Pietermaritzburg PhD Candidate Slays at Entrepreneurship, Manufactures Detergents & Self-Care Products

• One hard-working young doctoral candidate is doing the absolute most as an entrepreneur, manufacturing detergents and skin-care products
• Nomandla Ngcoya is a PhD student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), conducting research in medicinal chemistry
• The 29-year-old already has her own production plant and employs five people through her enterprise, which is called D Chem Group

A multi-talented young lady from Pietermaritzburg is excelling in chemistry and entrepreneurship and runs a company called D Chem Group.

Nomandla Ngcoya, who is also a PhD candidate in medicinal chemistry at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), manufactures detergents and self-care products and has her own production plant.

Chatting to Briefly News, the innovative woman opens up about what made her start the business and discusses her plans for the future.

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The entrepreneur started her business in 2017

Nomandla established D Chem Group in 2017 after completing her master’s degree in chemistry at UKZN.

The go-getter notes that she was assisted by the Technology Station at the Mangosuthu University of Technology, where she was helped with developing the formulas for some products.

Nomandla explains that she decided to produce household cleaning items because she noticed one product having multiple purposes in her community, which she notes is not very safe or hygienic:

“I started a business because I wanted to solve hygiene problems in my community, where we used the green bar soap for everything, like washing dishes, washing clothes, cleaning floors and bathing.

“On some days when you cannot find the one you use for washing dishes, you just rinse the one you used for washing clothes, which is not hygienic.”

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In addition to manufacturing and selling various detergents such as bleach, pine gel and dishwashing liquid, the 29-year-old also produces self-care items, such as body butter and perfume.

Nomandla is a hard worker, striving to complete her doctoral study while running her business and creating employment for five people, three of whom are women:

“I have a plant in Pietermaritzburg, an outlet at the Imbali Youth Enterprise Park and a shop at Edendale Mall.”

The smart lady notes that she faces many challenges in the field of chemistry, which men still dominate:

“Chemistry is a male-dominated industry where we are constantly reminded of the dangers of chemicals on our reproductive systems. We are not even asked about whether we want children, but people make it look like having kids is our main purpose on earth.”

Nomandla has big plans with her company and wants to expand her business and export her products to other countries:

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“I will be going to Germany in October to explore the market.”

Single mom of 1 from Limpopo manufactures washing powder, proudly slays as entrepreneur and graphic designer

In a related story by Briefly News, a young entrepreneur from Limpopo is making things happen for herself and started her own company that manufactures washing powder.

The 25-year-old single mom saved money from her small stipend as a digital communications intern to start the business. Nandi Hlungwani balances her job with her side-hustle as a graphic designer, running the washing powder business after-hours and on weekends.

Source: Briefly News