Startup Story
On a mission to bring back health into the African haircare space, Tlhologelo Mabelane, founder of MabuTribe in South Africa, is creating great products combined with hair health education to help consumers to enjoy and celebrate their natural hair.
LoA chatted to founder Tlhologelo Mabelane to find out more.
Tell us about yourself
My name is Tlholo Mabelane and I am the founder of MabuTribe healthy haircare. My core vision is to celebrate African identity through shifting mindsets and to empower the economic landscape of Africa by establishing and empowering successful businesses. I established MabuTribe in 2015, partnering with salons , stylists and empowering clients with the aim of bringing back 'health' into the African hair space. I am experienced in equity research and management consulting in the enterprise development, media, public and banking sectors. I am working towards using that experience in finance and management consulting to do meaningful work in the arts and entrepreneurial space.
“MabuTribe manufactures and sells healthy hair care products and accessories designed for coily, curly hair, mild enough for mummy and little one, and pro health in its ingredients.”
What does your company do?:
MabuTribe manufactures and sells healthy hair care products and accessories designed for coily, curly hair, mild enough for mummy and little one, and pro health in its ingredients. We empower clients to enjoy their healthy hair through haircare education and styling for special occasions. We are focused on bringing back health into the African Haircare space.
What inspired you to start your company?
You see the billion dollar African haircare space has been largely focused on hair straightening and styling at the great compromise of scalp and hair health of African women. I was one of those women. I was losing my hairline and my hair was breaking and I decided to stop chemical relaxers. It was on this journey of trying to simply save my hair that I encountered my natural coily hair and found myself struggling to find the necessary grooming support to help me maintain natural healthy hair. In finding a solution to shifting my hair from feeling like an inconvenience to enjoying it as a natural crown I wanted to help other people crowned with coils and curls to feel empowered and equipped to enjoy their natural crowns.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
At MabuTribe we believe that how you see yourself affects how you show up in the world. So as MabuTribe we are really in the business of celebrating identity and we are doing it through hair! Our products aim to restore the dignity of healthy hair to Africans and celebrate the designs of their natural textures. Our clients can be assured that our products have the longevity of each hair strand and hair follicle in mind. Our products are naturally free from parabens, harsh sulphates, silicones, petroleum, paraffins and mineral oils.
“At MabuTribe we believe that how you see yourself affects how you show up in the world. So as MabuTribe we are really in the business of celebrating identity and we are doing it through hair!“
Tell us a little about your team
My team is made of individuals who have so greatly blessed me with how they have embraced the vision with such ownership and kindness. I am indebted to them for how they have chosen to journey with me through the highs and lows of business. They are they heartbeat of MabuTribe!
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
Entrepreneurship for me means creating vehicles of value exchanges in the world. Since early days in church where the message of purpose in serving others was sewn, and the day my Dad gave me the book 'Awaken the giant within' by Tony Robbins; I have had a very clear resolve to be a part of the solution towards seeing the eradication of poverty on our continent. It absolutely unsettles me to see how the African continent is graced with a soil full of riches ( the forestry, precious metals and resources) yet its people are poor. I believe that as African people we have to begin to reposition ourselves in the solution and see ourselves as the solution bearers.
I believe that owning our own solutions and hence businesses is critical to rebuilding the ruins of our nation. When I came across an article that said that the African haircare space was a billion dollar industry not at all substantially owned by Africans it was a tipping point for me. Although I believed in starting our own businesses I always had thousands of reasons why mine wouldn't work and never started anything due to that doubt. I took a step to simply learn by doing and I took on a problem I identified in the African haircare space. I saw myself as a solution bearer. It has been a challenging journey going into business but it is fulfilling and worth all the effort! Through an ongoing process of trial and error, asking for help and giving help; it is a journey worth travelling.
“We empower clients to enjoy their healthy hair through haircare education and styling for special occasions.”
“We are focused on bringing back health into the African Haircare space.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
I would like to see MabuTribe as one of the thought leaders on the health of African hair. We would like to grow our reach both on the educational side where we help structure African haircare standards and also on empowering our clients with good products and tools to help them truly enjoy their natural crowns.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
The biggest satisfaction for me is having found a space for the kind of impact I would like to make in the world. I love the creative process of building a new thing and seeing it grow. I love the absence of a predefined path and the opportunity to economically change other people's lives as we grow.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
I believe that it is freeing to realize that your dream and your success is fuelled by many contributions. All greatness is really achieved by community of efforts so ask for help. Ask for help constantly. Release yourself from the pressure of needing to have all the answers to your 'how'. Let your why ground you and guard you with persistence. Know that there is enough room for all of us to succeed and join arms to walk together with others.
Contact or follow MabuTribe
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | YOUTUBE | EMAIL tlholo.mabelane@gmail.com
Why LoA loves it….
The African haircare market is already huge and continuing to grow at a rapid rate, as is the desire for consumers to find natural products that enable them to celebrate their identity through their hair. As a consumer and an entrepreneur, Tlhologelo Mabelane knows what people want when it comes to finding the right products that will take care of, and importantly, celebrate that natural hair. Her MabuTribe brand is resonating with customers because it provides great products that put hair health first. This is definitely a brand to watch as it continues to grow its marketshare and consumer base. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo of Lionesses of Africa