Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
02 January 2020
|
Story Valentino Ndaba
|
Photo Anja Aucamp
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.
Three netball players in USSA Dream Team
2016-07-26
Alicia Puren and the UFS netball team lost 43-44 against
the Pukke in the USSA semi-finals in Cape Town.
Photo: Johan Roux
Although they could not improve on 2015’s second place, the Kovsies were still rewarded. After the USSA tournament, held from 4 to 8 July 2016 in Cape Town, three netball players from the University of the Free State (UFS) were included in the Dream Team. They were the captain Tanya Mostert, vice-captain Khomotso Mamburu, and Alicia Puren.
Mostert and her team had to settle for third place, after losing narrowly to Pukke 43-44 in a semi-final. They beat Maties 45-42 to win the bronze medal. Earlier, they had outplayed the University of Johannesburg (64-38) and Pukke (59-40), but lost against Tuks 48-49.
Women’s hockey team finish fourth
The UFS women’s hockey team had to settle for the fourth place at the USSA tournament in Johannesburg after they lost to Maties 2-4 in the match for the third place.
The UFS men’s team was sixth overall in the City of Gold.
Shimlas suffer several narrow defeats
After a number of narrow defeats, the Shimlas unfortunately only managed one USSA victory in East London, ending fifth overall. They lost against Maties (29-31) and Pukke (29-31), but beat Ikeys (25-0).
UFS squash team won B Division
Maryke Coetzee from Kovsies won the individual competition in the women’s B Division at the USSA squash tournament in Stellenbosch. The UFS was the overall winner in Division B.
The Kovsie women’s basketball team finished sixth at the USSA tournament in Johannesburg, with the men in the 13th place.
- The UFS did not send badminton and volleyball teams, as planned, to Stellenbosch and Pretoria, respectively.