Young South African entrepreneur launches his own coffee brand

Just over a year ago, Nyakallo Mokoena came up with the idea of offering people hot beverages during the colder months. Before long, this concept catapulted into something much bigger.

Mokoena says: “I thought about it and decided that instead of putting regular coffee into white foam cups, I was going to start a coffee brand. I knew that I was going to need proper insulated coffee cups and would have to get them branded. In addition, I needed the right kind of coffee to give my own flavour to it. That’s when I came up with the name Mcofana.”

Urban street culture inspired the name. The young entrepreneur tells DESTINY MAN that he wanted to come up with a catchy name, but battled to find something suitable. “I was sitting with a friend and told him that I was struggling to come up with a sophisticated name. I said: ‘This Mcofana thing is stressing me out.’ That’s when he told me: ‘That’s your name right there. That’s what you’re going to call your coffee brand.’”

Nyakallo Mokoena

Nyakallo Mokoena

Mokoena was born and bred in Zamdela, Sasolburg in the Free State, and admits that he wanted to do something other than selling clothing and the like in his neighbourhood. He adds: “Normally, entrepreneurs in my community go into selling apparel or become musicians, but I wanted something that people wouldn’t expect to come out of ekasi something vibrant and appealing to the youth market.”

Everything Mokoena has learnt about coffee, he researched via the Internet, while consulting a few experts in the field.

Mokoena is also very hands-on in the process of selecting the coffee beans. He explains: “We use Rwandan beans, but also have the option of Kenyan and Utopian ones. Once we have the beans, we grind it ourselves to the specific requirements.

Mokoena says that their plan is to mobilise Mcofana by purchasing coffee dispenser bags. The aim of this is to create jobs, with workers seeing to the caffeine needs of commuters in and around the hotspots of Joburg. In addition, they are looking to open a few shops around SA.


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