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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.
Exceptional achievement for UFS student in Quantity Surveying
2007-09-21
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A student from the University of the Free State's (UFS) Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management, Ms Pulane Mahloka, recently received the gold medal for exceptional final year student in South Africa for 2006 from the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS). She is the first black student to received this prestigious award. She is the fourteenth UFS student since 1970 to receive this medal, of which six are women. Pictured are, from the left: Mr Hendrik van Vuuren (Lecturer at the UFS Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management), Ms Mahloka and Ms Benita Kotze (Lecturer at the UFS Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management).
Photo: Supplied
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