Swaziland – Sandra Kiki Dlamini

Kiki’s boutique was started after Sandra lost her job at a restaurant. She got into the sewing business and she sews school uniforms and jerseys as well as women’s dresses (Tidziya). Her main market is women because sourcing fabric for their clothes is cheaper than getting fabric for men’s clothes.  

Sandra used money from her pay out from her previous job as well as E3000 that she obtained from a loan with Inhlanyelo Fund; a fund that loans start-up capital to small businesses. At first, Sandra focused on school uniforms from schools around Mbabane and now she has expanded to other areas as well. She also makes tishweshwe for women. She also had to buy two sewing machines for her business and although in the beginning of her business, she worked from home, she now has a stall at the Mbabane market where she sells the clothes that she makes. 

Obtaining capital and keeping a positive cash flow is one of the main challenges that this business faces because there are not a lot of people willing to pay for the clothes that they purchase. Although finding a market was not very difficult for Sandra, diversifying her client base proved to be difficult because people lack trust for small businesses, especially in the early stages of their existence.  

After the training, Sandra was able to use a computer to set up an email address but the most efficient way to contact her remains through phone calls and WhatsApp.