Speaking to Showbiz in an interview, the founder of the label, 24-year old Thabang Malike of Nswazwi said that he is confident that in a short period of time, Nici will be one of the leading labels in the country. "Our brand is exclusive with our own iconic elements such as innovative prints, the hand-painted map of Africa at the back and futuristic colours. We control our market to avoid saturating it with the same product, so each T-shirt is unique because it is produced only once," he said adding that their aim is to sell limited edition T-shirts based on both the colours of the print and the product.
Relating the story of how the label was founded, Malike, who also happens to be a cartoonist, said that the name Nici was derived from a cartoon character that he created a while back. The up and coming entrepreneur says it had not been an easy journey as he funded the company from his pocket, so he has been faced with many hurdles in the process. Unlike other young people who believe that for them to make it in life they have to be employed, Malike decided to take the self-employment route and he has not looked back ever since. He asserts that like any other businessmen, he has met many challenges but that has not stopped him from being determined to be a success story. "I have done a lot of side projects and used the proceeds to support Nici so that it could be able to sustain itself," he said. Malike says one of his dreams is to see his label embraced by people of all ages and backgrounds. Describing Nici, the entrepreneur who has been inspired by, among others, his friend Thabiso Tsholofelo, a Thapong-based artist, said, "Nici is a creative lifestyle brand inspired by hip-hop and African art." He further said that seeing other brands, such as Gear Master and Mafia Soul becoming success stories, has motivated him to believe that his creativity coupled with hard work could help him 'make it big' without financial backing. At the moment, apart from Malike, Nici, which is based in Mogoditshane, does not have permanent workers. "Most of the time, I outsource services from other companies for printing. I also engage a graphic designer whom I pay a flat fee for his services and he creates designs under my instructions," Malike said adding that he only buys T-shirts from local manufacturing companies as one of his intentions is to create a 100 percent local product by buying from other local companies, hence creating employment for Batswana in the process. The determined entrepreneur told Showbiz that he intends to reinvent Nici in June to include not only T-shirts but golf shirts, caps, jeans, stunners, kicks and drops as well. He also plans to create a ladies range and open a new concept store in order to make Nici a leading local label.
