Kasi Business Ideas in 2024 – Join & Grow The Township Economy

Having stayed at the Alexandra Kasi (or township), Johannesburg South Africa, I have witnessed people starting and growing businesses in Kasi.

This will not be a generic list with dog walking and other unrealistic kasi business ideas. This is the ultimate list of businesses you can start as a side hustle to boost your income and grow wealth.

Let’s dive right in.

Conduct Market Competitive Research

Before starting any business in Kasi, it’s essential to conduct thorough market research and consider the specific needs and demographics of your target market in the township.

This will help you channel the most effort into the right Kasi business idea, so that you won’t give up so easily because it’s clear, and it’ll be worth it in the end.

Additionally, ensure that you comply with all local regulations and licensing requirements.

Laundry Services

The laundry business is not as competitive in many townships in South Africa because people don’t understand the demand and how to market such businesses.

But I have seen people operate this business in kasi, surviving and providing for families for years in business.

The majority of people in townships are from other provinces, there to access employment opportunities near that township’s big cities.

So they don’t have time to do laundry mid-week, because they’re working, and they need clean clothes. So that’s where the laundry business comes into play and offers these hardworking people convenient opportunities to enjoy the weekend.

Renting Back Rooms

Renting in big cities in South Africa is not cheap, and if you’re just starting work, earning a mid-weight salary, people can’t afford to rent in the cities but opt for the cheaper rooms in townships.

I like to refer to this kasi business idea as the township real estate because this changed everything and made kasi entrepreneurs millionaires.

If you’re fortunate enough that your family has a house with space to build back rooms, this is your opportunity to start a renting business in Kasi.

People are always looking for cheaper places to rent because of work relocations and so forth.

In Alex, renting a single backroom goes for R1,300, and those fancy ones with showers and running hot water go between R1,700 to R2,300. In Tembisa and Diepsloot, the rent is between R900 – R1,200, depending on the area.

So you can imagine if you had the opportunity to build 12 rooms, you could be cashing close to R15,000 per month in extra income.

Car Wash – Stationed & Mobile

Offer car washing and detailing services that can be done at your shop or customers’ homes or workplaces.

There are so many cars in townships that need to be cleaned, and your professional car washing services could be their number one stop to getting it done.

Even better when you can go to them to wash their cars, at the most affordable costs.

A full car wash costs about R80 to R100 but in Kasi, it goes from R50 to R70. This only because there benefits (that I will not mention here) that allow these entrepreneurs to be able to lower the costs in townships.

Wash at least 8 cars per day, you could make R560 per day and R17,360 per month income from this hustle.

Car Night Parking

If you go to any township today, you’ll find thousands of cars on the street because there’s no more enough land to accommodate all of them.

People have built back rooms and other businesses in the yards, leaving not enough space to park cars, it’s even worse if you have a car and renting.

So if you’re fortunate to have land, develop a large parking area to keep people’s cars safe at night – they need this for a peaceful sleep at night.

It’s a great kasi business idea that’ll be significant for car owners. You can offer more services such as insurance, pickup, and drop-off deliveries.

kota Shop

Every township street has more than one kota shop, it has a high demand from young people.

We love our kota, a sandwich-like fast-food product with chips and amazing sources. It’s such a unique product, if fresh and done beautifully, people will prefer your shop over the others.

Properly managed, you can make a lot of profit from this business idea and improve your monthly earnings.

Moving Services

Offer a transportation service to local residents, assisting them in moving furniture between rooms or from stores at the mall.

You’ll be surprised if you can visit a township toward the end or early of the month, people are moving between rooms, always trying to find a better environment.

This moving service is highly in demand in townships, if you have a truck or big/long-base bakkies, you could have a booming business in Kasi.

Even better, you will not be limited to offering this service only in case, you can market your business to move furniture around the city, in the suburbs and business parks.

Tutoring and Educational Services

Provide tutoring or educational workshops for school subjects or skills training.

Most schools in townships are government public schools, so you can imagine the level of care and education that will be offered there – no disrespect.

Most parents often opt for extra tutoring opportunities for their children to learn with a full understanding of the modules done in school.

You can do this business in person or online, helping young people nurture the skills and talent they have.

Delivery Services

There are more Shisa Nyanas or fast food places in townships than in any other shopping centres.

Often they don’t offer a food delivery service because they don’t have the funds to enter that side of their business as yet, and there comes the opportunity for your new kasi business idea.

If you have a motorbike, you can start pitching to fast-food business owners a solution to deliver food to customers at the most affordable price. You look at Mr D Food or Uber Eats, they don’t own stores, instead only deliver food to customers for a price.

You’ll use the same concept to pick any product from the store and deliver it to customers, you’ll need to create a system with the store owners.

You can work with anyone in your township that have a product to deliver, including motor spares, spaza shops groceries, and more.