THE HOLISTIC BUSINESS OF HAMBELELA S
ince the age of fourteen, Victoria Hambelela Toivo has had a mind for business. When an idea for her own business presented itself, this young Namibian entrepreneur started Hambelela Organic – with nothing but her mother’s wisdom.
Victoria’s products are now used by small enterprises in the manufacture of soaps, creams and other beauty products. “We are wholesalers, trading as Hambelela Organic. The products we wholesale are your essential oils, carrier oils, organic butters and waxes, and then also clays and emulsifiers, and dried herbs and spices,” explains Victoria. “My mom is into medicinal and herbal products, and I wanted to start making my own skincare products,” Victoria notes, adding that it was while looking into developing products for her own use that she uncovered a gap in the market. “The resources are hard to find, so I did more research and I found producers who make these natural products, but don’t sell to individuals. “That was my initial idea, to have people making their own products and having a more holistic approach to their lives. I know I’m contributing something to someone’s life.” Victoria explains the path she took to being a business-owner at the age of twenty-four. “I’m an artistic person and I initially wanted to study architecture and civil engineering. But I’d had a little business ever since I was fourteen, so I’m exposed to being independent. I decided in 2015 to create something for myself after completing my degree in marketing. That decision was one of the contributing factors in growing my business. Now Victoria has big plans to localise her business. “I want to do as much as I can to enable myself to set up my own distillation factory. There are a lot of producers within Southern Africa, but there aren’t a lot of factories where one can distill raw products.” As a female entrepreneur with a growing business, Victoria is aware that the industry she has entered can be challenging for women. “In this type of market – essential oils – there are certain barriers if you are female. I’m planning on setting up my own place, a little farm where I harvest, dry herbs and that type of thing, but it’s been hard to be able to get land.” That shouldn’t discourage other entrepreneurs from starting, Victoria says. “Use the little that you have to create something. Then, with what you get, try to
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