In Hammarsdale, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, a citizen built a clothing factory that employed over 300 young people.

Steven Mabugana is a South African citizen who co founded KhanyiTex, a clothing manufacturer in Hammarsdale, KwaZulu-Natal, that grew from thirty to over three hundred young employees and won a twenty million rand export deal to Rwanda. In his own account, he was treated as a foreigner for close to forty years, called Nigerian and told he did not belong, much of it from law enforcement, and he links the collapse of his business to several pressures that included that harassment. Xenophobia in South Africa does not run on documents. It runs on language, ethnicity, and appearance, which is why it reaches citizens too, and why it can drive out the exact job creating businesses this economy cannot afford to lose. Story told as his account. Business details verified independently. #Xenophobia #SouthAfrica #KhanyiTex #Hammarsdale