The Truth Behind Building a Business in South Africa's Townships - Jessica Boonstra, Yebo Fresh

In this episode I sit down with Jessica Boonstra — founder and CEO of Yebo Fresh — for a powerful conversation about leadership, resilience, and what it really takes to build a business in South Africa.

Yebo Fresh’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary: from a small B2C e-commerce startup before COVID, to pivoting overnight into emergency meal delivery with NGOs, and eventually emerging as a key player in the township spaza shop economy. Now acquired by the Smollan Group, Jessica and her team are scaling at an entirely new level.

We talk about what it’s like growing a team from 6 to 60 people in 3 weeks, leading a business of over 220 people today, and navigating real South African challenges — from fraud, crime, and gangsterism to building trust as a white Dutch woman working within township communities.

This episode is storytelling at its finest. It’s about the human side of entrepreneurship, the lessons Jessica learned the hard way, and the humility it takes to lead with compassion while staying hard on performance.

If you're an entrepreneur, leader, or South African who believes in building something that matters — this one’s for you.