A school fundraising fete more than 20 years ago unknowingly set Weltevreden Park entrepreneur Indira Puran on a journey that would eventually see her story featured alongside 99 other women in the WomX Her Story Her Success publication.

At the time, Puran was one of three Indian parents at her children’s school who were approached by the principal at the time, Mr Jennings, to host an Indian food stall at the school’s first fundraising event.

“We did not want to start that off on a bad note, so of course, we said yes,” Puran recalled. The mothers were initially asked to prepare lamb curry for 100 people.

On a cold August morning, Puran and the other two mothers got up at dawn, fired up their gas burners and began cooking. They eventually prepared enough food for 190 people.

When they arrived at the fete and the food began cooking, the aroma drew people towards their stall. The demand quickly became more than they had anticipated.

“Before we knew what was going on, we were scrambling to dish up one curry and rice with salad on the side after another,” she said. By 10:00, everything was sold out.

The success meant the women were invited back every year for the next seven years, with the quantities increasing each time.

For Puran, the experience also sparked the realisation that her cooking could become more than something she enjoyed at home and for community occasions.

She created a flyer with photographs and meal ideas and distributed it among family and friends. Orders followed.

However, this was initially a side hustle. Puran was still working in the corporate world and could only fulfil orders on weekends.

As demand grew, she had to find ways to balance her career, family responsibilities and a growing number of orders.

“I had to plan my work schedule in order to be able to fulfil the demands of my corporate career, parental responsibility and my side hustle without dropping any of those balls,” she said. Puran said the support of her husband and family was important during this period.

Her daughters also grew up around cooking and baking and eventually became involved in different parts of the journey, from helping prepare meals and setting up events to delivering orders and collecting supplies.

The family connection is reflected in the name of her business, Koko and Cookies. Puran’s eldest daughter, who is also a co-director, came up with the name during a family brainstorming session. Her daughter’s Instagram name was Nikoko, while Puran was known as Cookie.

After almost 30 years in the corporate world, Puran eventually decided to make the transition into her own work full time. “The time was right to do something that I loved,” she said.

Overcoming load-shedding challenges

Her journey has also included its share of challenges. One of the most memorable was load-shedding, which forced her to adapt how she worked.

Puran changed from an electric stove to a gas stove and monitored the load-shedding schedule so she could plan her baking around the electricity supply.

Away from her work, Puran remains involved in community development activities. She is a member of STINT, a local charity that supports less fortunate pensioners and families with food parcels and other necessities where possible.

She said her community involvement has also helped her build relationships with neighbours and friends.

“I have established a good reputation within my community of neighbours and friends,” she said.

Puran was particularly humbled by her inclusion in Her Story Her Success, which documents the journeys of 100 women entrepreneurs from across South Africa. “I was extremely honoured to have my story selected,” she said.

For Puran, the recognition also acknowledges the less visible side of entrepreneurship. “Being an entrepreneur can sometimes be a lonely journey, where your efforts go unnoticed,” she said.

Looking back at where her journey began, Puran believes she could have taken the leap into full-time entrepreneurship sooner.

“I would tell her that she should have had the courage to step up and step out and take that leap of faith and turn that side hustle into a full-time career,” she said.