Learn how MsKate Inc Corporate focuses on redefining corporate wear, filling a gap in how businesses present themselves. Explore Kate's perspective on the importance of corporate image in shaping a business.
Life gave Kate Muchena lemons. She got married when she was just 19 years old, had a child at 20 and divorced at 24. The marriage was abusive and she walked out with nothing more than her cell phone and national identity card. She had to fight tooth and nail for the custody of her daughter. To add to these troubles, she was uneducated and unemployed.
Today, Kate now 31, is the owner and founder of MsKate Incorporation, a brand making waves in the Zimbabwean fashion industry. The company has two units namely MsKate Inc Corporate and MsKate Personalised Shopping.
The corporate division focuses on provision of branded corporate wear for organisations. Despite being in the industry for only 3 years, MsKate Inc Corporate already dresses giants such as F.C Platinum and two other teams in the Zimbabwean Premier Soccer League.
The personalised shopping caters for individual customers giving them an unmatched shopping experience. Shopping is strictly by appointment and walk in customers are not allowed to enable a hustle free environment for a customer. In addition to the undivided attention from shop attendants, customers are served with refreshments and Wi-Fi access. With all these successes, it is critical to retrace how Kate created her brand.
She had lost most of her personal belongings in the divorce process
Soon after her divorce, in 2013, Kate was invited to recuperate in South Africa by her cousin based there. Towards her return, the cousin offered to buy Kate some clothes since she had lost most of her personal belongings in the divorce process. Kate thought it would be wise to purchase goods to resale instead of personal clothes. The few items she returned with were gainfully sold paving a way to cross-border trading.
Kate pursued cross-border trading for about 7 months then ditched it to join the second hand clothes (mabhero) hype which seemed more rewarding. The pursuit was soon stopped to join the new trend for importation of liquor from South Africa due to the scarcity of alcohol that prevailed in the country then. “Although I was building towards my dream, I didn’t have a solid business model. I had to do what brought food to the table and what gave me quick money,” she said.
It felt silly writing everything down because there was no money to match the dream
After raising a significant capital from her stints, Kate started importing clothes from Tanzania. A round trip from Harare to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania takes a total of 6 days by bus. This is sufficient to discourage a non-committed person but Kate kept pursuing her vision. “I had a notebook where I would write down my vision. I would state my goals with time frames so that I could be accountable to myself. The Bible says write your vision down and make it plain. At times it felt silly writing everything down because there was no money to match the dream,” she reveals.
In the initial stages, she did not have a retail outlet and would use her residence to give her clients a personalised shopping experience. As a lady of many talents, she pursued acting parallel to running her business. She featured on Zimbabwean national television shows such as Wenera, Outrage and ZimTales short stories. The publicity from the media and referrals from clients boosted her business. The MsKate brand was finally registered as an Incorporation in 2016 to cater for the two business units.
Most businesses are good at what they do but lack an image that supports what they are trying to sell
Kate has remodeled her business taking marketing of the personalised shopping online to focus on the corporate side. What particularly made corporate wear appealing to her is that she identified a gap in how businesses presented themselves. She reveals that in most organisations there is little thought put on corporate wear yet it contributes to shaping the organisational image. In Kate’s perspective, the corporate image promotes a business and also reveals the level of commitment the business puts to its brand. “Most businesses are good at what they do but lack an image that supports what they are trying to sell. Corporate wear says a lot about the organisation being represented,” she said.
My work should be loved because I am good not because I am a woman
Kate is highly inspired by Ava DuVernay, a renowned American film-maker and producer. “Ava’s films are world standard, she does not hold back because she is a woman, she produces good quality as any male in her industry. What I learn from her is that my work should be loved because I am good not because I am a woman,” she stated. Kate commits to her business ensuring that she participates in every step of the business from meeting clients, quality checks of all the produced uniforms to delivery. It is her belief that she is the visionary behind her business and cannot fully delegate the vision to employees who are driven by a salary. Kate is also inspired by George Munengwa of Pro-Air due to his commitment to his family and his business; also Jah Prayzah for the level of commitment he puts to his music.
In the next 5 years, Kate believes MsKate Inc Corporate will be the first name that comes to mind when people think of corporate wear. She intends on dressing all not just a few and her desire is for all her designs to be produced locally. Kate also discussed her firm faith in God, who is her father and provider. She urges everyone willing to venture into business to have faith and self-belief because nothing is easy and stress is guaranteed. She stated that, “You take the first steps in business by yourself. People might not believe in your idea at first but if you invest your time, effort and believe in what you are doing, it is never a waste.”
A thought of poverty gives me so much energy to get out of bed and work
Financial freedom has been the sweetest reward in Kate’s entrepreneurial journey. “I am coming from a place where I could not afford to buy myself anything at all. Now that I have financial freedom, I do not want to go back to that situation. If I start getting weary, a thought of poverty gives me so much energy to get out of bed and work,” she said. Life gave Kate lemons, instead of being bitter, she made lemonade!
