Kayamandi entrepreneur Sam Mhlakaza wearing his Kasilam Wear merchandise. PHOTO: Supplied
I meet up with Sam Mhlakaza at a bustling restaurant at the centre of Stellenbosch. Nicknamed ‘Teddy’ by his friends, one look at him explains why; he has a warm smile, kind eyes, and a full face that instantly makes you feel at ease.
At 26 years old, Sam is at the pulse of youth culture and social entrepreneurship in his community of Kayamandi, a township in Stellenbosch.
He has been involved with many projects in and around the area – from organising and mobilising rallies to end crime in the region, to working for a local NGO, VisionAfrika, which aims to upskill young people.
The first thing we talk about is how his business venture, Kasilam Wear, is going. Kasilam is an IsiXhosa slang term that translate to ‘my home/my township’.
He immediately picks up a passionate and excited tone as he speaks about the business, which sells branded apparel. The brand was started by him and a friend back in 2014 and these days he works on the business full time, after getting retrenched from VisionAfrika early last year. The brand has two shareholders, and three other people helping if they have big orders.
Sam with a team modelling his Kasilam brand. PHOTO: Supplied
“We are looking at the growth of the brand, by hopefully starting a shop soon – we only have an online store at the moment, but there hasn’t been much impact with it as people would rather call, WhatsApp or Facebook inbox us,” he notes.
He says their biggest challenge is competition, “one has to keep up with their product to make sure you’re also aware of the brands that are out there and the deals being released.”
He and his competitors also use the same supplier, which can cause problems at times, like offering the same product to customers. Luckily, he was able to patent the name Kasilam Wear before it was too late.
Growing up with his mom, brother, late sister and nephew – things haven’t been smooth sailing for the exuberant young person. Recalling some of the biggest challenges young people face in the community, Mhlakaza says people often don’t fully understand other’s suffering;
“People would be surprised to know our living conditions at home. You wake up, eat leftovers from last night as breakfast, for lunch you eat dry bread with tea, and for supper you have rice with potatoes – by how happy we are, some people would be surprised to know these things. But as much as the situation is currently this way, I know it will change as time passes.”
Models wearing the Kasilam branded apparel in front of Mhlakaza’s home. PHOTO: Supplied
Mhlakaza did both primary and high school in Kayamandi, later going to Boland College to do a diploma in marketing management. He plans on going back to school to study law, and hopefully start his own firm. He says a lot of young people in his community want to be entrepreneurs, but neglect to look at the legal aspect of running a business.
Kasilam Wear is not the only business venture Sam is involved with, over the past year he has come together with five of his friends to start a kids’ entertainment company, the goal being to focus on other streams of income.
The group launched a kids’ event under the company late last year, which included jumping castles and a fun day with parents, but the event failed to generate the sort of attendance they had hoped for, they are now planning to try again later this year.
“People tend to view money as the only indicator for success, the fact that we have been able to produce something, that’s success on it’s own, money will be a bonus. Maybe in a year’s time I can say I am making enough money to sustain myself, but for now I know I am making money to cover basic things.”
As the conversation progresses, we start talking about the wine industry around Stellenbosch, he mentions the lack of diversity and representation of Kayamandi in the wine industry. He hopes to change this, by getting into the industry, particularly wine marketing.
“Young people in Kayamandi are starting to appreciate wine, not just drinking it. But starting to appreciate wine pairing as well.” He’s planning a wine experience event, later this year, in collaboration with Stellenbosch Wine Route, a local tourist wine guide.
“Continuing to follow this route was a choice. If I wanted to, I would be working for someone else right now, I’m always reflecting on how grateful I am to not have been taken by a big corporate company I applied to a while back, otherwise I would not be doing any of the things I’m doing.”
To show his gratitude, Mhlakaza will be starting an organisation called Kasilam Foundation – a way of giving back to his beloved community. The organisation will address the issue of child headed families and computer illiteracy in the community.
“A lot of young people from our communities don’t have computer skills, they struggle once they arrive at university. I already have a relationship with both Kayamandi and Makupula High School, where they’ll open their computer labs for us for this program, which is currently in the process of registration.”
As we get ready to part ways, he looks at me, in a way that seems to ask I consider his words seriously: “As much as all the businesses I’m involved with have a risk for failure, I see the possible success.”