Who is Lekau Sehoana? The story behind Drip's owner
In 2019, Lekau Sehoana secured an R45,700 loan from investor Alfred Mashiya and turned his passion for footwear into a multi-million-dollar business. He once narrated how he went from a shoeless boy into a sneaker mogul, saying:
My inspiration for venturing into business was not having much, including shoes. I grew up in an improvised family where we mainly depended on the support of relatives and neighbours.
Source: Getty Images
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Lekau's grandmother taught him how to sew when he was a child.
- He launched his first footwear business at 15.
- Sehoana reportedly achieved millionaire status in 2019.
- Some of his role models are Ndaba Ntsele and Patrice Motsepe.
Lekau Sehoana's profile summary
| Full name | Lekau Sehoana |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of birth | 20 September 1988 |
| Age | 36 years old (As of March 2025) |
| Zodiac sign | Virgo |
| Birthplace | Limpopo, South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Ethnicity | Black |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Alma mater | Ekurhuleni West College |
| Hair colour | Black |
| Eye colour | Dark brown |
| Sexual orientation | Straight |
| Marital status | Separated |
| Ex-wife | Lebogang Machaba |
| Children | 1 |
| Profession | Entrepreneur |
| Social media | InstagramX (Twitter) |
Who is Lekau Sehoana?
Lekau is a South African entrepreneur widely recognised as the founder and CEO of Drip Footwear. Although he gained traction for defying his humble beginning and creating a sneaker empire, the company imploded allegedly due to financial mismanagement and personal scandals.
Source: Original
Exploring Lekau Sehoana's age and birthplace
Lekau Sehoana (36 as of March 2025) was born on 20 September 1988 in Limpopo, South Africa. His parents divorced when he was age two years old, and his mother relocated the family to Ivory Park.
She raised her three kids in a tiny shack. In a September 2021 interview with SNL24, Sehoana opened up about his upbringing, stating:
I had a beautiful but challenging childhood. I did not realise we were poor until I joined high school and noticed our living conditions were different from most kids.
Lekau Sehoana has a NQF Level 3 in civil engineering
According to Lekau Sehoana's LinkedIn profile, he attended Ekurhuleni West College from 2013 to 2015. While speaking to SNL24, the businessman shared how his education influenced the business idea that changed his life.
Being an engineer was my dream, but I had to make shoes to survive. I did not think I would make a business out of it.
Source: Getty Images
How Lekau Sehoana made his first sneaker pair
In 2003, while in Grade 8, Lekau's school allowed the students to wear casual clothes for a school function. In a November 2021 interview with SowetanLIVE, he narrated how he designed his own shoe for the event.
I did not have any shoe to wear. So, I sew an old torn pair of sneakers using denim and polyurethane. I really stood out during the event.
The launch of Drip Footwear
Sehoana ventured into several hustles, including a corporate job, running a cleaning company and working at a construction company before he got his breakthrough. While speaking with 94.7 in August 2022, he shared how farming never worked out for him, saying:
I used all my savings in poultry. After being in the business for about five years, I had lost R5,000 and my car. I was completely broke.
However, in July 2019, Lekau launched Drip Footwear with 600 sneaker pairs. He reportedly sold out the shoes within six weeks.
Source: Twitter
In December of the same year, Sehoana manufactured and sold 1,200 within a few days. Despite the challenges of COVID-19 in 2020, he opened his first store. With several outlets across Mzansi, the company was once listed as number 65 on Africa's Top 100 Most Admired Brands.
What is happening with Drip?
In 2023, Lekau was taken to court by Spring Mall owners for failing to pay rent amounting to about half a million rands for his store. In January 2024, advertising agency WideOpen Platform also sued the company for failing to pay more than R20 million.
On 9 October 2024, the Johannesburg High Court ordered the liquidation of Drip Footwear, resulting in the closure of all its stores and the layoff of its employees.
The rebirth of Drip Footwear
The company reopened in February 2025 with a new sneaker available at TAPE stores. Rebranded Drip Sportif, the shoe brand, has an outlet at the Mall of Africa. On 21 February 2025, Sehoana took to Instagram to announce the rebirth via a post that read:
We do not start from zero; we start from experience.
Source: Twitter
Who is Lekau's estranged wife?
Sehoana exchanged nuptials with his schoolmate Lebogang Machaba in 2018. However, their marriage hit rock bottom as Drip Footwear flourished, and they separated.
In a July 2024 interview with Madam Speaker, Machaba shared how she financially supported Lekau's sneaker business dream when he was unemployed. She accused him of physical abuse, stating:
Whenever Sehoana got bad reviews from Drip customers, he would let out his frustrations with me.
There have been allegations that the businessman used Drip Footwear liquidation to avoid paying the 50% demand Lebogang had made for his assets as a divorce settlement.
FAQs
Lekau's extravagant lifestyle allegedly led to the failure of his sneaker company. Below are some frequently asked questions about him:
What happened to Lekau Sehoana?
Sehoana's Drip Footwear was liquidated after being in the shoe business for five years due to a financial dispute with creditors.
Source: UGC
How much is Drip Footwear worth?
Drip Footwear reportedly had a net worth of R280 million at its peak. Fourteen of its stores were closed in 2024.
Is Cassper the owner of Drip?
The wealthy artist never owned the company. However, Nyovest inked a deal with Drip Footwear in 2021.
Lekau Sehoana rose to fame as the owner of the sneaker brand Drip Footwear, a company he built from the ground up. A few months after his business was liquidated, the businessman rebranded the business to Drip Sportif.
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