Have a seat with go-getter and Mandeni furniture queen Mandisa [Watch]

Mandeni businesswoman Mandisa Mwandla is rapidly climbing the entrepreneurship ladder.

The 34-year-old owns ‘Have A Seat Stylish Furniture Manufacturers’, and she is determined to become one of the leading businesswomen in the region.

Mwandla earned second place in the iLembe Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism’s Entrepreneur business accelerator competition last year.

Born and bred in the Ndulinde area in Mandeni, she attended Sikhonyane Primary and Mbuyiselo High School.

After failing matric, Mwandla dusted herself off and moved to Durban to do a rewrite.

With no money to pay for schooling, she discovered a Muslim school, Islamic Dawa’h College, which offered free schooling.

“After obtaining my matric certificate, I did not have money to further my studies at tertiary level, so I got a job as a waitress at Durban’s North Beach to save for registration fees. After 3 years I could enroll for a national diploma in accounting at the Mangosuthu University of Technology,” said the mother of a 3-year-old girl.

“After earning my diploma, I could not find a job, and I thought perhaps I was not meant to work for someone else. I presented an idea of starting a furniture business to my family and my big brother was more than willing to invest in it.”

At that time, she had no idea where to begin but knew exactly what kind of furniture she wanted to manufacture.

“There were many furniture factories, but I realised not many focused on dining tables and chairs. I filled that niche and so far I am enjoying the journey.”

It was not always plain sailing. She had to overcome many obstacles since starting out 5 years ago.

Mwandla now supplies furniture stores in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

At the entrepreneur competition, judges said the business was poised for significant growth, even beyond KZN.

“I honestly did not expect to be one of the winners at the competition, but I am grateful for the opportunity provided to us as upcoming business people. I learnt a lot from my mentors and all the knowledge gained there will help me grow my business further,” said Mwandla.

As part of her prize, Mwandla recieves 12 free adverts over 3 months in the Courier.

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