Startup Story
Mantate Mlotshwa is a creative and social entrepreneur from Zimbabwe. She is the Founder and Creative Lead for U Motle, a creative story-telling brand exploring fashion as a tool to curate experiences of African women and stories of African culture. She is a program design and development expert within the democracy, rights and governance sector. She holds a BSc in Psychology and has co-authored an anthology of short stories called Turquoise Dreams. She wants to grow the U Motle brand to reflect her travel within the continent, and to provide employment opportunities for other youth.
LoA spoke to Mantate about her passion for sharing the powerful stories of proudly African women through creative design, and about her ambitions for the future.
What does your company do?
The name U Motle is Sotho, and it means 'you are beautiful'. It is an affirmation built on the power of fashion expression to raise awareness, challenge conversations, and inspire positive perspectives of people and their culture. The brand exists to use African inspired clothing, accessories and styling, to express the powerful stories of African women, and the broader African story. It's a narrative shaping brand that celebrates the continent's uniqueness, while building women to see themselves and their experiences as beautiful. The brand currently has launched a range of earrings documenting and celebrating different Zimbabwean young women.
“The U Motle brand is built on creatively conceptualizing experience, and every travel journey, and every story we encounter is a chance to innovate around how to tell it to the next person.”
What inspired you to start your company?
I love traveling, and discovering different things about Africa that make us similar and different. I have always worn Afrocentric clothing and accessories when traveling within and outside the continent, and was constantly heart-warmed when my outfit sparked curiosity about its meaning. I remember that in 2019 I went to Angola for a peace forum, and the women there bought my earrings because they loved them so much. That incident was a great push for me to say I can actually explore this interest in how I style myself, what I wear, and use it to enable more women to feel that they can extend the African story. I chose the name U Motle because as a young woman my ambitions and work is hinged on a positive affirmation of my journey and my capability. That strong sense of self made me want to help other women feel that they are beautiful, that their stories are beautiful and that how good we look can be a part of that everyday shoutout to the next woman, and source of affirmation when others look at us and admire our accessory, clothing, or general sense of style.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
The brand advocates for positive mindset and seeks to build the self. It's more the experience, and how it makes the user feel about themselves. This is special because every good story that comes from wearing the U Motle brand is a validation of our existence. The brand is also hinged on educating, and that extends to people who don't necessarily wear earrings, or women's clothing. That ability to appeal to people who read and see each story and think to themselves, "I'd love this for my daughter, girl, sister, friend etc." is our other strong angle. Lastly, the U Motle brand is built on creatively conceptualizing experience, and every travel, and every story we encounter is a chance to innovate around how to tell it to the next person. The brand therefore carries a domino effect that we hope will grow across generations and help shape and preserve empowering narratives about women and Africa.
“The U Motle brand carries a domino effect that we hope will grow across generations and help shape and preserve empowering narratives about women and Africa.”
Tell us a little about your team
While the brand is still largely solo run. I do work on a need basis with an amazing South African storyboard and digital artist, Sylvan Ant Siya Dube, who plays a key role in expanding my conceptual process. He's been a part of the brand from its inception. I also have a close friend, Barbara Kamba Nyathi who is a muse for some of the brand's designs and has been a brand ambassador since inception. Two of my other close friends, Nalenhle Moyo and Debra Dlamini have been extremely instrumental as points of contacts in my country when I am away for extended periods. I hope that as the brand matures, they will get to be more involved, and that other people will be brought on board to make the dream work.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I have always been a problem solver. Always been curious about monetizing my skills. I remember that in high school I used to be a part of a girl empowerment club and we started a hot-dogs business with our patron, Ma'am Takawira where we sold during break and lunchtimes, as well as during sports and other events. We used this business to fundraise for our club activities that involved providing sanitary pads for girls, and resources permitting, school fees. After high school, my entrepreneurial lessons came from interacting with friends and mentors who were in different ways solving problems through their businesses. My first business was a broiler chicken business in 2018, that grew from 50 birds per batch to 500 in 12 months. I have since been exploring different things and I think having a full time job gave me financial security, while giving me the freedom to explore my other gifts, until I gave U Motle a go. I have been in love with it since and continue to grow and seek to make it a great business in the region and continent.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
I want to one day benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and part of that involves me building a brand that is viable and appealing to the regional and continental market. So, I am really just giving myself the grace to strategically place the brand in alignment with the growth of the agreement. I also want my brand to one day create employment for women, and young people who are passionate about Africa, fashion and storytelling. The immediate plan and aspiration is to not have to do it all on my own, and that's what I am focusing on.
“My heart is to be a part of an African-led narrative of who we are as a people and continent.”
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
I love the love I receive from the people who buy my products, and those who affirm the story that drives us. It reminds me every day that I have some good going and I need to keep growing and refining it, for myself, and those who have believed in it. I also enjoy seeing Africa reflected in my brand. My heart is to be a part of an African-led narrative of who we are as a people and continent. Feeding into that, while laying a foundation for generational wealth is my greatest incentive.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Beyond the question of uniqueness, your product, service, experience, needs to carry with it an assurance of continuity, and sustainability.
While you can't answer it all before starting, it is important that you reflect on it. This will help you stay rooted when you start and things don't look how you expected them to. It'll help you gather yourself to adapt, and not pack to leave every time it gets hard.
Love what you are starting. You are the primary ambassador for your brand, and it matters how you carry it.
Contact or follow U Motle
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL mantatemlotshwa@gmail.com
Why LoA loves it…
At Lionesses of Africa, we are great believers in harnessing passion as a driver of success and impact, and Mantate Mlotshwa is certainly someone who knows how to do just that. Her passion for Africa and building a positive, life-enhancing narrative around the stories of strong, inspirational women, is genuinely empowering to others. We look forward to seeing Mantate continue to build her business and brand over the coming years and to inspire other young women to tell their own stories through creative expression, in life and in business. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa