FROM SELLING AMASKOPAS TO OWNING A CLOTHING LINE

Olly Mandlazi is a South African innovator with an inspiring journey. After making waves as a DJ, he fully embraced his entrepreneurial spirit and founded DIBABA – a street fashion label that was launched to great success at Sandton’s prestigious SA Fashion Week in 2019. Before this triumphant moment, the nickname ‘DIBABA’ had been given to him by friends while studying on campus in Soweto’s Pimville Zone during the early 2000s; it all started when Olly opened up a shop in Diepkloof back in 2018. TransformSA recently caught up with this creative entrepreneur for more insight into what drives his business endeavours.

Can you tell us about yourself, where you come from, and how your name was chosen? I used to run a street stall selling Amaskopas and sweets. I was using the profit to buy music on vinyl. My nickname DIBABA grew up when people started calling me DIBABA at my stall, and at that time I needed a DJ stage name.

Before starting your own business, where did you work?

I worked for the Musica chain of stores selling CDs, and saw how record companies were integrating the music industry and merchandise. Later, I worked with a company that supplied BIG BLUE, a South African retail giant. As a reseller, I would buy their merchandise and resell it. That’s when I decided to start my clothing line

What makes your business unique? As a musically inspired brand, we celebrate Soweto and Mbombela as symbols of origin. I wanted to tell the story of how I grew up through a T-shirt, but the story is now loved by the entire nation. We have many international customers who buy from our Rosebank Mall store, so I plan to open stores across the country and ship internationally.

Thobile Nyawo is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur and founder of Nyawo Group. The company she works for is one of many that installs solar panels to keep our lights on.

In what ways have you implemented gender-driven development at work? We empower young people and women, especially those who are about to enter our industry. As a result, we provide them with an opportunity to gain experience and apply their skills.

What are some of the tips you can give entrepreneurs to help them adapt? Entrepreneurs often have to adapt to changes. To be an entrepreneur, you’ll need those skills. The reason for this is that you have already been taught how to solve problems. As a result, you need to adapt. As entrepreneurs, we should also think outside the box. Entrepreneurs are independent, both as individuals and as organisations. So, it’s important to be able to think outside the box.

Where do you get your solar panels from? We have suppliers that are supplying us, which is beneficial to our business.

What is the staff composition of your company? We currently have a team of three people who are helping, we also got seven technicians on other sites.

In what ways have you implemented gender-driven development in the workplace? We empower young women trying to break into the solar energy space. As a result, we empower our women with skills and provide them with opportunities to grow within the organisation. The ultimate goal is to see more girls occupying spaces within this male-dominated industry.