Kaelo Black Beauty (Pty) Ltd, a local designer, manufacturer and distributor of African dolls, children’s clothing and Mahle school bags, has become the latest SMME to be welcomed by the Southern African Vinyls Association (SAVA).

Kaelo Black Beauty (Pty) Ltd is based in Midrand, Gauteng, and opened their doors for the first time a year ago.  According to Meshack Mulaudzi founder and CEO of Kaelo Black Beauty, the main aim of the company is to instill identity and self-love in African children.

 “As a father of a daughter and a son, I realized how important it was to teach girls that they are beautiful just as they are.  They need to be told that “It is OK to be you”, he says."

The first doll in their range is Mahle, which is Zulu for beautiful.  They also design and manufacture a range of children’s clothing which match those of their vinyl Mahle dolls. The manufacturing of these clothes create much-needed employment to people in the Mayfield (in the East Rand) and Soweto Township, the majority of which are female. Packaging of the finished products take place in Boksburg and Midrand.

“We wanted to join SAVA as we want to contribute to sustainable industry practice when manufacturing our products. We also believe that joining SAVA will give us exposure to bigger markets. We can partake in the sharing of knowledge of similar products and learn more about the industry as a whole,” Meshack says.

Adri Spangenberg, CEO of SAVA, welcomed Kaelo Black Beauty to the association and said that it was important to support local companies who are competing in a tough market and against cheap imports.  “Kaelo is a shining example of a proudly South African company who is meeting a need in the market with a good quality product. Meshack’s products play an important role in teaching children the importance of diversity, the beauty in these differences and about their African culture and heritage from a very young age.

Not only do they produce stunning products, but they are also conscious about sustainability and willing to support the growth of the local vinyls industry. We wish Kaelo every success and will offer them all the help and support they need to help grow their business and their footprint into the rest of the continent and the world and welcome other SMME members to follow their example by joining SAVA,” she said.

For more information, visit www.savinyls.co.za and www.kaeloblackbeauty.co.za