The street vendor whose Twitter ‘posts blew up’ – ‘Sandwich Keeng’ Itumeleng Lekomanyane

The official unemployment rate in South Africa increased to 29.1% in the third quarter of 2019; from a rate of 27.5% the year before. Even if there are researchers who say that the statistics are not fit for purpose and do not capture what is really going on in South Africa; what remains undisputed is that we have a huge unemployment problem in the country. The hardship of the jobless makes the story of a Johannesburg father who found a way not only to find income for himself, but started creating jobs for others in just six months, is particularly moving. He is Itumeleng Lekomanyane who took the last R800 he had that was supposed to go for maintenance for his daughter and started a sandwich business, which he managed to grow quickly and now he even employs other people. Itumeleng gave it a modern spin; he told Biznews that he uses social media to promote his business and get feedback from his customers to improve his products. - Linda van Tilburg