Meet our Top 50 Thriving Female Founder for 2019 Edition

Pregnancy-related stretch marks inspired Portia Mngomezulu to start selling marula oil and build a multimillion-rand business - with over R10 million in sales in 2018 alone. 

Initially, she bought marula oil from local women, bottled it and sold the oil as a side-business to friends and family, reinvesting the income back into the company. 

By 2013, she quit her full-time job and expanded her range to include body lotions, face creams, and face washes - all clinically tested and approved. 

In 2015, Pick n Pay partnered with her through their Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) Programme and placed her products in 20 corporate and family stores 

Between 2016 and 2017 her sales jumped by nearly 2000% as the store list expanded nationally. Today her product is in 432 stores and her sales are already up 61% this year alone.

Portia M Skin is already available in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia, and employs 27 full-time staff. 

Portia Mngomezulu started Portia M Skin in 2010 after she discovered the healing effect of Marula on her pregnancy-related stretch marks.

Mngomezulu originally invested R200 in the company, and in 2018 it yielded over R10 million sales thus far.

Mngomezulu was recently named Pick n Pay's Small Supplier of the Year.