Building Legacy from Tembisa: Lessons from Khabo Mnguni and ZS Uniforms

Building Legacy from Tembisa: Lessons from Khabo Mnguni and ZS Uniforms. When Khabo Mnguni, a finance and marketing professional, launched ZS Uniforms in 2020, she envisioned more than a uniform outlet, she set out to revive business legacy in Tembisa and build South Africa’s first major township-based uniform manufacturing brand. Her journey reveals deep lessons about community roots, operational grit, and how to scale purpose-led retail with impact.

Seeing Gaps and Crafting Solutions

Khabo’s entrepreneurial spark came from a school uniform order placed to her cousin, Khosi Nkoko, a designer in Tembisa in 2019. They discovered there were no large-scale uniform suppliers based in the township, forcing parents to travel to town. With 13 years of marketing and finance experience behind her, Khabo transformed that moment into action, launching ZS Uniforms to provide high-quality, locally accessible school, security, cleaning, and corporate uniforms.

She positioned her business not just on uniforms but on reclaiming heritage. The ZS Uniforms store operates out of a building purchased by her grandparents in the 1980s, making it both a physical and symbolic legacy.

Rooting Brand Identity in Community and Quality

ZS Uniforms combines professional service standards with local pride. By manufacturing in house and investing in four industrial sewing machines and an embroidery machine, the brand reduced costs, improved lead times, and maintained quality control.

Khabo also introduced flexible lay-by payment plans and a rewards programme tailored to township families. These pricing innovations improved affordability and customer loyalty, advantages that large retailers sometimes fail to replicate.

Leveraging Storytelling to Amplify Reach

A pivotal moment was winning first place at the Standard Bank Top Women Empowerment Gauteng competition in 2025. Her pitch resonated deeply: reclaiming township business, driving female-led manufacturing, and uniting community impact with commerce. That recognition elevated her brand’s credibility significantly.

She has also been featured on Ourlives Marketplace and in Vutivi Business News, platforms that tell her story authentically and underscore her impact in Tembisa.

Milestones That Marked Progress

• Launching in 2020 while still employed full-time in corporate finance and marketing.
• Transition to in-house production in 2024, reducing supply chain reliance and improving margins.
• Standard Bank EmpowHER Gauteng win (2025) positioning her as a township changemaker.
• CSI initiative Threads for iKasi Foundation, distributing over 1 000 uniforms since 2023 in partnership with Sandvik and others, demonstrating commitment to community.

These milestones show how the brand layered community, manufacturing capability, and social impact into sustainable growth.

Overcoming Challenges with Strategy and Resilience

Early sizing mistakes, ordering wrong uniform sizes, taught her the importance of supplier research, accurate spec collection and clear communication. She adapted by refining supplier vetting and quality checks.

Operating from township retail space and scaling production posed cash flow risks. Khabo followed a lean operational model: loyal lay-by payments, reinvesting revenue into equipment, and avoiding excessive borrowing. Her finance background guided careful planning and operational discipline.

Innovating Through Impact and Local Empowerment

ZS Uniforms’ strength lies in combining business with upliftment. The Threads for iKasi Foundation distributes uniforms, toiletries and teaches sewing skills to students, amplifying the brand’s social footprint.

Khabo’s public pitch asserts bold ambition: envisioning ZS as the biggest school uniform manufacturer on the continent. That mindset shapes every business decision, from in‑house manufacturing to community investment.

Actionable Lessons for Entrepreneurs

• Build from local insight. Khabo solved a real problem, uniform retail through township-based manufacturing.
• Invest in infrastructure. Owning machinery improved quality control and reduced dependence on external suppliers.
• Innovate pricing. Flexible lay-by and loyalty programmes fostered customer access and retention.
• Tell your story. Media visibility via EmpowHER and community platforms increased both trust and reach.
• Embed impact. CSR programmes like uniforms donation build brand goodwill and legacy.
• Operate leanly. Lean operations and reinvestment preserved control and minimized financial exposure.
• Dream big. Growing from township roots requires ambition. Khabo frames her brand as a future continental leader.

Stitching a Legacy of Pride and Purpose

Today ZS Uniforms is not just a retail uniform shop, it is a symbol of empowerment, community revitalization and entrepreneurial legacy. From its base in Tembisa, Khabo Mnguni demonstrates how combining professional expertise, local roots, and social purpose can create a brand that delivers value beyond products.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, especially in community-based retail, her story is a powerful template: serve your own, build capabilities, tell your story, give back, and scale with intention. Every uniform becomes a stitch in both clothing and community.