The man who makes R60,000 per month selling 10 large bananas for R10 in a small town in South Africa

Surprise Makamu’s Banana Stand has become an iconic landmark at the taxi rank in Giyani, where he sells 10 large bananas for R10.

Giyani is a town in the north-eastern part of the province of Limpopo and serves as the central point in the Greater Giyani Local Municipality.

The town is the administrative capital of the Mopani District Municipality and a former capital of the former Gazankulu Bantustan.

Giyani’s economy is mostly rural, and cattle ranching and the production of maize, tomatoes, potatoes, mangoes, and bananas fuel its agricultural sector.

One of the informal economy businesses which capitalises on the bananas in the area is Surprise Makamu, who runs a banana stand next to a taxi rank.

The business was founded and is operated solely by Makamu, who buys bananas in bulk and sells them to local consumers.

What sets him apart from many other street vendors is his exclusive focus on selling fresh bananas.

He charges R10 for 10 large bananas, which is a hit with daily commuters, local shoppers, and long-distance travellers arriving by public transport from Gauteng.

Makamu deals only in cash and generates over R2,000 in revenue per day from his banana stand. This equates to R60,000 per month.

His success is partly thanks to his excellent marketing tactic. He recorded his own voice and plays it on a loop through a loudspeaker, shouting: ‘R10 R10 Big bananas’.

The speaker plays all day, acting as an iconic auditory landmark in the area of Giyani Town where he operates. This gave him the nickname “The King of Bananas”.

“For many locals returning from Gauteng, hearing his speaker at the taxi rank is the official sound of arriving home,” he said.

Makamu has plans to scale his business. The first step is to purchase a bakkie, which will make it easier for him to carry large amounts of bananas.

This would allow him to bypass middlemen and buy his bananas in bulk directly from local farms. It will enable him to significantly increase his profit margins and also supply other smaller street vendors.

Makamu is an example of an informal economy entrepreneur who fuels the R1 trillion sector in South Africa.

Informal economy expert GG Alcock explained that the informal economy is much more advanced than many people think.

“We have hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs in the townships and informal economy in South Africa,” Alcock said.

The businesses in the informal economy mirror the formal economy and are as vibrant as anything people will find in rich areas.

The most iconic businesses in the informal economy are street vendors and tabletop hawkers, among which Surprise Makamu’s Banana Stand is one.

Surprise Makamu’s Banana Stand