Empowering Africa’s Crafting Community: The Vision of Zettuu Founders Portia Nondo and Mbali Ndandani
In a world where the beauty of Africa’s crafts often goes unseen, Zettuu emerges as a beacon of hope for local artisans. As a marketplace designed specifically for crafters and fashion brands with unique products, Zettuu supports those who lack the operational capacity to grow their brands. Co-founded in 2020 by passionate South African entrepreneurs Portia Nondo and Mbali Ndandani, Zettuu aims to create a thriving ecosystem that brings African crafts to the global market.
The Inspiration Behind Zettuu
Africa is rich with beautiful crafts and designs, yet many of these treasures remain confined to their areas of origin. Portia and Mbali launched Zettuu to explore the potential of a comprehensive support ecosystem for crafters, allowing them to focus on what they do best: their craft. They recognized immense talent among local artisans but also saw the lack of viable mechanisms for scaling these businesses to greater heights.
As Portia articulated, “What if we could create an ecosystem of support to crafters and market access, allowing them to focus on their craft, which is all they want to do?” Their vision seeks to empower countless formal and informal crafters across the continent, facilitating the economic prosperity of Africa as a whole.
Beyond functioning as a marketplace, Zettuu operates as an ecosystem support organization for crafters and fashion brands. While it is common to find such incubators in the technology startup space, the presence of accelerator labs for the crafting and fashion sectors is incredibly rare—making Zettuu one of those few initiatives globally.
The Journey of the Founders
Portia Nondo brings a wealth of experience as a seasoned entrepreneur and franchisee at McDonald’s. On the other hand, Mbali Ndandani’s background is steeped in marketing, digital realms, technology, and artificial intelligence through her work with major firms like Unilever and Lelapa AI. Their combined expertise not only enhances Zettuu’s strong foundation but also fosters an innovative approach towards supporting African crafters.
Impact on the African Crafting Community
With an ambitious goal to support 100,000 crafters and fashion businesses in Africa over the next five years, Zettuu aims to improve the health of the crafting ecosystem. Their plans include establishing manufacturing and fashion hubs in urban centers across the continent, thereby enabling the growth of the African textile and fashion industry.
Additionally, Zettuu aspires to work closely with cooperatives of crafters in peri-urban and rural communities, fostering skills development specifically for women artisans. This initiative not only empowers women but also builds a sustainable ecosystem for the crafting industry in Africa.
Zettuu envisions creating a collaborative environment for crafters, allowing them to thrive and innovate across borders. By acting as an incubator for aspiring and established artisans alike, this venture ultimately aims to elevate African crafts on the global stage, helping artisans harness their potential while contributing positively to their communities.
Portia and Mbali’s journey as eco-system builders represents a powerful narrative of determination, innovation, and connectivity—one that reaffirms the impact entrepreneurs can have in transforming not only their lives but also those of countless others in their communities.
