Innovative and environmentally conscious Limpopo businesswoman, Ms Lufuno Nemakonde, the Managing Director of Limpopo-based Funocurls Green Beauty, is set to change the South African hair industry with an innovative development using banana pseudostem fibre to produce hairpieces, that she has aptly named EcoCurls.
“Ecocurls are plant-based and potentially more sustainable alternative to conventional synthetic hairpieces. The innovation is in the development and validation stage. We are happy that the project is currently progressing towards commercialisation. The EcoCurls hairpiece has been submitted to the South African Bureau of Standards for independent testing,” says Nemakonde.
Her innovative idea has also received a nod from the innovation and technology section of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic). To this end, she has been approved for funding through the Grassroots Innovation Facilitation Scheme that assists in commercialisation of innovations from rural and township areas.
Although the formal testing and validation process is still underway, Nemakonde is so confident about the potential success of her innovation that she has already acquired factory space where her processing plant will be located.
She cannot wait for the delivery of the specialised machinery which is being developed specifically to support the processing requirements of the banana pseudostem fibre. And she reckons that the Punda Maria-Makhuvha village, where her business is located, will never be the same again.
“I had to sit down with the engineers and painstakingly explain the types of machines that will make my dream come true. I am confident that they will come up with something that will turn this place into a successful production plant manufacturing environmentally friendly hairpieces from the banana plants that are in abundance in our area, creating job opportunities in the process,” says Nemakonde.
Using her background as a Medical Technologist, Nemakonde decided to combine the indigenous knowledge she learnt from her grandmother about herbs and the scientific information she acquired from her academic field and started a cosmetics business.
“That is how Funocurls Green Beauty was born. Our company manufactures plant-based hair, skin and body-care products using indigenous botanicals such as moringa, marula, baobab and Kalahari melon. Our products are sold to locals, beauty parlours and hair salons. We also provide contract and private-label manufacturing services,” says Nemakonde.
She has also been part of the international trade exhibitions in Egypt, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia with the assistance of the dtic.
