Xolile Mabuza
Xolile Mabuza is the epitome of resilience and purpose through creative entrepreneurship. A couple of years ago, the resident of Mbombela, South Africa, founded Tendalo Trading to repurpose old rubber tubes from the tyres of cars, trucks and tractors into eco-friendly, durable and stylish bags.
Mabuza began her journey in business with a personal connection to her work, finding both healing in the recycling process and a way of honouring her late grandmother, who was a talented seamstress.
“I love being in this business because recycling and upcycling rubber tubes is healing to me. Washing rubber tubes feels like cleansing my soul and sewing them together feels like sewing all the broken pieces in me back together” she says.
Tendalo Trading
Through her work, Mabuza also finds purpose in her contribution to a bigger cause – by promoting responsible consumption and climate action – and takes great pride in providing training and creating job opportunities for the youth, especially women. She believes in the power of cultural and creative industries to showcase creativity and explore culture, while supporting livelihoods.
Yet, her journey through entrepreneurship hasn’t been easy. Setting up the business, acquiring the correct equipment and making initial sales were some of the challenges Mabuza has faced as a new business owner.
Mabuza’s creativity, business acumen and growth potential have earned her and Tendalo Trading a spot as one of the Création Africa programme’s top 12 entrepreneur finalists selected for incubation, seed funding and immersion through investment networks.
Tendalo Trading
“Through the Création Africa programme, I get to learn the fundamentals about running a successful business. I’m excited about the opportunity to grow my brand visibility, collaborate and upscale my business” she says.
