Online platform for black-owned businesses brings market to Westgate
Launched in 2016, BrownSense promotes manufacturers and artisanal entrepreneurs
The BrownSense Market brought its brand of colour and flavour to Westgate Super Regional Mall on October 30 and 31.
Cognisant of the need to give small traders and start-up businesses a way to reach a shared audience, The BrownSense Market was launched in 2016. With demand justifying a physical presence, the first-ever collection of stalls under The BrownSense banner was hosted in June that year. The marketplace promotes black-owned businesses and prioritises those that manufacture or produce their products themselves.
Primarily an online platform for start-ups to promote their brands, BrownSense hosts regular markets across Johannesburg but due to the global health panic, has not done so since late 2019. Operated by three young entrepreneurs, Mzuzukile Soni, Keitumetse Diseko and Brenda Ngubeni, the platform can now boast to have 221 000 members online, sharing ideas and marketing capabilities.
A wide collection of craftsmen and -women, handmade clothing and accessories as well as an assortment of local and traditional foods filled the rooftop parking of the mall, all in the ambience of an array of talented local musicians. Demand pending, another market is on the horizon, with Keitumetse encouraging, “If anyone is interested or wishes to contribute, visit us at brownsense.africa”.
