Feeding change: Akhona Qengqe
Since becoming KFC’s first-ever Black African female General Manager, Akhona Qengqe’s secret ingredient is positive change. Today, KFC Africa is feeding the potential of its people and providing support for local communities – and business is booming.
Kentucky’s bluegrass fields are a long way from Africa, yet there is an unlikely connection that cuts across the tyrannical distance and disparate cultures. KFC has become the biggest and fastest-growing fast-food brand in sub-Saharan Africa.
As General Manager of KFC Africa since early 2023, Akhona Qengqe believes the company’s meteoric rise has put it in a unique position to improve the lives of those it serves, a belief that has become her true north.
"I think our primary impact is in terms of business and how we continue to grow with our franchise partners and stakeholders," Qengqe tells The CEO Magazine. "But what’s even more important is the impact that we drive in the communities where we operate."
Social responsibility
In 2009, KFC Africa founded Add Hope!, a corporate social investment program designed to fight the never-ending battle against hunger on the continent. It’s now the biggest program of its kind in South Africa.
"Add Hope! turned 15 last year, and in that time we’ve raised ZAR1 billion [US$52.4 million] through the program," Qengqe says.
"The insight was that one in five children go hungry. Our thinking as a food business was that hunger is a food-related issue, but people aren’t able to break the poverty cycle and become economically active, and so the cycle perpetuates."
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The team at KFC Africa took the time to determine its role in the situation.
"When customers come to our restaurants, we ask them for a donation, which we send to beneficiary homes for vulnerable children or early childhood development centers to buy nutritious meals prepared by dieticians," she says. "Every year we provide over 30 million meals to vulnerable children."
Additionally, KFC Africa has tackled South Africa’s struggle with youth unemployment in two ways. Firstly, by employing young people in its restaurants and asking them to undertake a learnership program, and secondly, by providing a scholarship that pays for the children of its team members to attend quality private schools.
"We’re known for 11 herbs and spices, but people are the 12th ingredient."
The former has been a phenomenal success, with KFC Africa investing heavily in its Streetwise Academy to ensure its young staff succeed within the company and are employable outside of KFC.
"This year, we had our biggest-ever graduation group," Qengqe says. "It marks the beginning of something very powerful for KFC. We feed people’s potential, and we contribute to the education of the nation."
Strong leadership
Qengqe’s time in the leadership role has been full of such positive social change. The fact that a woman has made it to the top of the company acts as a beacon for those in KFC’s Women on the Move program, which was founded in 2020 as a way to provide avenues to leadership for women in the company.
"I’m proud that 80 percent of women that have been through the program have been promoted into the next big role or have found better opportunities outside of KFC, which is wonderful," she says.
That’s not to say that it’s not also business as usual for KFC Africa. In fact, business is strong, something that key partners such as chicken provider Sovereign Food Investments and products and services giant Unilever Food Solutions South Africa have been a big part of.
"The stronger your partnerships are, the better off you are as a business," Qengqe says. "South Africa is a very big market for KFC; 80 percent of our revenue comes from there. We are looking at massive expansions and shifting from a very South African-centric organization to a pan-African player. And when we talk about growth, it’s important to identify the partners and suppliers we want to grow with."
"We feed people’s potential and drive positive change."
And in the course of such growth, KFC Africa will bring its successful social programs with it.
"I’ve always had a desire that as a big brand, our impact should be more than just internal. It’s easy to prioritize a balance sheet over people, but at KFC we’re really about the people. We’re known for our 11 secret herbs and spices, but our people are the 12th ingredient," Qengqe says.
"When I joined the company, I was very focused on how far my career could go. But once I took on this role, it stopped being about me. Instead, it became about how I could leverage my role to help others become better humans and drive meaningful change on our continent."