Laduma a leading example

Laduma Ngxokolo, NMMU innovator behind the traditional Xhosa inspired knitwear range MAXHOSA BY LADUMA, was featured in The Herald supplement Business in the Metro on 30 November. Read the full article below: ONE of the best-known successes of the NMMU / Mohair South Africa partnership is Laduma Ngxokolo, whose MaXhosa men’s knitwear range inspired by traditional Xhosa designs is in demand around the world. Born in Port Elizabeth in 1986, Laduma had his first hands-on experience of textile designing in 2003 when he studied at Lawson Brown High School. Ngxokolo’s flair for knitwear design earned him a bursary from both Port Elizabeth-based Cape Wools South Africa and MSA during his BTech studies at NMMU in 2010. His business was given a head start by Hinterveld Mohair Weavers, which provided small quantities of mohair on credit, according to Jacqui Barnett, director of NMMU’s Innovation Office. She says business support of this kind helps emerging entrepreneurs.