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02 January 2020
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Story Valentino Ndaba
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Photo Anja Aucamp
Refilwe Xaba, the founder and CEO of Glolooks.
Refilwe Xaba, Senior Assistant Officer in Entrepreneurship Development at the UFS Centre for Development Support, is the founder and CEO of Glolooks. This Bloemfontein-based company manufactures and supplies an organic, natural hair product range.
When she first developed the products, they were for personal use. Xaba evolved from an intrapreneur to an entrepreneur. She innovated a personal solution into a booming business idea. It was only in May 2016 that she decided to go into business, following growing interest in the way she maintained her hair. “I officially started in-depth research in October 2015, after years of making concoctions for myself.”
Business and books
Xaba reckons that a research background is beneficial for growing a business such as Glolooks that has a huge technical aspect. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Entrepreneurship with a focus on marketing and is planning to use her business as a case study.
Her undergraduate, honours, and master’s studies, which she completed at Kovsies, contributed to equipping Xaba with skills to grow her business. She believes in balancing education and business. “I have always been commerce-orientated. If there is a problem to be fixed, I fix it. However, people are at the centre of my heart.”
Growing Glolooks
In 2019, Glolooks opened a salon in Westdene, where customers can receive a holistic experience above and beyond merely purchasing the product. Xaba says this is one of the ways her business is being innovative when it comes to creating relationships with customers.
Establishment of International Institute for Diversity gains momentum
2009-03-30
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Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Acting Rector of the UFS, and Prof. Allen
Photo: Supplied |
Prof. Josephine Allen, Emeritus Professor at Cornell University, USA, met with representatives of executive management, staff and students of the University of the Free State (UFS) during March as part of a consultative process with the university community in the establishment of the proposed International Institute for Diversity (IID).
The establishment of the IID follows the closure of the Reitz Residence in 2008. The Institute will be established on the same premises. The IID is envisaged as a centre of academic excellence for studying transformation and diversity in society – a living laboratory for combating discrimination and enabling and enhancing reconciliation in societies grappling with the issues of racism, sexism and xenophobia.
It is planned that the IID will be a multidisciplinary and multidimensional Institute with institutional governance and research responsibilities in the broad context of diversity management, and a fundamental commitment towards inclusiveness.
Prof. Allen said: “The consultation process is an important aspect of the establishment of the IID to ensure that all institutional stakeholders contribute to the project from beginning to end.”
Prof. Allen will continue her Fulbright Fellowship at the UFS this year, following an initial research period of six months in 2008.
A number of senior specialists will join UFS for different periods during 2009 and 2010, with major support from the USA Embassy and the Fulbright Programme in South Africa, to assist and advise on the establishment and roll-out of the IID. |