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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.
Lira and Karen Zoid rock Kovsie Stage Extravaganza
2013-09-23
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Joined on stage by some of Kovsies’ most talented students, award-winning artists dazzle Bloemfontein audience with show-stopping performances.
23 September 2013
Photos: Johan Roux |
It was a proper party at this year’s Kovsie Stage Extravaganza, with red-hot performances by two of South Africa’s most celebrated artists.
Singers Lira and Karen Zoid had the audience in the Callie Human Centre at the Bloemfontein Campus on their feet with some of their greatest hits. With the artists on stage,were some of Kovsies’ most talented students, who hold their own among the two music stars.
Lira, a ten-time SAMA prize-winner, showed why she performed at US President Barack Obama's inauguration ball earlier this year. She had the audience eating from her hand with songs from her own albums, as well as from other artists. Between songs, she also offered advice to students and encouraged them to make their mark in life. "The knowledge you acquire here, will open doors for you," she told students, before singing favourite songs likeSomething inside so Strong, Rise Again and Ixesha.
Zoid, also a SAMA prize-winner, enchanted the audience with favourites like Afrikaners is Plesierig and Small world. Things heated up when she did a cover version of Johnny Clegg’s Asimbonanga with Kovsie students joining her on stage. She gave R200 to one lucky student to take his girlfriend for coffee later on.