ENTREPRENEURS
FROM A STREET VENDOR
TO AN OWNER OF A THRIVING BUSINESS
You don’t need an MBA to start a business. Valuable lessons in business don’t always come from business books but from things around you.
G
eorge Moyo decided to take the e n t re p re n e u r s h i p ro u te a f te r completing his matric. His journey in business started in the early 80s when he had to eke a living as a street vendor. Born and bred in the dusty streets of Alexandra, today, Moyo is an inspiration to many aspiring young entrepreneurs. His clothing brand Shosho was launched at Jet Stores in August 2021. To become the success he is today, he had to endure a lot of pain, which included risking being arrested for selling in Johannesburg CBD. “I started my schooling in Alex and did my high school in Thembisa at Boitumelong Secondary School,” he recalls poignantly.
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Moyo says he was inspired to become an entrepreneur by his mother. He reveals: “My mother used to sell some clothing at some stage. She used to do sewing as well. After I completed my matric, I could not go to varsity. This was during times of struggle. Then I started going into hawking in Johannesburg Park Station.” In the early 90s, Moyo’s keen interest in clothing led him to start what would become one of few black-owned clothing brands, “Shosholoza.” How the name came about is the stuff legends are made of. “My father came to South Africa in 1932 from Zimbabwe to work in the mines,” says Moyo.
He says the brand name Shosholoza was inspired by a song his father and coworkers sang. “Shosholoza originated from among working miners who sang the song to the rhythm of their swinging axes as they dug. When they traveled back home, they would sing Shosholoza.” Even former president Nelson Mandela sang Shosholoza as he worked during his imprisonment on Robben Island. Moyo says this is a song of hope, encouragement, and solidarity. “People used to sing along when they were working, and all that. In 1994 I trademarked the name Shosholoza,” he says.
