Starting with no 
capital and 15 handmade products, textile designer Samke Gumbi has built a craft business that exports goods and creates work opportunities for other artisans.
Gumbi, who studied textile design at the Durban University of Technology, founded Samke’s Boutique Craft after gaining experience in design and training crafters.
“I worked for a company creating designs until 2013. Artisanal crafters would come to us and we would introduce them to new crafting techniques,” she said.
Gumbi then joined a company that trained people across South Africa in beadwork and wirework. By 2016, she believed she had acquired the experience needed to establish her own enterprise.
“After some deep thinking, I decided to resign and pursue my own thing. I thought I was ready to become an entrepreneur,” she said.
A month later, Ithala Bank contracted Gumbi to train a group of artisans in the south of Durban.
“I trained them and introduced them to adding colour and different patterns to their creations. I also helped them with market access. After that, I started Samke’s Boutique Craft,” she said.
However, Gumbi had no funding to launch the business.
“When I started, I had no capital. I spoke to my sibling, and he advised me that I would wait forever if I waited for investment capital. He urged me to start with whatever little I had. That is how I started with about 15 items that I had made. I knew what I wanted to achieve, so it was not hard to persevere.”
By 2020, Gumbi had established a fully-fledged boutique. She also introduced craft training for groups and individuals across the country.
Currently, the company sells handmade fashion, jewellery and decorative products in bulk while also serving walk-in customers at its shop at the BAT Centre in Durban.
“I attend exhibitions locally and internationally. I have established relationships with resellers in Denmark, France and the United Kingdom. I receive a great deal of support from clients in these countries and export to them regularly,” Gumbi said.
Her business received equipment, including laptops and sewing machines, through the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs’ Operation Vula Fund in 2022.
“The funding has gone a long way because, without it, I am not sure I would be this far in my journey. It also helps that they do not give us money in cash but supply what we need because some people squander the funds.”
Samke’s Boutique Craft has created opportunities for about 15 part-time workers.
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