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02 January 2020 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Anja Aucamp
Glolooks
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.

News Archive

Renowned Harvard scholar to speak on illness, care-giving and subjectivity
2013-01-28

 
Prof. Arthur Kleinman

 Prof. Arthur Kleinman, Professor of Medical Anthropology and Psychiatry at Harvard University, will visit the University of the Free State from 4 to 6 February 2013. Prof. Kleinman is a Rabb Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Harvard Asia Centre.

The highlight of his visit will be his participation in the one-day colloquium entitled “Constructions of Illness and Identity: Subjectivity and Chronic Illness in the South African Context” that will take place on 5 February 2013 in the Centenary Hall. He will be joined by a range of speakers from various international and national universities. During his visit, he will also deliver two other lectures.

On Monday, 4 February, he will give a lecture titled: “Against Cynicism: How the Humanities and the Cultivation of our moral selves sustain the Idealism of Students and Faculty”, and on Wednesday, 6 February 2013, he will speak on “Care giving: Revitalising its place in Medicine”. Professor Kleinman is the author of six books, co-author of two others, co-editor of nearly 30 volumes and eight special issues of journals, and author of over 300 articles, book chapters, reviews and introductions.  

For further enquiries, please contact Dr Katinka De Wet on 051 401 2918 or dewetk@ufs.ac.za.

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