decided to use the last allowance I had to buy second-hand clothes in Joburg CBD and sell them at school. This gave me some financial freedom, and I quickly learnt to be independent and take care of myself.”

Mbuli’s son, now six years old, remains her main source of motivation. “My son and family are so proud of me, and they’ve been walking this journey with me from day one. He always motivated me to push my business, my career – even personal goals.”

As a young mother in varsity, Mbuli started a small informal food market called House of Eden. The event – where she and other vendors would sell street food on campus – became popular among her fellow students. She continued juggling these income streams until she completed her honours degree, finally landing a job at Prime Meridian Direct in Johannesburg.

PICKING HERSELF UP The Covid-19 pandemic came with many challenges for Mbuli and her family. She lost her grandmother in 2020 and was retrenched from work a few months later. This sent her spiralling into depression; however, she refused to remain a victim of her situation. “I decided to pick myself up and use the little money I had to start my business again – but this time in Joburg. This meant working with what I had, and I made it work for me.” Her family stepped in to assist her during this period, helping her buy equipment and other essentials to get the ball rolling.

With a simple formula – burgers and chips loaded with cheese and other generous toppings – Mbuli soon grew DiChips into a formidable business. While she was in the process of finding a property to house her business permanently, her aunt, Julia Thobakgale, forwarded her an advert calling for applications for a work-readiness programme at Afrika Tikkun Services.

GETTING A LEG-UP Mbuli applied to the programme and, while she was waiting for a response, enrolled in the Global Skills Initiative offered at Afrika Tikkun Services. Through this, she attained qualifications in project management, data analysis, customer service, IT administration and software development. She has recently completed the work readiness programme.

She credits her recent success to Afrika Tikkun Services for affording her an opportunity to work under the organisation’s small business incubation programme. Mbuli encourages other young entrepreneurs to reach out to such skills and youth development organisations who help disadvantaged youths acquire skills and resources to become entrepreneurs or find employment opportunities.

With her success rooted in tenacity, courage and resilience, Mbuli hopes to inspire other women to follow their dreams and not to settle for second best. As 19th century American writer Charles Dudley Warner said, “What small potatoes we all are, compared with what we might be!”