KOTA lovers in the US could soon get a taste of Mzansi’s favourite township street food.
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The Kota Festival has big plans to take the popular South African dish beyond the country’s borders, with the United States of America among the destinations being considered.
This was revealed at a press conference held for the media and vendors ahead of the Jozi Kota Festival, which will take place at Nasrec, Soweto, on 3 October.
The press conference was held at Market Photo Workshop in Newtown, Joburg.
Kota Festival COO Luvo Limba said the festival’s vision has always been bigger than just hosting events.
“Our vision has always been bigger than just simply creating an event.
“From the beginning, we have wanted to celebrate the Kota as a proudly South African street food, create platforms for township businesses, empower entrepreneurship, and create economic opportunities and ultimately take the Kota to the world.
“We are looking to expand to other regions. But our growth in 2027 is not only just musical. We are also expanding geographically,” he said.
Luvo said the festival is looking at expanding to the Eastern Cape and North West in 2027.
He said they are also looking beyond South Africa.
“We are looking into going to the USA. So we are making plans to make sure that we get that dream alive.
“As we had said, obviously, Kota to the world, and we have to take this South African dish of ours and export it to our neighbouring countries.
“Obviously, we are starting with our neighbouring countries, which are Lesotho and Swaziland. We are looking to strengthen those ambitions by going to the United States of America,” he said.
Before taking the Kota to the world, the festival is preparing for its biggest event yet, the Jozi Kota Festival.
The festival will feature food, music and entertainment, with a star-studded line-up including Elaine, Amanda Black, DJ Maphorisa, Kabza De Small, Zola 7, Kelvin Momo, Master KG and many others.
Luvo said the Kota remains at the heart of the festival.
“We want to remind people that the Kota is not just a meal. It is a cultural expression.
“It represents entrepreneurship, creativity, township life, and the ability of ordinary people to build extraordinary businesses from something as simple as bread, chips and fillings,” he said.
Kota Festival CEO Xolani Machele said the festival has also seen major growth this year.
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He said the festival has held seven events so far in 2026, attracting about 65 000 people.
The festival plans to host six more events before the end of the year, with a target of 120 000 attendees.
Machele said the festival has also created opportunities for young people and small businesses.
“Throughout, as a company - GoldEx, we have hired part-time people around the country, around 1 500 people, which also directly created the job opportunities for those 1 500 people.
“Since we’ve started this year, since I said we’ve done seven, there’s about, when we close the tour, looking at around 6 000 direct jobs creation that we’re creating throughout suppliers, vendors and securities,” he said.
He said the festival has also held workshops across the country to teach people about the Kota business.
“We’ve done around seven workshops across the country. We went to Mpumalanga, Durban, Cape Town, Limpopo, Free State, Swaziland and Lesotho, just educating people on the business here in Kota.
“Because, as we know, the vision is taking Kota to the world. So we want to spread the word for people to start this kind of a business,” he said.
And there are already plans to make the festival even bigger in 2027.
Luvo said the festival will introduce more live music experiences and expand into new regions.
“Kota Festival is going live next year. So that means we’re going to be able to experience artists in a different way.
“We want people not to only come to Kota Festival to eat Kota and watch performance, but feel the music experience, the energy, and become part of the performance,” he said.
For now, the focus is on Jozi.
Luvo urged Kota lovers to come hungry and ready to enjoy the day.
“Whether you are coming for food, the music, the football, the culture, or simply to spend a great Saturday with friends and family, Jozi Kota Festival is the place to be.
“Come wearing your soccer jerseys. Come hungry. Come ready to sing and dance. Let’s have a good time,” he said.
