TITLE: KZN Growth Fund supports South Africa’s first 100 percent black owned and managed business in the Textile Sector

DATE: 24 January 2019 Venue: eThekwini Municipality, Verulam Written by: Vasanthi Naidoo KwaZulu-Natal leads the way in Radical Economic Transformation with the first, hundred percent black

owned and managed textile company in the country. On 22 January 2019 MEC for Economic

Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs officially opened Africa Bespoke Apparel. Located in

Verulam, the company started as Africa Blaize Apparel, a small Cut, Make and Trim (CMT) business in

2016, by four directors. However the owners had bigger and more ambitious plans and set out to

revive the textile industry by expanding their business. They then approached KZN Growth Fund for to

raise capital and received part funding. The shareholders had some of their own money which they

contributed towards the capital but it was not enough. They then approached the Department of Trade

and Industry for more funding through their Black Industrialist Programme.

The organisation started operations middle of 2018 as Africa Bespoke Apparel and are now fully

operational. The company employs 500 permanent employees. As a CMT manufacturer they dealt

with the middle man and not directly with the retailer. Now they supply the retailers and clients directly.

Currently their negotiations with the likes of The Foschini Group and Mr Price Stores have been well

received. According to CEO, Mr Sizwe Mbanjwa, they would like to grow the industry by roping in up

and coming young talent in the industry. They are putting together their own design centre and are

currently in discussions with Durban University of Technology to employ their graduates. Mr Mbanjwa

says they are not at the stage yet to dictate prices but have to take the prices as negotiated with the

retailers. As such, there is a very small margin of profit but with the establishment of their own design

centre and label the company aims to be able to set the prices for their garments, grow the business

and provide a platform for the development of younger talent in the industry.

Vox Pops: 1. How does it feel to be the first black owned textile company in the country 2. How do you see yourself or the company growing further?

Respondent: Mr Sizwe Mbanjwa, CEO of Africa

Bespoke Apparel

“We started this business as four directors, myself, Dean Dunn, Justin Govender and Mlungisis Ntombela. We approached KZN Growth Fund as a debt financier to raise funding for the project. As you know when you raising funds you will never get 100% funded. So we had our own small contribution but it was not enough. So we applied to DTI for the Black Industrialist Programme which they really helped us. In terms of our structure we are funded by KZN Growth Debt Finance, a small portion from the shareholders’ contribution and the DTI through through their Black Industrialist Programme. We are very grateful. We are still in, what I would term as, the set-up phase but it is now a new financial year and things will start picking up. We started as a CMT because we needed to build our name so that customers will see the quality of garments that we make and have confidence in us. In terms of our gearing we are not a typical CMT factory because of our cost structure and the type of machinery we use. We are happy that the retailers of the likes of Foschini Group and Mr Price are responding. We make mainly jeans and chinos, T-Shirts. The demand is coming, unfortunately in the country I don’t think we have enough capacity to keep up with this demand, that is also what led us to seize this opportunity. That is why we’ve got big ambitious plans in terms of growth.We have already highlighted some of our plans, we are working with DTI and The provincial office. We are also talking to eThekwini Municipality for the Dube Tradeport Textile Hub. That will help create more job opportunities but most importantly it will be a platform to bring other up and coming talent into the space of the textile industry.”

Respondent: Mighty Mngadi- employee

“I am 31 years of age. I come from a rural area in Ndwedwe. I started working at Africa Blaize Apparel which last year became Africa Bespoke Apparel. It is amazing to be at ABA and a privilege to be a part of the whole project. My education, I did not get the chance to study further but I do have my matric. So I feel like this is a stepping stone for me because my parents did not have enough money to send me to university. There is much more I can learn here and much more I can achieve. I work in the cutting room, where everything starts. I have grown in the past years. When I finished matric I did not know anything about the textile industry. I started as a packer and now I can make up a garment and tell people how it will look, what do we need to do. I can also make patterns. I still want to learn as much as I can and there is a lot more to learn , a lot more room for improvement. Maybe one day I will work in the office, I don’t know but that is my vision.

Respondent: Fathima Ntao

“I am from Eastern Cape, Matatiele. I came here when I was 12 years old. I have my matric but unfortunately I fell pregnant right when I was in Matric. That was in 2010. In 2011 I had to work so that I could feed my baby. I started working in Blaize with Mighty in the cutting room. He taught me a lot and from there they moved me to help on the floor. I became a supervisor and the after 3 years I fell pregnant with my second baby so I went on maternity leave. So when I came back, Justin brought me here and put me in the cutting room because I fell ill and the whole factory, everything was not in yet. So I worked in the cutting room. After that, because he knows I can work with people and can run the line, they opened the pinafore line and I started running the line. It is a very nice place to work here. I am hoping that we grow and the money gets better so that we can get better ourselves. Life is so expensive. I am willing to learn to grow and develop.”

CAPTURED BY VASANTHI NAIDOO

The Premises of the new and bigger Africa Bespoke Apparel formerly, Africa Blaize Apparel.