How Herman Mashaba made his millions

Herman Mashaba rose from humble beginnings in Hammanskraal to build a multi-million rand hair products company and become mayor of Johannesburg, the richest city in Africa. 

He is now president of ActionSA, a party he launched in 2020, and remains influential in South African politics, garnering strong support in the urban areas of Gauteng. 

Mashaba was raised by his sisters in GaRamotse, just outside of Hammanskraal. His mother worked as a domestic worker to provide for the family, as his father died just two years after Herman was born. 

He admits to having to steal basic necessities such as water and wood to survive but soon developed an ambition to use his education to break out of poverty. 

Mashaba’s elder brother dropped out of school at 15 and picked up short-term jobs to help supplement the family with extra cash. 

From a young age, his grandfather instilled in Mashaba a need to be independent and free, with no reliance on anyone else for survival. 

After finishing high school, Mashaba tried his hand at tertiary education but failed to complete his course. He then took up a job as a dispatch clerk at SPAR. 

Mashaba saved up his earnings from working at SPAR and a local furniture manufacturer to buy a car and began considering launching his own company. 

He began selling SuperKurl African hair products and quickly became the company’s top seller, realising that there was a tremendous opportunity in the market. 

“I said to myself, ‘I am not going to make this money for this guy. Let me start my own business.’ I did not even want to be a distributor. I wanted to make everything myself,” Mashaba recalled in a video on ActionSA’s website. 

“I wanted to take personal responsibility for my life. At that time, hair salons were mushrooming all over the townships. I saw market potential for the products, and since I had prior knowledge of the industry, it was the next best step.”

“I had everything against me. But when I went into business, I realised I could surround myself with like-minded people who could complement my skills.” 

Taking on a R30,000 loan from a friend, Mashaba partnered with a colleague at SuperKurl, Johan Kriel, and fellow salesman Joseph Molwantwa to launch the company Black Like Me. 

Mashaba would soon buy out Kriel and Molwantwa to take sole ownership of the company and led its expansion into the UK in 2002. Black Like Me would be the first black-owned South African company to sell its products internationally. 

“One has to have a strong work culture. That is not negotiable. One must also be a risk taker. Being a successful businessperson requires taking risks and doing what others haven’t done before.” 

Using the profits generated by Black Like Me, Mashaba would invest in companies operating in mining, construction, real estate, and security. 

Mashaba created an impressive reputation for himself and was invited to be chairman of the Free Market Foundation (FMF) in 2012. LIttle did he now that this would be the beginning of a political career spanning over a decade so far. 

The move into politics

Mashaba stepped down from chairman of the FMF when he joined the Democratic Alliance (DA) in 2014 as an ordinary card-carrying member as the foundation needed to remain politically impartial. 

Just over a year later, the DA would nominate Mashaba to stand as its candidate for mayor of the City of Johannesburg in the 2016 local government elections. 

Mashaba described his journey into politics as totally accidental. He never desired to become a public servant; he always wanted to be independent. 

“When I joined to be the mayor, it was just to send a signal to our youth – let’s not vote for political parties because they look like us. Let’s vote for parties because of what they stand for.”

In the elections of August 2016, the ruling ANC lost its majority in Johannesburg. The DA took 38.3% of the vote and the ANC 44.12%. 

Mashaba negotiated with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to form a coalition. While these negotiations were unsuccessful, the party would vote for him as mayor to remove the ANC from power. 

Mashaba was sworn in as mayor at the end of August 2016, serving until 2019, when he resigned because of differences with the DA leadership. 

After resigning, Mashaba looked to combine the skills he had gained from starting his own business with his desire to inspire political change. 

He formed The People’s Dialogue in 2019 to create a medium to stimulate discussions between ordinary South Africans about social and civil issues. Less than a year later, it would shut down. 

Mashaba began to consider launching another bid for mayor of Joburg under a different political banner but could not find one that aligned with his mission. 

As a result, he launched his own political party, ActionSA, in August 2020. Mashaba claimed the funding for the party’s launch came from his own pocket and grassroots support. 

Since its launch, Mashaba has pumped millions into ActionSA in his own personal capacity and through Black Like Me. 

After the 2024 elections, ActionSA announced that Mashaba would not be going to parliament and that he would be focusing on building the party ahead of the next local elections.

In a press conference, Mashaba said he did not need the salary of a member of parliament as he is privileged and his family can take care of him.

 He further elaborated that he would rather be focusing on teaching South Africans about the danger of politics of identity as the 2024 elections “scared” him.