THE SKY’S THE LIMIT FOR CLOUDY DELIVERIES

When 22-year-old Colin Mkosi launched a local home delivery service in Langa in February, he thought it would take at least a year to get the brand established in the community.

Fast-forward three months and Cloudy Deliveries is the most popular delivery service in Langa.

Residents request grocery and takeway deliveries via WhatsApp or a phone call, and the young delivery men, aged 16 to 19, deliver the goods directly to residents’ doorsteps for a flat rate of R9.

Between eight and 10 bicycles are dispatched for deliveries daily, from 10am and 6.30pm.

Mkosi never imagined that his business idea would take off during a global pandemic.

“The boys are reliable and committed, and that has ensured our continued growth,” says Mkosi.

Since lockdown, we’ve been quite busy – calls for deliveries suddenly spiked. The boys could easily get between six and seven callouts a day.

The youngest team member, 12-year-old Olwethu, is the team’s bicycle mechanic. He ensures that the bikes are road worthy and ready for the boys to safely do their daily deliveries.

“We follow the health and safety guidelines quite strictly,” says Mkosi. “Each of the boys are given two masks and hand santiser, as well as information on how to protect themselves and our clients.”

Mkosi says the business has reached a point where restaurant and takeaway outlets call him to deliver food to their patrons.

“For me, it’s just incredibly rewarding to see the community embrace the service,” says the final year law student at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).

“If all goes well, I’m hoping to finish my studies this year and fully concentrate on the business.”

Mkosi describes law as one of his many passions. “I’ve used elements of what I have learned and applied it to the business, so it has definitely helped.”

Mkosi hopes to grow the business beyond Langa in the future. But for now, he is focused on “serving the people of Langa to the best of my ability”.

“The next step is take the business model online, enabling people to book orders and pay directly through our platform.”

To book a delivery with Cloudy Deliveries, call or send a WhatsApp message to 074 882 0306.

Video by Multimedia LIVE