#WomensMonth: Bottling African wisdom

African hair has been a political topic for decades and African women have been told how they should look. “I want to reverse the insecurities of African women and in the process create a community of strong women, who will not only contribute to South Africa but also to the continent.”

The Afrobotanics comprises a range of hair and body products for African women that are free from chemicals, mineral oils, petroleum and paraffin. Her grandmother and the use of local products influenced the range and she has gone from selling 10 products a month to a listing in selected Game stores. She has recently received listings for 70 Clicks and 200 Pick n Pay stores nationally from October 2016.

Finding inspiration

Her story starts in Nelspruit, where she lived with her daughter and mother and worked for the government in the Department of Social Department in rural Mpumalanga. “I worked for the government for eight years but I was not happy. I was tired of my work, but I needed the paycheck and everything that went with it.”

It was while she was visiting her grandmother in Swaziland that she came upon the idea of beauty products for African women that are completely natural and made from local ingredients.

“My grandmother asked me to help her get her hair ready for the next day when the priest would be visiting. I had never seen my mother’s hair as she always wore it under the traditional ‘doek’. Her hair was long and soft. All my life I had struggled with my hair but by applying a mixture of aloe and mineral oils, my grandmother’s hair was manageable.

“I was inspired and started creating products - bottling African wisdom.”

In 2010, she entered a competition, which she won and took her to the US for 10 days where she met some of the top women in cosmetics. “I studied politics and philosophy. This taught me about the formation of cosmetics. I was so excited by this, and despite not being sure where it would go, I resigned from my job to pursue it full time.”

Losing everything

Using her pension payout, she set off on her journey. However, her pension did not last long and before she knew it, she was stuck. “My daughter was in high school but I could not pay school fees, the bank repossessed my car and eventually I lost my house. I had nothing left.”

The school allowed her daughter to finish her matric and her mother and daughter moved in with her sister, while she moved to Johannesburg and could live with her boyfriend. “I moved to the big city and brought with me the boxes and boxes of product that I had but could not distribute.”

Reaching success

Finding a distribution path for her product was holding back her business, as the big retailers such as Dischem, Pick n Pay, Clicks, etc. were not interested. “At that time African women were not interested in natural hair and beauty products.” Therefore, she went online and started a website but she was only moving about 10 products a month on average. Not one to sit back, she did not stop looking for opportunities to get her product recognised. “I never stopped calling on the big retailers. I would call them regularly.”

Her big break started when she saw that Destiny magazine would be hosting a readers’ event in Nelspruit. “I got my sister to take some product to the event and give it to the editors.”

The move paid off when an article appeared in the publication not long afterwards on her product. “Things started to happen. Suddenly I was moving 100 products a month and then Game, gave me a listing in some of its stores.”

This both delighted and terrified her. “I had secured a listing for three months but if my product did not move, then I would be delisted. Being delisted in retail really means the end of your business, as no retailer will touch you after that.”

However, her products flew off the shelves immediately and she has been given listings in selected Pick n Pay and Clicks stores.

Lessons learnt

She says part of the reason for doing Afrobotanics was to be a role model for rural women in her province. “When I worked with these women in government, they were all of the opinion that anyone who is successful is politically connected. I wanted to show them that this is not so and that it is possible to be successful by yourself.

“Through Afrobotanics I am building a brand that has a different narrative that will contribute towards the next generation of women loving and accepting themselves for who they are.”

She was also tired of being a consumer of products not made locally and by African women for African women.

“My advice to anyone who is an entrepreneur or following their dream is that it is a long road but when you do something with intent or good intentions, then it will work. I wish I had taken on this journey years ago and quit my job earlier.”

She says losing everything was a valuable lesson for her. “Growth happens in discomfort. What I do gives me meaning in my life, meaning I did not have when I was working.” Moreover, she still does not own a car and hopes to purchase a car this year.