In the heart of Thembisa, a young entrepreneur named Thabang is changing what local businesses can look like in a digital economy. As the founder of The Bin Donut, Thabang has built a mobile doughnut business that is as innovative in its payments as it is in its concept.
Through the Community Digitalisation project, Thabang has adopted multiple digital payment options – including SnapScan, card swipe, and EFT, which have enabled his customers to pay quickly and safely without the need for cash. This has meant greater convenience for his customers, it has reduced the dependence on cash, and it has given Thabang the ability to create a digital footprint for his business.
The bin donut forms part of Thabang’s broader entrepreneurial vision under The Bin Group, which is a brand rooted in transformation, innovation and seeing opportunity that others miss.
“I started my journey in the cleaning industry where bins were part of my everyday work,” Thabang explains. “Over time, I stopped seeing them only as containers for waste and started seeing what they symbolised – that something overlooked could be reinvented into something valuable.”
Inspired by how resourceful informal vendors who use bicycles and trailers to reach customers are, Thabang transformed a bin into a clean, eye-catching mobile doughnut station. The result is a business that is mobile, affordable and deeply embedded in the community.
For Thabang, going digital is an important step to building a future-oriented business.
“To grow today, you have to meet customers where they are – on their phones and cards,”
By embracing digital payments, he is not only improving his own business operations, but also helping normalise cashless transactions in local, township economies.
Thabang’s story reflects the wider impact of creating sustainable digital payment ecosystems in communities – supporting young entrepreneurs to adopt digital tools, gain access to formal financial services, grow their businesses, and participate more fully in the formal economy.
As The Bin Group continues to develop new, unconventional business concepts, Thabang hopes to inspire other young people to see possibilities in their surroundings. His message is simple but powerful: success is not determined by where you start, but by how boldly you reimagine what you already have.
