This October, The Mayyarani online shop turned one and while we're celebrating a growing business with a cause, this milestone was made extra-special with a dedicated feature in finweek magazine on shelves from 10 - 23 October, so get your copy and turn to page 40...

So how did a little start-up like ours get such valuable exposure? Well, the stars aligned when we were offered an opportunity to present our business, in the ecopreneur section, to the attendees at the Lionesses Lean In networking event which took place on 2 August 2019 at the Volkswagen Training Centre in Centurion. Umayya Theba addressed over 100 ladies and explained our concept of enabling women to buy and sell pre-loved clothes in an effort to encourage the reduction of textile waste by keeping clothes in circulation, and thus benefit further by freeing up space, making a bit of money or saving simply by shopping smart. 

Our start-up story caught the attention of finweek editor Jana Jacobs - also an environmentally-conscious individual - who requested an interview to hear more about our journey into entrepreneurship, what inspired the venture into pre-loved fashion, how the business was born, how the process works, and the challenges involved. 

It took bravery for us to explore the idea and not just talk about it, but actually plan and invest time in building a brand with a larger cause in mind and much-needed implications in the long run. Our focus goes beyond making money, and being recognised for our efforts means people are starting to sit up and take notice. We're here to change attitudes and play a critical role in the #slowfashion movement because fashion doesn't have to cost the earth.

It gives us immense gratitude and pleasure to look back at how far we've come in a year, and we're truly humbled to have our story featured in a national publication. Thank you, finweek!! 

We'll post the link to the article as soon as it's published online at www.fin24.com/finweek