BUSINESSWOMAN Namhla Dotwana’s innovative organic skincare range business has bagged her a R1 million business funding prize, after her pitch wowed the judges and secured her the first spot in the national leg of Pitch for Funding programme hosted by the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA).
Dotwana (31) from Gotyibeni Location in Tsolo, which falls under Mhlontlo Local Municipality, has been running her business from her home’s garage, using a normal kitchen blender to mix her products.
She produces and sells a unique variety of organic skincare products that are infused with impepho (helichrysum, otherwise known as African sage) under the Namhla Collection, her business name. She started operating during the national lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
SEDA says the Pitch for Funding programme is aimed at closing the gap between entrepreneurs’ needs and investors’ expectations.
“The ongoing challenge of access to finance by small businesses compels SEDA to intervene in narrowing the gap and facilitating deal-making between entrepreneurs and investors,” reads a SEDA statement.
“The business idea started from a dream I had in my sleep about impepho, which is an indigenous South African plant, and I started researching the benefits of the plant, which then led me to start producing a range of products like bath soaps, bath salts and candles from it,” Dotwana says. She added that the R1 million grand prize would help her expand and professionalise her business.
“The immediate plan is to move out of my mom’s garage to a facility that will enable me to increase production and meet the demand from my customers. It is my wish that the business remains rooted in my home village of Gotyibeni and creates employment opportunities for many unemployed young people in my locality,” Dotwana added.
She said that her products are meant for everyone who is an organic and natural skincare user, notwithstanding their age or their social, economic and educational status.
Detailed information on Dotwana’s organic skincare range is available on her recently launched e-commerce website www.namhlacollection.comor through her social media pages as Namhla Collection.
