28/04/2026
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Khabonina Mnguni is carving a powerful path as a businesswoman determined to uplift her community while preserving a family legacy.
Mnguni, a 38-year-old identical twin born and raised in Thembisa, spent nearly 13 years working in finance and marketing before transitioning into business ownership. Armed with a BCom in Finance, a BCom Honours in Financial Management from the University of Johannesburg, a postgraduate diploma in Marketing Management from the IMM Graduate School, and a Chartered Global Management Accountant qualification through the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, she brought both academic excellence and professional experience into her entrepreneurial journey.
She is the co-founder of Zibangwenya Supplies trading as ZS Uniforms, a uniform manufacturing and retail business based in her grandparents’ shopping complex in Welamlambo Section, Tembisa. “I am a third-generation entrepreneur, operating from the same building my grandparents built in the 1980s. Continuing their legacy is very personal for me,” she said.
Established in June 2020 alongside her twin sister, the business has grown steadily and now supplies school uniforms to more than 15 schools in and around Thembisa. The company offers a wide range of products, including socks, tunics, golf shirts, blazers, tracksuits and jerseys, catering primarily to parents of local learners. Prices range from as little as R60 for socks to about R700 for blazers, making their products accessible to the community they serve.
Mnguni explained that the business was born out of a clear gap in the township market. “ZS Uniforms was inspired by a challenge I saw in Thembisa and in many townships like ours. There are very few large-scale, Black female-owned school uniform stores operating within the township. As a result, many parents must travel into town, which increases cost and inconvenience. Our goal is to solve that problem by bringing affordable, quality uniforms closer to our community,” she said.
Production is managed in collaboration with her cousin, Makhosazana Nkoko, a qualified fashion designer with over 16 years of experience in garment design and manufacturing. Mnguni also took it upon herself to learn embroidery, a skill she now uses to train her team to improve turnaround times and reduce costs. “Embroidery is something I had to learn because we identified it as critical to our value chain,” she added.
Beyond school uniforms, the business also supplies corporate clothing and personal protective equipment to companies across sectors such as security, healthcare and cleaning services. They also offer custom designs for matric groups, Grade 7 learners and corporate clients.