South African entrepreneurs making it big at home and in Africa
Category Commercial and Industrial News
The magnitude of Africa's homegrown talent and innovation should not be understated, and in celebration of Heritage Month, 3Cube Property Solutions shares the stories of some of South Africa's business success stories and shines the spotlight on South African entrepreneurs who have taken their brand to new heights across our country and our continent.
SweepSouth - now open in Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt
SweepSouth is a South African startup that was launched in 2014, allowing clients to hire home service providers. The company's catchphrase is "Let us take care of your home so you can enjoy doing the things you love". This philosophy clearly has universal appeal, because SweepSouth has not only become a household name in South Africa, but also launched its services in Kenya in 2020. Business Insider South Africa reports that the homegrown brand has also expanded into Egypt with the acquisition of Filkhedma, a company that offers home cleaning among a wider array of services including at-home beauty treatments. Earlier in 2022, SweepSouth started testing its service in Nigeria, and the feedback indicates a positive uptake from Nigerian citizens.
Bathu Shoes - a South African footwear brand that's stepping up
In an interview held in 2020, Bathu Shoes founder, Theo Baloyi, reveals that "Bathu" is South African township slang for shoes. Following his idea to create South Africa's first homegrown sneaker brand, Baloyi embarked on 18 months of research and development, which paid off on launch day in 2016, when interest in and demand for the brand caused the Bathu website to crash. Factory orders quickly grew from 1 000 to 4 000 and after five years, the Bathu team were having at least 15 000 pairs of shoes manufactured every month. There are currently 24 Bathu stores around South Africa and the brand shows no signs of slowing down. In a nutshell, this brand is proudly fulfilling its mission of telling a proudly South African story to the world and becoming a leading shoe retailer.
Portia M Skin Solutions - an award-winning brand inspired by one woman's skincare challenges
In 2018, Portia Mngomezulu was awarded Pick n Pay's Small Supplier of the Year Award, thanks to the phenomenal growth of her business that started with nothing but determination and a two-plate stove. After giving birth to a child back in 2010, her mother-in-law suggested that she use marula oil to help with stretch marks. After seeing the effects of this oil, she started manufacturing a range of beauty products and later approached the Small Enterprise Development Agency for help in getting her products and formulas tested. The ultimate result was a range of organic products that help to alleviate stretch marks, uneven skin tone and acne, amongst various other skin-related issues. Mngomezulu has undoubtedly earned her place on the list of South African businesswomen to watch.
Eat to Thrive - where food security and nutrition are top priorities
For Arabella Parkinson, the driving force behind her success is the need to democratise nutrition. Her company is called Eat to Thrive, and its goals are to make plant-based food more accessible to South Africans and to help people thrive by using these plant-based foods as medicines. One of the many factors that make her business stand out and place her on the list of start-ups to watch is that she is sourcing her ingredients from suppliers who are committed to sustainable farming methods and are opposed to the use of genetically modified organisms and artificial ingredients.
All businesses that want to get noticed on a national or global scale have one thing in common: the need for the right premises. 3Cube Property Solutions is here to find every commercial and industrial enterprise in Gauteng the factory, warehouse or office that will enable their business to thrive. Contact us today for more information.
Author: 3Cube Property Solutions
