Entrepreneur of the Week
Sipelele Kampinya, the owner and founder of Imani Creations, started her business in early 2020, selling fabric. Soon, her business evolved and she was making beautiful outfits and clothing for her customers.
“I had been thinking about starting it for a while and so I just decided to jump right in and do just that,” said Kampinya.
“I started the business from my love of having unique items of clothing with a strong African feel. I had made a few clothes for myself, but when I started getting a lot of good feedback, I saw that there was a market for people who wanted the same. I also have a passion for making African print clothing to be accepted as everyday clothing choices rather than just special occasions,” she said.
Kampinya’s business is located at her Stonehenge home in Mbombela.
She was born in Matatiele in the Eastern Cape, but mostly grew up in Pretoria before recently relocating to Mbombela.
“I mostly use 100% cotton Ankara fabric, but also use polycotton sometimes.”
She said her dream is to have her own small workspace where she can employ two or three seamstresses/tailors to work on producing the clothing on a slightly larger scale.
“My business right now is structured towards servicing the Lowveld and therefore their support is really important. I also believe that as a community we need to support small businesses within our areas and strengthen them,” she said.
Kampinya can be found at most markets around the Lowveld, however, you can also contact her to place orders via email, imanicreationsza@gmail.com, or WhatsApp,
079 281 6452, or her social media pages, Facebook: Imani Creations and Instagram: @imani_creations_za.