Mangwanani runs 23 spas across South Africa as the country’s first African Spa, but this firm is about more than luxury pampering. Mangwanani exists to empower women. Creating employment for underprivileged South African Women is a central tenet of Mangwanani, which employs over 600 people.
The company is the vision of one woman, its dynamic CEO Erin Lambert, who dreamed of creating a retreat that offered true head-to-toe indulgence that would not only offer African-inspired revitalisation but would also uplift rural women. The company would not just employ these women but provide them with the training and accredited qualifications they would need to join the ranks of the finest qualified therapists available. It is a truly life-changing prospect for those women who are given the chance, offering them a “hand up” instead of a “hand out”.
But to achieve that goal, the company boasts an incredible experience offering ranging from a full day in the African spas with treatments, lunch, and breakfast to half-day spas, or moonlight spas and Boutique, Dream and Signature spas that Mangwanani provides from hotels across the country.
“These are our upmarket spas,” says Leigh-Anne Gey van Pittius, Mangwanani’s General Manager. “Then there is our one-of-a-kind top-of-the-range kind of Signature spa at the Zimbali Capital Hotel.”
“For the company itself, our ethos has always been on empowerment and upskilling,” says Patrick Duma, a Buyer for the company. “Most of the company’s management are people who started as therapists and got upskilled to grow within the company.”
A Uniquely African Offering
Mangwanani itself has also been growing. The firm’s CEO started the business in 2002, and we talk to Gey van Pittius and Duma just over a week after the company’s 21st anniversary, making it the oldest spa in the country. Over that time, the company has established itself as a leader in the field.
“We offer something so unique,” Gey van Pittius says.
“We have been able to offer unique African ancient treatments with a modernised edge to them,” Duma adds. “We have created signature treatments ourselves based on research from within the country and the continent to cater for a range of clients, whether it is a couple’s experience or wellness retreats for corporates.”
Those treatments are also supported by a range of African-inspired products Mangwanani has developed.
“We have developed this product range using local formulations,” Duma says. “One of our goals is to have our own manufacturing facility within a year-and-a-half.”
But once again, empowerment is at the centre of Mangwanani’s work. The garments worn in Mangwanani’s spas are manufactured in-house by a team of older women. Mangwanani is looking to expand that capability to include specialised gift boxes for people looking to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, and other occasions.
Nurturing Local Skills
While Mangwanani’s offering has grown, evolved, and refined, the company has also faced challenges. It is no surprise that Covid was disruptive to the company’s business model, and that was quickly followed by additional challenges.
“Coming out of Covid there was a bit of unrest in 2021 which was a for our spas in hotels, and we also faced the challenge of the flooding in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape in 2022,” Duma recalls. “But we have always been able to push forward regardless of the circumstances.”
“We adapt as we go! There is always something!” Gey van Pittius agrees. “During Covid, we made sure to get food and money to our staff, because obviously nobody could work during those times. Our focus is always on our staff and being able to provide for them.”
Indeed, providing for, empowering, and investing in staff is the central column Mangwanani’s business has been constructed around.
“A lot of our staff have been with us for the 21 years. Some of those first ladies we recruited are still with us today, and we have grown in rank,” says Gey van Pittius. “We draw from their families as well. We have watched the children of some of our managers grow up, finish school, and then come into the business themselves. We advertise, but a lot of our recruitment is through word of mouth and human connections.”
Duma agrees, adding, “If we have a vacancy we will advise our team members, who will advise the community as well.”
Recruitment is only the start of a long journey of investment and training. “Upskilling” is a watchword and Mangwanani.
“We’ve got in-house training staff whose job is to take on groups of trainees a few at a time and provide them with the skills they need to be part of the business,” says Gey van Pittius. “They go out into the spas and get hands-on experience. Once they are ready, we employ them.”
That training forms the foundation of a lifelong journey of learning and loving that continues throughout the business.
“When it comes to skills, we pay close attention to where people’s passions lie,” Duma tells us. “For example, if someone is passionate about administration, we will assist them in Excel courses, gearing them up for any office administration work within the structure of the business.”
Mangwanani also has a strong vision for its own future, with a strategy geared around opening more spas and, crucially, employing, training, and empowering more staff within South Africa, regardless of the challenges ahead.
“We are passionate about South Africa, but challenges such as load-shedding and a higher cost-of-living can affect our costs, but if those elements improve, we foresee much better growth for the country and ourselves as a business,” Duma says.
Whatever the future has in store for Mangwanani, its leadership will bring to bear their passion and enthusiasm for the company’s work, and what they can bring to the community,
As Gey van Pittius says simply, “We love what we do!”
