WITH the unemployment rate said to have climbed to 34.4% in South Africa and COVID-19 bringing many businesses to their knees, many people have struggled to put food on the table for their families.
A Nelson Mandela Bay man faced the same dilemma but didn’t accept that this would be his destiny and decided to do something about it.
From being unemployed, he signed up to be an independent delivery person on the Uber Eats platform, and through his hard work and determination, he now owns his own business, which is listed on the app.
Samson Aina, a father of two young children, a three-year-old boy and five-year-old girl, struggled to make ends meet when his previous business collapsed three years ago.
He was left shattered, without any income and uncertain of what the future held for him and his family.
Life before becoming an independent delivery person was tough, as Aina had no means of generating an income.
“It was hard for me to see my children not having some of the basic essentials that all children deserve and that’s when I decided to take my power back and find new ways to survive,” he said.
He did some research on what he could do with his driving skills. Aina said that he loves driving and it made sense for him to be in the driving industry.
After some extensive research and toying with some ideas from family and friends, he discovered Uber Eats and has never looked back.
“If you are unemployed and feeling hopeless, yet know how to drive, give it a chance.”
Joining the Uber Eats app as an independent delivery person has not only empowered and enabled him to provide for his family of four, but also helped him save money to start another business with his wife, Blessing Aina.
Blessing knows a lot about hairdressing, and they decided to open a hair salon run by her.
Right after opening the hair salon, they found that business was slow and they understood that it was because the business was still new. COVID-19 made things worse, as the country went into lockdown.
“This meant that we had to go back to the drawing board and come up with new ideas that we could implement as soon as lockdown restrictions were eased.”
Aina explained that as he was browsing on the Uber Eats app, he realised that the app had essential stores added on the platform, and that’s when he had the idea of registering the hair salon on the app.
“As I got home that night, I spoke to my wife about getting our business registered as merchants on the app. She was keen and it has been an absolute win for our business.”
As soon as the lockdown restrictions were eased, the couple saw a great pick-up in business at the salon when sales tripled in the space of a month.
They plan to grow their business across the Eastern Cape and later in other parts of South Africa. Their goal is to leave a legacy for their children.
When asked what advice he would give to anyone looking to join the app as a merchant, Aina answered, “The first question is, are you ready to grow your business?
“If the answer is yes, then you must go for it. If you want to see your business grow, join the app and you will see the results for yourself. Through this platform we are able to create work for ourselves.”
