Online Reporter
Mbulelo Mpofu, [email protected]
IT is a season of undeniable breakthroughs for local fashion powerhouse Yolanda Ngwenya. The visionary designer and founder of the acclaimed clothing brand, Bakhar, has added another massive feather to her cap after being named in this year’s prestigious Old Mutual Value Creation Challenge (VCC) Top 100.
The announcement caps off an extraordinarily busy 24 hours for the creative, who woke up to the life-changing news just morning after pulling off a major artistic milestone in the city.
On Thursday evening, Ngwenya was at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, celebrating the successful launch of the “Fragrancies of Truth” group exhibition – a project she co-curated alongside fellow creatives Doris Kamupira and Rinako Shirai.
But the celebration doubled when she woke up to the official shortlist from Old Mutual. The VCC is a highly competitive, nationwide business incubation program designed to offer funding, mentorship, and structural support to Zimbabwe’s most innovative start-ups and small business owners.
Reacting to the news, an ecstatic yet grounded Ngwenya could not hide the mixture of anticipation and pressure that comes with the corporate nod.
“Exciting and nerve-wracking. Now we wait,” Ngwenya said when questioned about making the highly coveted shortlist.
The VCC Top 100 selection marks yet another milestone in what has become a defining year for designer Ngwenya and her Bakhar label, whose rapid rise has captured the attention of the local fashion industry. Over the past few months, Ngwenya secured her maiden nomination at the prestigious National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA), attended the globally acclaimed Berlin Fashion Week in Berlin alongside fellow designer Charmaine Nziradzemhuka, and completed an intensive six-week internship with two of Germany’s leading luxury fashion brands, an experience she described as both demanding and rewarding.
The VCC will soon move into its next phases with the Top 100 entrepreneurs facing rigorous vetting, training, and pitching sessions aimed at narrowing down the final winners who will walk away with seed capital and scaling support.
For Ngwenya, the transition from curating fine art on Thursday night to entering the high-stakes corporate incubation ring on Friday reinforces her position as not just a designer, but one of the most dynamic young business minds in Zimbabwe’s creative economy.
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Bongani Ndlovu