Sibongnkosi Msipha, aka Mama Bongi, has created  a booming trade out of her chocolate chip cookies. As the business turns five this year, she reflects on the early days and how mentorship, teamwork and humility has brought her success.

If you stroll through the leafy streets of Wynberg and follow the scent of freshly baked biscuits, you’ll be led into the warm kitchen of Sibongnkosi Msipha, the founder of Mama Bongi’s Cookies. You’ll likely recognise the chunky golden cookies, fat with chocolate chips, from social media or supermarket shelves.

Mama Bongi, as she prefers to be called, started her small business just before the lockdown began. In just a handful of years, her biscuits are now stocked in cafés and supermarkets across the country. She now employs two other people and is a regular speaker at talks about starting your own business. Her mentor, Julia Finnis-Bedford, remains proudly at her side as they expand the businesses offering. Is this a success story? ‘Yes’, says Bongi, ‘because it supports families.’

Cooking has been Mama Bongi’s passion since she was a child, and she is always striving to learn more about it. When she came to South Africa from Zimbabwe in 2007 ‘looking for greener pastures,’ she worked in homes as a domestic worker and learnt a lot more about cooking and baking. Soon she got a job cooking for the staff of Amazing Spaces, a Cape Town-based company which manages film shoot locations. She continued to absorb tips and tricks from those around her and spent her downtime watching YouTube videos to learn new techniques.

One experiment was a batch of chunky, chewy chocolate chip cookies. They were so delicious that the company’s managing director, Julia, suggested they include them as part of the catering spread at their film shoot locations. Amazing Space’s clients enjoyed the cookies so much that they begged Mama Bongi to make and sell them more batches. ‘Julia encouraged me to take the gap, start the business and empower myself,’ says Mama Bongi.

And so, she did just that in 2019. The company’s staff jumped in to help her set up the business – from designing her logo to building her website. Business went well in the first year, but things really ‘boomed’ during lockdown, recalls Mama Bongi. ‘I had to do everything myself – from the baking to the packaging to the delivery!’ she shares with a chuckle. She soon ran out of packaging, but a friend of Julia’s offered up her supply of brown paper bags. They wrote the label out by hand and worked around the clock to keep up with the demand. Julia has been mentoring Mama Bongi since day one: ‘When I see someone with passion, I want to help them to use their talent to reach their full potential,’ says Julia.

She used the financial and marketing resources of her other businesses to support Mama Bongi’s cookie business. In addition, she took a course in Instagram marketing during lockdown. She applied these new skills to set up a page for the cookie business. It took on a life of its own, and influential accounts started following and sharing their content. From there she was approached by brands such as UCook and Wellness Warehouse requesting collaborations and magazine’s started phoning for interviews.

The cookies’ popularity skyrocketed, and they are stocked in popular local cafés such as Kleinsky’s and Farm Table, and at Wellness Warehouse stores in Gauteng and the Western Cape. They have responded to demand for vegan cookies, as well as mini cookies. ‘It warms my heart to know that people around the country enjoy the cookies,’ she says with a smile. Julia adds that Mama Bongi never believed she could be ‘somebody’, but now she is stopped in the street by people gushing about her range of cookies – she is definitely somebody to them.

Part of the success of Mama Bongi’s business is her willingness to share her story, and her heart, with people. ‘It just makes the cookie taste better!’ says Julia. Although they don’t have a storefront at present, they do often sell the cookies at markets. ‘I had people coming up to me to tell me that they came to the market just to meet me. I am so humbled by this. That’s love. It makes me happy,’ she says. In just a few years, Mama Bongi has become not only a professional baker but also an entrepreneur. ‘Business is difficult to do, but it’s amazing when you have a mentor like Julia who gives you advice. She also encourages me and tells me not to give up. I feel so lucky,’ she says.

Her confidence has grown in the kitchen and in business, adds Julia. ‘When she cooked for Amazing Spaces, she would watch our faces to see if we liked the food. Now, she knows that people love her cookies so her confidence has grown. She is also so comfortable in front of the camera now – she gets it right after just one take!’ The growth of the business has allowed Mama Bongi to hire two more bakers, Sylvia Mxaku and Prince Chavula. As a result, the little business impacts the lives of 21 people. ‘It’s amazing to teach other people what you know, especially if they are keen to learn like Sylvia and Prince are. It’s great to see someone doing well because of what you have taught them. That makes me happy. We are a great team – there’s no hierarchy in my kitchen,’ Mama Bongi says.

WORDS: CHRISTI NORTIER | PHOTOGRAPHS: ANEL DUNCAN