(Zimbabwe) – Mama Red Rose; the name you cannot talk about hair in Zimbabwe without including in the paragraph or conversation. Great stories of entrepreneurship start with strange but inspiring beginnings, Barbara Chikosi, known as Mama Red Rose, started hers with just a single chair.
Born in the Marange area in Mutare, she grew up in Harare’s Highfield suburb where she attended several schools including Mutasa and Chengu primary schools before advancing to Highfield Community Mhuriimwe School.
She later moved to Zambia for both Ordinary and Advanced levels. She went to Kitwe High, Mindolo Girls High and Chipembe Girls High in Lusaka.
“My mother died while I was in Zambia,” she recalls.
“That is when I developed the interest in doing hair for my school mates. Unknown to me, this was the salon business in the making. Through this, I managed to augment my pocket money.”
When she came back to Zimbabwe on holiday, she continued with her hair-dressing business. Her clients were mainly employees from Harare Central Hospital.
“After completing my studies in Zambia, I came back to Zimbabwe but this time I was now staying in Mufakose with my grandmother because my mother whom I stayed with in Highfield had passed on,” she said.
Read more in Kufunga Magazine.
Source: Daily News (Zimbabwe).
