Pasi Koetle-Nyokong is spreading her wings into fashion with 'Uzuri'

Uzuri means "beauty" in Swahili and that's the name Scandal! actress Mapaseka Koetle-Nyokong chose for her latest business venture, this time in fashion.

She launched Gorge as her debut in the entrepreneurial space, and now she is spreading her wings into her first love, fashion. The store had been doing well online when she decided to open a physical store. 

Speaking to TshisaLIVE, Mapaseka said the business was born from a relationship she had with boutique owner Agnes whose clothes she loved wearing. The owner encouraged her to start her own business.

“It’s amazing how the clothing business started. I love fashion and  I make sure I take myself seriously. Whenever I go to places, events or out with friends, I worry about what to wear.

“So I used to post for people, for those Instagram boutiques that will always give celebrities clothes in exchange for a tag or whatnot.  I didn't like taking too many items from shops because the boring part about it is they want you to post immediately when you get the clothes. So I always stick to one person who got my style every time.”

She is also very grateful to Agnes for holding her hand.  

“There are good people out there. If she was jealous she wasn’t going to tell me to start my business. That’s what made me realise there are very good people with good hearts out there. She saw potential in me that I didn’t see in myself. Even though I knew I love clothes and stuff, it was not as deep as maybe one day I will have my own clothing store.”

The actress plays Dintle on etv's popular soap opera Scandal!. er character is a troublemaker.

Mapaseka feels she has grown with the character because there have been changes in her life.

“The growth is amazing because I grew up with her and obviously she used to be naughty and doing all those things but the more I grew up with her, the more I got to understand  and judge her less.

“In this life journey unfortunately there are no shortcuts. You can’t get things for free. You have to work hard for them. Even how she (Dintle) became a CEO and whatnot, I felt like when she was being elevated and growing I was growing with her because in my personal life I was learning a lot about myself .

“Being in business and the type of languages entrepreneurs speak, I had to learn. I realised  my strength is more when I collaborate. I'm not necessarily business-minded but when I collaborate with the right people magic happens.”

Mapaseka said the transition (losing the character Quinton) was very hard, with the new look and feel of Scandal!.  

“People are leaving, people are dying . It was very hard but I think the main thing  I had to do was to be calm. I've never lost a loved one close to me like that , so you have to find a way to tell the story and it must be as real as possible. It was one of the hardest storylines. Everyday 7am to 7pm for two months I was crying for Quinton. And we go on. We are shooting for Christmas and all those emotions come back.”