WeeklySA_Adminkey word:Mbhungana’s own clothing brand, Monte.co, has skyrocketed
By Frank Maponya
Coming from a poor family background has not stopped a rural Limpopo boy from achieving his dreams.
Musa Mbhungana, a 15-year-old boy from the dusty streets of Nyanyukani, a village in Julesburg outside Tzaneen, is a self-taught and goal-driven graphic designer and also an entrepreneur. The young boy has established his own clothing brand, Monte.co, which is a multi-functional lifestyle brand for men and women.
Based in Tzaneen, Monte.co was founded with a passion to offer high quality products and strive to provide great customer experience, while also delivering compelling products and designs that never compromised on its performance.
From a significantly young age, Musa started by playing games on computers. At the age of eleven (11), he could use sophisticated computer software such as Word. As he continued to explore computers, Musa discovered that he was deeply into graphic designs.
“I was attracted to graphic designing not because it wasn’t just colourful and eye-catching to me, but I could extract meanings and interpret them,” says the Grade 10 learner at the St George College in NkowaNkowa. From there he started designing and drawing simple logos and simple designs on note pads, as well as on phones. As he progressed, Musa started to do sophisticated designs, designing on Adobe illustrators and Adobe Photoshops. As he would constantly design graphics and just place them on walls in his room, one day his sister Yolanda advised him that instead of mounting the designs on walls he should print them on apparel. And he never looked back.
“On the 1st of December 2020 I launched my soon-to-be conglomerate and my own clothing brand, Monte.co, that have skyrocketed ever since,” he says proudly. A lot of kids in Julesburg are now living through him. They see him in the streets, take pictures with him and ask for advice.
“My peers see me as an inspiration to them, proving that everything is possible with a black child,” he says.
Musa’s goals are to increase the number of young people starting their own companies and also making it in life. He also aims to go for the next generation of footwear, apparel and accessories with technology, designs and most importantly, with a focus on product innovation.
Musa has also been officially nominated for Mzansi Arts and Media Awards, under the category of best Graphics Designer and best Clothing Brand and has requested the public to vote for him. Under the Best Graphics Designer voters can SMS “mama 2213” to 40439 and to vote for Monte under the Best Clothing Brand they can SMS “mama 2211” to the same number (40439). Each SMS costs only R2.
W&RSETA
W&RSETA offers bursaries to support undergraduate students who wish to pursue studies that are wholesale and Retail Sector through awarding bursaries. The bursary covers up to R65 000 for university and R45 000 for TVET College which include registration and tuition fees, meals and school accommodation. He can email his application to sbp@wrseta.org.za
