“I used to wear these school uniforms myself,” Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe tells me on Thursday, while in the process of giving away 20,000 toys to underprivileged youths who live in the Soweto township of Johannesburg. A township that Moloi-Motsepe – one half of South Africa’s richest black couple with an estimated combined net worth exceeding $2 billion – once called home herself.
Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe.AFI
Flash forward, and the doctor-turned-fashion-entrepreneur-slash-philanthropist divides her time between organizing fashion weeks in Cape Town and Johannesburg, in addition to acting as the CEO of the Motsepe Foundation. She co-founded the charitable foundation alongside husband Patrice Motsepe in the year 1999. Mr. Motsepe, founding Chairman of African Rainbow Minerals and owner of the South African soccer team Mamelodi Sundowns, became the first black African on the Forbes list in the year 2008.
It’s the week of the 2018 Global Citizen Festival in Johannesburg. This means I follow Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe in a period that is swamped with speaking engagements, a gala dinner, plus a breakfast dedicated to women of influence. This year marks what would have been the 100th birthday of South African anti-Apartheid activist and former President, Nelson Mandela. In honor of the occasion, the Motsepes have partnered with the Global Citizen Festival to organize a star-studded concert that shall take place in Johannesburg this Sunday. Festival headliners include Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Ed Sheeran, and Pharrell Williams. In addition, the concert that is part of a movement to end extreme poverty, will have Oprah Winfrey, Trevor Noah, and Naomi Campbell in attendance.
“It started as a joke, like, ‘Why don’t you bring this to South Africa to celebrate Madiba’s birthday?,’ and then we thought to ourselves, ‘Yeah, let’s do this,’ Dr. Precious said when we met a week earlier. From her office, located in Johannesburg’s affluent Sandton neighborhood she commented, “We - my husband and I - normally go to UN meetings every year. We’ve been going to the (Global Citizen) festival for the last two years, which is where we met the organizers behind the initiative.”
The philanthropist demonstrates signs of a fighter mentality by way of her business acumen and academic record (Moloi-Motsepe grew up under the rule of Apartheid, which systematically deprived black South Africans of access to quality education and economic empowerment). This is countered by the Ph.D.’s mild tone of voice, and habit of smiling in between sentences.
Amongst Moloi-Motsepe’s most recent accolades is her appointment as co-Chairwoman of all women-led philanthropy group Maverick Collective. It was founding member Melinda Gates who passed her the torch earlier this year. In her role as co-Chairwoman alongside HRH The Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, Moloi-Motsepe heads a collective of over 25 female philanthropists, who invest in projects that uncover health solutions for women and girls in the developing world.
Moloi-Motsepe’s work in philanthropy is preceded by a career in the medical field, with a focus on adolescent health and women’s health. What followed, was her move into fashion. “I was thinking, ‘How do I advance myself?’ I was interested in pursuing a business that would not only give me financial success but could also empower as many women as possible – that’s how I got into the fashion business,” the entrepreneur says, who established her for-profit organization African Fashion International (AFI) in the year 2007. “In fashion, women are primary buyers, but also act as the manufacturers and seamstresses. So that was a no-brainer. I could do something that I love and combine it with my passion for development work and developing people,” the Soweto-born shares.
Through AFI, Dr. Precious organizes the bi-annual fashion weeks in her native Johannesburg and Cape Town. The organization is currently looking to act as more of a facilitator with regards to manufacturing and distribution. “The first part of our (AFI) investment in the fashion space – little by global standards, though over $10 million – was to ensure that designers would create the type of product that the market would want. We are now working with a local government agency to create a manufacturing hub in Johannesburg. We should have this up and running by next year. We’ve been talking about it for two years, but after making the case that manufacturing can absorb many unemployed people – and no university degree is required – there has been more interest.”
In her vision for Johannesburg as a manufacturing hub, she references Ethiopia. In the last couple of years, the East African nation has successfully managed to position itself as a manufacturing hub to both local and foreign entities, specializing in the fields of shoes and leather. “Ethiopia has done very well for itself. They are strong when it comes to the manufacturing of shoes – South Africa produces wool. We must bring in more people and innovation in that area. What is needed are mills to turn wools into yarn, which allows designers and manufacturers to make something special that we can then export.”
Earlier this year, Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M landed in hot water for paying its Ethiopian manufacturing employees an alleged $0.24 per hour wage. The AFI founder is quick to underscore, “Sustainability is a key issue. We know of dumping and the impact fast-fashion has had on the environment. There is a local consciousness however and we raise awareness with regards to fair labor practices, so we don’t end up like cases such as Bangladesh.”
In its latest chapter, AFI is looking to promote pan-African fashion designers not only within the Motherland, but to the Asian and US markets specifically. “Back when Yves Saint Laurent and Azzedine Alaïa started out, they had to move to Paris in order to get validation. Today’s African designers take control of and have pride in their identity, while receiving validation from foreign markets without permanently leaving the continent.
When it comes to Western labels imitating African design, the Witwatersrand University alumn says she urges local fashion designers to protect their intellectual property, “So they receive royalties. We mustn’t forget however that we live in a globalized world - so designers can be inspired by external factors. As a creative, you shouldn’t be limited in what inspires you. You could be traveling, get inspired, and bring that back into your design. It’s a two-way process - globalization has allowed this to happen. We can only make sure we protect our intellectual property. I always advise to protect yourself where you can legally - but at the end of the day you can’t fight everybody.”
Sunday’s Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, shall be preceded by a red carpet gala dinner on Saturday evening at the Sandton Convention Centre. “We are very excited. We’re combining the worlds of fashion, music, and philanthropy. The gala dinner will be a red carpet showcasing local designers to the world. On the day of the concert, you’ll see more of this fashion element.”
