SA: Kelvin Momo to headline eThekwini Shisanyama Festival in Durban

The festival will bring together food entrepreneurs, music fans and communities from across KwaZulu-Natal for a programme centred on music, culture and South African cuisine. It will also showcase the province’s shisanyama businesses and their contribution to employment, tourism and the local economy.

The event was founded by Lunga Mkhize, owner of Metro Gents Shisanyama in Umlazi. Mkhize said the festival was inspired by the late Jabulani “Mjay” Zama, founder of Eyadini Lounge, whose business helped demonstrate the potential of township-based hospitality and entrepreneurship.

“Mjay showed us that a shisanyama could become much more than a place to eat. He built a destination that attracted people from all walks of life while creating opportunities for the community around him,” Mkhize said. “His vision inspired many of us who own shisanyamas today, and this festival is about continuing that legacy.”

The festival will feature meat vendors from across KwaZulu-Natal, many of them small and independently owned businesses. Mkhize said the event was created to provide emerging entrepreneurs with greater exposure and an opportunity to connect with potential customers and business partners.

“There are so many talented people in KwaZulu-Natal who have built businesses around the braai. Some started selling meat on street corners or outside busy trading areas before opening permanent establishments. We wanted to create a platform where those businesses could showcase their products to thousands of people in one place,” he said.

Mkhize said the festival also aims to highlight the role of food businesses in creating economic opportunities, particularly amid high youth unemployment in South Africa.

“When people support local vendors, they are supporting families, creating jobs and helping small businesses grow. We want this festival to become a place where entrepreneurs can make meaningful business connections while showcasing the quality of what they produce,” he said.

The event will be held during Heritage Month, which Mkhize said was intended to highlight food as a shared element of South African cultural life.

“Heritage is expressed in many ways, but food is one of the few things that naturally brings people together. Whether your family gathers around pap and vleis, braaibroodjies, boerewors, lamb or chakalaka, the braai is something shared across cultures. We wanted to create a space where people from different communities could celebrate that together,” he said.