How pizza delivery boy built a thriving business in Dubai

JASON'S ENTREPRENEURIAL STORY BEGAN ON INSTAGRAM DURING UNIVERSITY

- BY MANJUSHA RADHAKRISHNAN

My first job was delivering pizzas on a moped. Now I'm worth a million pounds — and no, it didn’t happen overnight,” says Jason Kwao with a grin that suggests there’s a wild story behind that leap.

But don’t expect the usual millionaire tropes. Kwao doesn’t toss around jargon or flash a Rolex — unless you count the £3,000 (Dh13,000) Louis Vuitton backpack he now uses as a glorified nappy bag.

“I always wanted one,” he shrugs. “But let’s be honest, it’s basically my kids’ mobile diaper station now.”

That’s the kind of self-aware, cheeky charm Jason brings to the table — and the kind of hustle that saw him go from delivering pizzas on a rainy UK street to building a million-dirham e-commerce business in Dubai. His story? It’s part grit, part luck, and a whole lot of sourdough.

Jason’s entrepreneurial story began not in a boardroom but mid-scroll on Instagram during university. Watching people his age rake in money online while he juggled lectures and an empty bank account felt absurd. So he dropped out.

Back home, he taught himself to ride a moped and joined Pizza Hut. He saved every penny from his deliveries and started experimenting with small investments. He then decided to sell stuff on Amazon.

Unconventional approach

As with his sourdough basket that raked in the thousands during Covid (see box), Jason’s product choices haven’t always been conventional. One of his biggest hits was a rebranded surgical knife he marketed as a bread scoring tool.