From begging to owning a business

Childhood friends Jonathan Eiseb and Quinton Beukes started a business selling cooked meat and chicken feet around Wanaheda’s Oshango area in Windhoek. The duo has since employed two more people, and they aspire to bring change to the community they grew up in, where unemployment is high among the youth and many are involved in criminal activities. Eiseb and Beukes started their business in October 2023 because they grew tired of begging on street corners.

Forty-year-old Eiseb, a father of two, explained that he could not simply blame the government for not providing employment. Instead, he decided to start a business to provide for his family. Eiseb calls on the government to assist those who are making an effort to help themselves.

“I have been walking around here in Windhoek and watching Kamberipa (Street) in Herero Location. Wherever you walk, you see pots, like every second house has a pot. That is how I came back and sat with (assistant) Klerence and told him that we also need a pot,” says Eiseb.

Eiseb’s business partner, Beukes, also encourages young people to engage in productive activities instead of sitting at home or begging.

“What I want to advise the youth is to not just sit on your chair and wait for something. You have to stand up and do something – that’s how you can liberate yourself. There will be people coming in with some donations, not grants. Someone might say: ‘Okay guys, you are doing great stuff, you can have these pallets.’ And then you can make some chairs and tables for your customers to sit on,” says Beukes.

Twenty-three-year-old, Klerence /Noariseb, who is employed as an assistant at the business, says he uses his income to buy toiletries and bread for his children. /Noariseb, like his employers, also grew tired of begging and is enjoying the freedom of taking responsibility for himself and his family.

Ketemba Tjipepa

Image Caption: Klerence /Noariseb (holding a plate) serves a customer, while his business partner, Jonathan Eiseb (wearing a striped T-shirt), looks on.