RISE APPAREL

Ndeli Kamati is 19 years old and primarily a student but also runs a graphic tee business: Rise Apparel.

She says,

I love graphic tees, there are so many ways to style them and express your self through what you wear. Unfortunately, more often than not I don’t see a lot of inclusivity on the graphic tees sold in retail stores for the black and LGBTQ+ community. I decided that complaining about the lack of inclusivity wasn’t going to fix the problem, and that’s what inspired the birth of Rise Apparel.

1. How did you get your idea or concept for the business?

• I got the idea for Rise apparel because I wanted to see people who look like me and that I could relate to on the shirts that I wear. I figured other marginalised groups felt the same way.

2. What service(s) or product(s) do you offer/manufacture?

• Rise Apparel sells graphic tees that we design ourselves. We also offer custom designs for our customers who have specific designs in mind.

3. How do you advertise your business?

• You can find us on instagram and Tik Tok @riseapparel.official

4. To what do you attribute your success?

• Rise Apparel is a very young business and so we still have a relatively small customer base. The little success we have had this year has been a result of our local and loyal customers who love styling our shirts to fit their street wear aesthetic.

5. Whats your company's goals?

• Our goal is to play a leading role in elevating and growing the street wear community in Namibia. Our goal is also to make our customer base feel seen with the products we provide that allow them to make stylish fashion statements.

6. What is unique about your business?

• Rise Apparel is unique in the sense that all of our products are centred around inclusivity. Wearing a graphic tee with your favourite black, female or LGBTQ+ artist can be a fashion statement to complete your outfit, but also a form of artistic activism.

7. What made you choose this type of business?

• I initially designed and manufactured graphic tees for myself and for my family as an informal focus group. When I started to get complements on the shirts I decided to invest more time and money into manufacturing the tees as an official business.

8. If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting to, what would it be?

• My advice would be to just do it. It sounds like a cliche but became one without inspiring enough people. You’re going to make a lot of mistakes but if you learn from them, those mistakes could play a major role in your business’ success.