JOHANNESBURG - Age has failed to stop a dynamic girl child from pursuing her dream of becoming a renowned businesswoman.
Enhle Gebashe founded Enhle Babes Couture, a children’s brand specialising in glamorous African prints, as her venture into the cut-throat business fashion world.
The 10-year-old Grade 5 pupil at Rosebank Primary School in Johannesburg, says her garments are custom-made to meet the expectations of her target market - four to 12-year olds. Enhle says she wants to design African prints, dresses and anything in between that a princess can wear. Her hectic schedule has made it difficult for her to play like other children. Her mom Desiree describes her as intelligent. Enhle says she is wowed by all the likes she gets when she posts her designs on social media.
“So many people known me,” she says. “I can’t believe this is happening to me. At school I’m getting so much attention, the people who used to bully me are now respecting me.”
She says the business has exceeded her expectations.
“The response is amazingly surprising for us.”
Please support 10 year-old, Enhle, who just started designing her own clothing line. Her garments are meticulously custom-made to meet your expectations.
You can place an order for your 4-12 year-olds on
+27 71 276 2173
Or check out her Facebook Page: Enhle Babes Couture. pic.twitter.com/sZa449PVZ4
— startupAFRICA (@suamagazine) October 16, 2018
Enhle says she is swamped with orders that she has been receiving from supportive friends and family members. She says she goes fabric shopping after school and over weekends and also does photo-shoots on some of her creations.
Enhle, who has become an overnight sensation on social media, has caught the eye of a local design school that has offered her the opportunity to on a part-time basis. The idea to design children’s clothing, she says, came as she was pondering ways to make extra pocket money and pay for her school trips, without having to ask her mom to chip in.
Desiree says she is happy for her daughter, who has been featured in magazines and TV programmes.
“Our plan was never to get her to be famous,” Desiree says. “I just wanted her to do what makes her happy, which is designing.”
She says her daughter’s creations have been overwhelming and admits that this is scaring her. “I fear that she is very young for all this fame, so we need to be very careful about how she is handled going forward.”
She says the mainstream media has been calling non-stop for interview requests.
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A post shared by Enhle Babes Couture(@enhlebabescouture) on Oct 21, 2018 at 8:08am PDT
Desiree says her award-winning scientist friend Thulile Khanyile has offered to mentor Enhle about the basics of money, saving and growing her promising business.
“I’ve always known that Enhle is going to be something big one day,” Desiree says. “I kind of had it at the back of my head but I didn’t know it was going to be something this serious.”
Enhle says she is happy her achievements so long and that she would like to have her own shop one day and sell to people from other African countries.
She also thanked the social media for spreading the message about what she does. “Nobody would know about Enhle if it was not social media.”
She adds that doors have been opening on all sides. “Social media has been the main marketing strategy for us,” says Enhle.
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A post shared by Enhle Babes Couture (@enhlebabescouture) on Oct 14, 2018 at 4:52pm PDT
Desiree, however, had the last say in which she stressed: “It makes me feel so proud to be her mother. I hope that she succeeds in everything that she does.”
