I Love Coffee Converts 25% Gross Profit into Job Creation While Employing 60% Deaf Staff

Earlier in June 2026, I Love Coffee celebrated its history as South Africa’s first coffee shop business to employ a majority (approximately 60%) of Deaf individuals in their network of in-office cafes.

This has translated into more than 500,000 Deaf working hours (which equates to 65 years of continuous work), sustainable career opportunities, award-winning barista titles and an expanding international footprint.

Approximately 5% of South Africans are Deaf (which equates to +-3 million), and 70% to 80% of all Deaf adults are unemployed and thereby socially and economically marginalised.

Founded in 2016, I Love Coffee has made a measurable impact in sustainable career creation for Deaf employment and empowerment with about 60 Deaf staff members and trainees. It has become a Level 1 B-BBEE company and invests 25% of its gross profit back into job creation initiatives.

Gary Hopkins, co-founder of I Love Coffee. Image supplied

"What started as a single coffee shop in a gym grew from a vision to create exceptional coffee and meaningful opportunities for the Deaf community. While 500,000 Deaf working hours is a significant milestone, the real achievement is the lives behind that number—careers built, families supported and greater independence created. That's the impact we set out to make," explains Gary Hopkins, co-founder of I Love Coffee.

Over the past decade, the business has navigated significant challenges. I Love Coffee faced severe disruption during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, operations were forced to shut down, threatening years of progress. Rather than closing permanently, the business expanded into coffee roasting and established its flagship café hub, laying the foundation for future growth.

"After five years of building and scaling our cafés, the pandemic tested everything we had built. While Covid brought enormous uncertainty, it also pushed us to innovate. We pivoted into roasting, expanded into the UK, established a training academy and built the foundations for international growth. Looking back, one of our greatest challenges became one of our biggest opportunities," reflects Mike Morritt-Smith, co-founder of I Love Coffee.

Following its first steps into the UK market in 2022, I Love Coffee was invited by WeWork to provide Deaf baristas in four of their co-working spaces starting in January 2023.

Image supplied

Since then, I Love Coffee has established a UK office and has formed strategic partnerships to support further growth internationally. Along the way, its baristas have earned recognition through industry competitions, while its training programmes continue to equip Deaf individuals with valuable skills and employment opportunities.

"We've never viewed inclusion as a programme or initiative. It's simply part of who we are. Our cafés, roastery and training programmes have been built around the belief that talent exists everywhere, but opportunity does not. If we've achieved anything over the past 10 years, it's showing that businesses can be both commercially successful and socially impactful," shares Hopkins.

As I Love Coffee celebrates its 10-year anniversary, the company remains focused on its founding vision: creating spaces where Deaf individuals can work happily, building sustainable careers and setting a benchmark for diversity, equity and inclusion within the hospitality industry.