A beauty vision that goes beyond skin deep
With over 8 million South Africans currently unemployed, entrepreneur and accountant Mathebe Ngwenya is using the beauty industry to create job opportunities in the community.
When Drake rapped, “Started from the bottom, now we here,” it was an anthem for anyone rising against the odds. For Mathebe Ngwenya, that line is almost literal.
What started in 2015 as a simple need to find a makeup artist in another city, has grown into a tech-driven beauty outlet: Beauty on TApp, which is now, not only connecting people with everything beauty, but also creating jobs and uplifting local brands in a country facing one of the highest unemployment rates in the world.
“We needed a make up artist and had no idea where to start,” said Ngwenya. “Instagram did exist at the time, but you couldn’t zone in on location. I thought there was a gap in the market for an application that lets people search for beauty services in an area of their choice.”
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What started as a platform for finding beauty professionals quickly grew into something bigger than imagined. “There was also a growing demand of local beauty brands, so we had a find a local beauty product category on the app, which gave people access to beauty brands.”
Even the name came to her intuitively. “The name: Beauty on TApp, just popped into my head when I was trying to find a name that spoke to both us, as a beauty brand, but on a tech platform.”
Today, Beauty on TApp is more than an e-commerce platform; it has a physical presence and a growing community. “I always thought it would remain a tech platform and wanted to build it out to the biggest beauty e-platform in Africa. Our community kept asking us to consider a store, so that they can experience us in person, try products, and get better guidance, and this was during Covid.”
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As a cautious accountant by training, she took her time before making the leap. Ngwenya sat with the suggestion for a while and ran numbers, and at the end of 2022, started exploring the idea of opening a store.
The first store opened at Mall of Africa in April 2023. The second followed soon after in Fourways. “Fourways only made sense because we have a really big community in the area, and we always want to be accessible to our community.”
At the heart of it all, is job creation and economic contribution. According to Stats SA, over 8 million people in South Africa remain unemployed. Ngwenya sees her business as part of the solution. “We have plans to expand across the country in coming years. That will definitely create more jobs.”
Ngwenya’s advice for others hoping to enter the beauty space is to focus on meaning. “The first thing is, that the industry is big. There’s lots of room for all of us, so, don’t be intimidated to start. Secondly, think for the people and add value. People are moving towards brands that are sincere and those that think of them.”
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