Proudly South African fashion designer

A passion for fashion drives young Doringkop designer Nkanyiso Mngoma.

You may have seen his clothing labelled ‘Ekamu’, with the logo of an African map with the face of a woman on it.

Mngoma believes one should strive to achieve everything you can, while you can.

“We should start by believing in ourselves and do what we are passionate about,” said Mngoma.

At the age of 25 he is the owner of his own clothing company, however his background was not always in fashion. He started off by studying sports management at the Durban University of Technology.

In 2012 he interned at KwaDukuza municipality, serving as a traffic officer for six months before he decided to follow his dream.

Ekamu Clothing targets students at a tertiary level. He uses students from the Durban University of Technology and the University of Zululand to market his products.

The former Shekembula High School pupil urged the youth to “catch a wake up call” and support locally made products.

“We cannot rely on importing to clothe our people. My product is proudly South African,” said the passionate entrepreneur.

Mngoma is one of the Ilembe Chamber of commerce entrepreneurs competition finalists.

“So far I have learned a lot about customer relations and marketing.”

He recently attended the Proudly South African Buy Local summit and expo at Emperor’s Palace convection centre, Kempton Park Johannesburg to market his product.

Check out the brand on his Facebook page ‘Ekamu-Brands’ or contact him on 078 162 8771.