Founder of Kwanolali The Village Wife (Pty) Ltd
After recovering from heart surgery and seeing her previous business fail, Nonathi William was determined to start again. Through Taking Care of Business (TCB), she rebuilt her confidence and business skills while earning through the Resell programme. She used her profits to help restart her laundry business, Kwanolali, which today employs two women.
I Knew I Could Start Again
Before TCB, I had a laundromat and a cleaning detergent manufacturing company. The business had been started by my parents, but it failed in 2019 after I developed health problems.
I experienced heart failure, which led to open-heart surgery in 2023. I had to watch my business fail in front of my eyes while I lay in a hospital bed, unable to do anything. I had to choose between myself and my business, and I chose myself because I knew I could start again.
After recovering, I was sitting at home doing nothing. Then I saw a post about Taking Care of Business on Facebook and applied. My application was approved, and I joined the 2405 group. That is where the magic of being in the TCB corridor started.
I still had a passion to rebuild the business that had failed. TCB helped me regain my strength and confidence and gave me a second chance.
Rebuilding from the ground up
Kwanolali was born at TCB in East London, where I received intensive informal business training for two years. During that time, TCB helped us register our businesses while we were already operating informally.
TCB helped me start from scratch. Because my first business was started by my parents, there were steps I had never completed myself. With Kwanolali, I have had to do every step, experience every struggle and celebrate every win myself. TCB guided me through that process.
One of the most useful things I learnt was Money Matters. I learnt to use a black book to record my daily sales and expenses. My monthly reports now serve as my financial statements.
Selling clothes through the Resell programme was part of my retraining. It rebuilt my confidence after my surgery and taught me about customer service, pricing, selling on WhatsApp and going door to door.
The profit I made from selling clothes helped me buy a washing machine, basket, iron, water tank and basins to restart my laundry business. It also helped me purchase my first stock of herbs to resell.
The Resell programme was my foundation. It proved that I could still work and sell after my illness.
Opening my first outlet
After graduating in June 2026, I decided to come home and open my first outlet in Berlin Town.
At home, I have a laundry setup where we currently operate using two household washing machines. I am not alone. I have two women, both breadwinners, who are helping me achieve our goal.
Together, we wash, iron and care for our community’s clothes with dignity.
We also manufacture hair products and natural tea infusions at home, using gentle, natural ingredients for our people.
Our motto is: Clean Clothes, Healthy Life.
Creating opportunities for other women
Being able to create jobs for other women means everything to me. I know what it feels like to be in a hospital bed, unable to work and watching everything fail.
Creating jobs for women in Msintsi Village and Khayelitsha means giving them dignity so that they never have to feel as helpless as I did.
As a black female entrepreneur who survived heart failure, I am giving two families hope and showing that failure and illness are not the end. You can start again.
My vision for Kwanolali
In the next few years, I want Kwanolali to be a formal business with larger premises in Buffalo City Metro.
My first business was started by my parents. This is the business I want to build correctly, by myself, from the ground up.
I want to have an industrial washing machine and the proper equipment to manufacture supplement teas. I also want branded packaging and compliance certificates for my natural herbs business.
My mission is to create jobs for rural women, keep our village clean and healthy, and grow Kwanolali from a home setup into a complete laundry hub and production house.
I want to employ more women and transfer all the lessons I learnt from TCB East London to others.
For now, we are working towards securing the funding we need to build a strong business as we grow.