There’s a rich meaningful Zulu idiom that says ukhamba lufuze imbiza and those of you who are in touch with their roots will understand just how prophetic this phrase is ezimpilweni zabantu base Afrika.

Others even go as far as saying ufuzo luyadlulela. That’s how powerful and majestic our indigenous languages are… and this particular expression applies so perfectly to Avril Nomkhosi Ngidi, a young beautiful and self-motivated lady from Umlazi township.

The 21-year old Ms Ngidi owns an online clothing boutique for women which is called “Lirva by Avril”. What inspired her to start this business is the passing of her mother who was a fashion designer from a very young age; having developed the habit of sewing her own clothes whenever she got the chance to.

Mind you, I had no idea about this at all ‘till her passing and when I started my own business I truly grew from it and fell in love with what I do and just being the middleman for most people whom I offer my services too.

By her nature, Avril is quite an elegant yet grounded woman who was raised by her grandmother for the most part of her life. She is very observant and transparent as an individual, with an easy going and warm personality.

She tells us that her general outlook in life is having the courage to do what she loves the most every day, on every aspect of her life. And of course, the fact that she constantly practices faith by involving God in all her plans has proven to be the cherry on top.

“What I do in my spare time is mostly just being at work since I am a dedicated entrepreneur, apart from being a student. I am such a family oriented girl and spend most of my quality time at home. That makes me happy more than anything else in life. Cooking and exercising are also part of the daily routines I engage in, to stimulate my mind, keep myself fit and healthy”, she says.

When it comes to the daily running of her online boutique, she does have one business partner that helps her and contributes to the success of her business. Having said that though, Avril loves being hands on with her brand and making sure that everything runs smoothly.

Her clothing brand was launched at AZAR DBN in the middle of last year (2016) and she’s since had the major opportunity of working with other females that were already making it in the industry.

On the issue of facing challenges, she says that it is so difficult for her to run her business efficiently and also having to attend at campus and juggle time to study. “I am not much of a multi-tasking person but by the grace of God and good determination I often manage to deal with challenges and get everything done eventually. I guess that’s one thing that keeps me so grounded and humble. I am truly grateful for everything I have accomplish so far empilweni yami.”

With regards to her take on the entire clothing industry, she views it as being quite competitive and that aspect alone has taught her to keep on studying the latest trends because, in her opinion, consumer’s needs are so dynamic. And as a person who’s fairly new in the industry she highly respects each and everyone’s hustle; strongly believes that Durban has theee most creative and talented people – some of whom have taught her a lot about the clothing business.

This is some of my work… Ladies if you need a skinTight jumper DM me. I have all sizes!! Comes in Nude aswell ? pic.twitter.com/S1UOespaEN

— missNgidi (@AvRILNgidi) May 24, 2017

On a personal level, Avril applauds herself for what she has managed to achieve. Her excellent work ethic and marketing skills have kept her pushing relentlessly for the longest time and consequently helped her to get some good referrals for the brand – making her business grow even bigger.

However, she does admit that liaising with and meeting different people every day can take its toll on her but at the end of the day (no matter how negative some people can be) she never allows herself to be controlled or affected by it.

When we asked Avril to send a heartfelt message to her loyal and prospective customers, this is what she had to say: “I’m truly grateful and honored to have them in my journey. Isintu sithi umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu and from my side, it’s evident! Five years from now, with everything being handled under control and consistent prayer, I want to open a store and expand my business abroad.”

To find out more about Lirva by Avril visit her website on www.lirvabyavril.com