RYAN CHIGOCHE
A Bulawayo-based online restaurant, App A Combo, is targeting to clinch two franchises in the next two years as it expands its footprint, Business Times can report.
Established last year following the outbreak of Covid-19, which forced physical restaurants to close or not to take in sit-in restaurants, App A Combo which stands for WhatsApp A Combination, has so far registered steady growth in the country.
The restaurant specialises in fast foods such as chicken and fries, burgers, beef, pizza, and customised dishes as per the customer’s liking.
App A Combo founder, Junior Garnet Dube, aged 24 is confident the restaurant is going to be a household name in a few years to come.
“In the next two years, the restaurant is going to be a household name as I have already put out the word on franchising.
“God willingly we are supposed to have at least two franchises by 2023,” Dube told Business Times.
Following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in limited physical meetings, with restaurants and bars not spared, many people and businesses began appreciating online spaces.
Innovative minds like Dube saw the opportunity presented by this sudden shift to the online spaces and then came up with App a Combo ZW which has proven to be a hit in Bulawayo in a space of a year.
Soon through franchising, the business is expected to expand to most parts of Zimbabwe.
For Dube, an electrical engineering graduate, running a restaurant was never part of the plan but growing up he always had a passion for food.
“I did my high school at Fatima High, and then studied electrical engineering at West Gate Industrial College.
“I never studied business or ran a restaurant. It is passion’’
As many people today now spend their time on their smartphones Dube capitalised on that and came up with a way that makes it easy for the customer to order and get their orders delivered.
While operating from the home kitchen he said their main business tool is social media.
“We send potential customers our menu every morning on our Twitter platforms, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp and they select what they want and we prepare and deliver to them.
“Our way of reaching our clients involve having interactive social media content and also using influential people like artists as brand ambassadors.’’
He said funding was, however, an issue.
“I have not tried banks because they don’t make it easy for us upcoming businesses to access loans but I have tried approaching investors and it’s difficult to convince them especially when it’s still just a dream.
“Even after I have started operating and have built a solid client base it was hard because of the financial situation in the country, it’s hard for them to fork out huge amounts of money,” Dube said.
As a way to boost their reach App a Combo ZW has partnered celebrities, making them brand ambassadors.
To date, the restaurant has partnered with Bulawayo-based Zim Hip-hop and Skyz Metro Music Awards nominee Rockie DoUb.
Dube said the partnership is already bearing fruit in just a year of existence.
The move is expected to ensure the restaurant increases its reach on social media.
Despite the re-opening of physical restaurants in Zimbabwe, Dube is confident the move will not affect App a Combo.
“As restaurants are now open our business operations won’t be affected that much because we already co-existed with them before, and we have a strong client base who still want to be treated like kings and queens, so they still will be apping combos and we deliver.”
The use of social media for businesses has greatly increased as part of Zimbabwe’s adaptation to the ‘new normal’ and has been described as innovative.
Online businesses like App A Combo ZW have been commended by the government as they keep physical meetings to a minimum through connecting with clients via social media, thereby helping to counter the negative impacts of the pandemic.
