“FASHION embodies love.”
These are Xolile Mabuza’s motivational words.
The 27-year-old seamstress and Siswati cricket analyst from Msogwaba Village in Mpumalanga creates eco-friendly, durable, waterproof, ethically sourced, and stylish bags from old rubber tubes of car tyres.
Xolile is the founder of Tendalo Trading, established in 2018 after she suffered a stroke that changed her life.
With less than seven years in the business, Xolile’s creativity, business understanding, and growth potential have earned her and Tendalo Trading as one of the Creation Africa programme’s top 12 entrepreneur finalists.
They were selected for incubation, seed funding, and immersion through investment networks.
“I had to relearn to do things, use my hand, walk, and be alive again. Working with rubber tubes, washing them, I felt I was cleansing a bigger, dirty part of me. When I started sewing rubber tubes, it felt I was sewing all the broken pieces in me back together,” Xolile said.
Her passion was also stimulated by her childhood, when she used to see her grandmother create magic through her sewing machine.
business,culture,family
Xolile Mabuza, founder of Tendalo Trading.
She said through collecting and washing rubber tubes, she found a source of comfort during a dark period in her life.
“I noticed problems caused by dumping and burning rubber tubes and opportunities that came with solving the issue. Then, it connected with my healing.”
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Xolile said she was taught the culture of love from a young age by her family, from seeing the love in her parents’ eyes every morning when they were dressing her and her siblings up for school.
“I was taught the culture of love because it teaches you to embrace things. I learned that fashion embodies love, a collaboration of identities and cultures, and a map of who we are as a people, where we’ve been, and what our future looks like.”
She said her belief in God, talent, and the support from the community have kept her grounded in the business world.
“On days when I felt I was failing, I trusted that God’s plan for my life wouldn’t fail me. Having a supportive family and community has always been a game changer. They bring my efforts to light, for me to see and learn that I’m doing fine.”
Xolile further shared that people, especially Africans, should honour and cherish their roots. She highlighted that the world needs to know where we come from.
“The world deserves to know who we are, as Africans. They need to know the magic that runs in our veins, that lies beneath our tongues and the different languages we speak. We’re people of colour and character with a DNA of beautiful cultures.”
She said it’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure that customs and cultures are honoured, cherished, and passed on to the next generations.