Style Meets Durability

The entrepreneurial spark was lit in the dusty small village of Limpopo, long before Kgomotso Mokolo understood the word. At the age of six, the urge to trade was instinctive: she'd swap her lunch box for services or get paid to help peers with homework. This inherent drive continued through her school years. In junior school, she was known for trading her snacks and fruits to gain favours in return. In high school and university, the instinct evolved into tangible commerce—she sold convenient products to consistently supplement her pocket money.

This early potential was not missed by her late grandmother. Recognizing her business sense, she opened her a bank account at the age of seven at Allied Bank (now Absa). This was a pivotal and exciting moment for young Kgomotso; it made her feel incredibly important and validated her early grasp of finance.

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The years passed, and Kgomotso found herself living what many called the "dream"—a demanding 9-to-5 job within a modern Sandton office building in 2017. However, the reality was a creative life being drained away and a salary that barely covered the bills. She urgently needed a second income.

The catalyst for her breakthrough came from a simple, personal frustration: the common dilemma of choosing between a prohibitively expensive luxury handbag or a cheap imitation destined to fall apart. Kgomotso’s entrepreneurial mind immediately spotted the market void, asking the essential question: "Where is the stylish, durable bag for the everyday woman in Sandton who doesn’t want to break the bank?"

 

Motso Rococo is Born

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That question sparked the idea. Kgomotso channeled her need for extra income and her passion for high-quality, creative work into a solution. The brand name was intentionally crafted: "Motso," from her own name, signifies "roots" and authenticity, anchoring the brand to her personal journey, while "Rococo" provides the desired element of elegant flair.

 

Motso Rococo was brought to life not through a large loan, but through grit and a strategic, risk-averse model:

• Skills and Seed Capital: She launched with just R850, leveraging invaluable, learned skills from her grandmother to craft the product.

• The Lean Model: She adopted a made-to-order system, which masterfully minimised financial risk and inventory cost while simultaneously allowing her to gather real-time client feedback to perfect the quality and design.

• Organic Growth: The combination of stylish design and affordable durability quickly spread through word-of-mouth, causing demand for her bags to soar.

What began under the harsh fluorescent lights of an office as a means to earn supplementary income quickly transformed into a thriving passion project, proving that a relentless entrepreneurial drive—evident since the age of six—paired with determination, can blossom from the smallest of beginnings.