As a teenager, Mabel Ledwaba turned her bedroom into a beauty parlor. Today, her brand has made a mark on the local beauty industry.
AN 83KM DRIVE TO THE industrialized Vanderbijlpark in the southern parts of Johan-nesburg presents an undulating green and brown landscape. In the midst of all the dullness, we are greeted on arrival by a well-groomed beauty entrepreneur in this town in South Africa’s Highveld.
Like an Egyptian goddess, make-up artist Mabel Ledwaba glides in, in a full-length, draped black dress, and recollects her entrepreneurial journey.
“It was a long ten years of trial and error,” says Ledwaba, arching her well-shaped brows.
Ledwaba, who initially planned on opening a nail and eyelash bar, founded a make-up line that is today worth over R2.5 million ($181,000), and has a presence in all nine provinces of South Africa.
The transition from employee to employer took six months before Havillah Beauty officially launched in 2008.
In just two years, the business grew from occupying 20 square meters to a 50-square meter establishment in a commercial office space.
“You can have a business plan but you never stick to it,” Ledwaba says.
Tapping into a market at a time when international cosmetics dominated in South Africa, Ledwaba was determined to make a mark as a local brand.
With a dream and passion for business, as a teenager, the township beauty queen converted her bedroom into a beauty parlor.
This story is from the March - May 2019 edition of Forbes Woman Africa.
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This story is from the March - May 2019 edition of Forbes Woman Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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