Nilotiqa beating bad hair days
Krugersdorp’s incidental entrepreneur refused to take no for an answer
Thokozile Mangwiro, who describes herself as an incidental entrepreneur, has set her sights on capturing a fair share of the lucrative haircare industry.
Mangwiro, 41, is the founder and CEO of Nilotiqa Black Haircare, a company that is making waves in the hair care industry.
Born in Krugersdorp, Mangwiro loves to see black women walking around with confidence because of their beautiful hair. The IT graduate, who obtained a master’s degree in information technology, launched her company in 2016, after doing extensive research on how she could find solutions for women’s bad hair days.
Frustrated by haircare products on retail shelves, Mangwiro said she felt compelled to seek out her own organic solutions for maintaining her naturally managed, long Afro hair.
“As it happens to most African women, our hair is characterised by kinky curls, and grows closer to the scalp, which makes it a challenge for our hair’s natural oils to travel down the hair strands to the tips. Nilotiqa Black Haircare is an organic and home-grown solution to maintain your hair’s natural moisture,” she said.
The South African haircare market is projected to register a 5.7% growth between 2021 and 2026, according to Mordor Intelligence. “In
South Africa, with a population of around 55 million and a shifting demographic profile, the haircare market is positively correlated with a rise in disposable income, presenting a vast potential for the consumer market,” the report reads.
Having to face challenges to get her products into major retailers, Mangwiro had to work hard to get to the top. Despite hardships she had to be resilient in her mission to get Nilotiqa products on the market.
“I pounded the pavements, made weekly calls to the major retail outlets where I knew I needed to be if I wanted to reach and speak to my local audience, but none of the retailers were ready for my products. I learnt how to speak up, while pushing myself to be more visible,” she said.
Despite facing challenges for almost two years, Mangwiro’s hair products managed to find their way onto Clicks shelves nationwide. A year later she got her hair range into Dis-chem and Pick n Pay stores across the country.
“Running my own business, managing the marketing, finance, production and distribution, while also managing my family and two young sons, was a learning curve. I never doubted Nilotiqa was a good product and that kept me going, but as an entrepreneur who was unfamiliar with the challenges of the national retail sector, I knew I needed help to grow this business on a bigger scale,” she said.
Nilotiqa is now being distributed by South Africa’s leading distributor of top international brands involved in importing, warehousing, sales and marketing to the local market, Sunpac.
Early this year Sunpac CEO Shaun Laffer and Mangwiro signed a deal.