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Small haircare business makes big moves following deal with Checkers

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Small haircare business makes big moves following deal with Checkers:

Small haircare business makes big moves following deal with Checkers

Nigel-born entrepreneur Zano Mnguni is expanding his 100% black-owned haircare business after striking a deal to supply selected Checkers and Checkers Hyper stores in Gauteng. In less than a year, Zee Afro Hair went from supplying just five to 15 stores.

Mnguni has been able to employ eight people and foresees more jobs being created as the business grows. His small enterprise is making big strides, recently moving from its rented facility into a bigger and better factory space in Pomona, East of Johannesburg, and purchasing new machinery that Mnguni previously couldn’t afford.

He left the corporate world in 2013 to pursue entrepreneurship and the idea to start a haircare brand came from Mnguni’s experience assisting friends who owned a salon in Duduza in Nigel, east of Johannesburg. This is where he also learnt more about the ingredients in haircare products.

Initially Mnguni sold his products through social media, salons and word-of-mouth. In 2020 he sought the help of biochemists to put his products through rigorous testing – including stability, enzyme and quality testing – with a vision to approach mainstream retail.

After knocking on many doors, Mnguni signed a deal with Checkers in 2022. “I had seen an article about how they assist small businesses. I needed to get my foot in the door. Even one store would have been great. Checkers gave me more than that and accelerated our growth as a business. Now more customers have access to our products.”

The Zee Afro Hair range consists of five herbal products focused on hairline restoration, and protection and growth of natural hair. Priced at under R100 each, the range of premium products offers excellent value.

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Author: Lusisipo Ndongeni from Shoprite Group on behalf of Shoprite Group.

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The Oriental Plaza: A Phoenix in Fordsburg

If Johannesburg is a city of forced displacements, the Oriental Plaza is its most resilient response. While the Rand Club was built for the elite and Ponte for the “jet-set,” the Oriental Plaza was born from the trauma of the Group Areas Act—a piece of Apartheid legislation designed to geographically separate the races. Yet, in true Johannesburg fashion, what was intended as a tool of containment and financial ruin for the Indian community transformed into one of the most vibrant, independent commercial powerhouses in the country.

The story of the Plaza begins with the destruction of Pageview, affectionately known as Fietas. In the mid-20th century, Fietas was a legendary multicultural hub, centered around the bustling 14th Street. It was the city’s premier destination for textiles, clothing, and spices, where shoppers of all races would rub shoulders in a “jazzy, soulful” atmosphere. However, because Fietas was located so close to the white-only city center, the Apartheid government declared it a “white area” in 1962. The community fought back for decades, but by the 1970s, the bulldozers arrived. Homes were leveled, and the thriving traders of 14th Street were forcibly relocated to a purpose-built, modernist complex a kilometer away in Fordsburg: the Oriental Plaza.

The government’s intent was cynical: by moving the traders into a controlled environment with high state-mandated rents and strict rules on what could be sold, they hoped to break the back of Indian commercial dominance. The early years were devastating; many businesses folded, and the “Grand Bazaar” felt like a sterile warehouse compared to the street-level energy of Fietas. However, the traders refused to vanish. They eventually won the right to purchase their own shops, making the Oriental Plaza unique among South African malls because it is owned by the shopkeepers themselves rather than a corporate landlord. This ownership model changed everything. Without the burden of massive monthly mall rentals, the 360+ independent stores can offer prices that national retailers cannot touch, turning the Plaza into a “bargain-hunter’s paradise” that draws millions of visitors a year.