When children are young and their thirst for learning is strong, it’s important that they are exposed to great content that entertains, stretches their minds and enhances their knowledge. For entrepreneur Zamaswazi Mfisi, ensuring children can experience world-class content that reflects their own culture and languages is what drives her passion and her business, Indilang.
LoA chatted to the content driven, passionate founder of Indilang, Zamaswazi Mfusi, this month to find out more.
What does your company do?
At Indilang, we create indigenous content in different languages in both digital and printed format. The content we produce is for children from early childhood years.
What inspired you to start your company?
I couldn’t find anything on main stream platforms such as YouTube and DSTV which spoke to me as a Zulu and which would help my child identify with her own culture. So I decided to work alongside my mom, who has a wealth of knowledge both in her role as a grandmother and that of having been a teacher, to start producing relevant content.
“At Indilang, our content products are addressing a need for our children to see that they are valuable members of society and should be proud of their heritage.”
Why should anyone use your service or product?
At Indilang, our content products are addressing a need for our children to see that they are valuable members of society and should be proud of their heritage. Many parents feel as stuck as do as a parent in this ever-changing society. The cultural things our children can learn through our uKhulu noNana series instill the value of authentic connections which are important for a child’s development.
Tell us a little about your team
We currently have a team of two people at Indilang - myself, Zamaswazi Mfusi and my mother, Ntombenhle Nkosi. We outsource all the other services to young black talent, from graphic artists, to animators, to sound engineers and varying other artistic talents.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I actually don’t come from a entrepreneurial background. I studied Mechanical Engineering but have always had an unexplored creative side. My exposure to being an entrepreneur came in marriage with my husband being from that background and I have learned a lot from him.
“The cultural things our children can learn through our uKhulu noNana series instill the value of authentic connections which are important for a child’s development.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
I would love my company to grow and do collaborative work with other African countries, where there are live communities that support the sharing of indigenous knowledge. In that way, our kids will have their lives enriched through interacting with other kids from across our beautiful continent. I see our work as a unifier showing us through our different cultures and languages that we are different but that also our human journey is the same.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
It’s the idea of being able to create something which can be a legacy business for my children and my children’s children, and so on.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Start early. The courage of doing things whilst you are young can sometimes fade when you are much older because of responsibilities which you assume as time goes on.
Contact or follow
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL zsmfusi@yahoo.com
Why LoA loves it….
Developing a love of learning and an appreciation for the languages that reflect your cultural heritage is such an important part of growing up for any young child. What is wonderful about Zamaswazi Mfusi and her business is that she is creating a path to learning and cultural experience for the next generation of South Africans who will follow in her creative footsteps. What better inspiration can there be than creating an impact-driven business that can enrich young children’s lives? --- Melanie Hawken, founder and ceo of Lionesses of Africa