{"id":862271,"date":"2026-08-15T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=862271"},"modified":"2026-08-14T17:42:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T15:42:37","slug":"the-south-african-entrepreneur-who-went-from-selling-perfumes-as-a-student-to-owning-a-unique-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/862271\/the-south-african-entrepreneur-who-went-from-selling-perfumes-as-a-student-to-owning-a-unique-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"The South African entrepreneur who went from selling perfumes as a student to owning a unique brand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Theo Baloyi is a South African entrepreneur and the founder of Bathu Shoes, which he launched in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baloyi was born in Ga-Rankuwa, situated northwest of Pretoria, and later moved with his family to Phake, near Hammanskraal, where he grew up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After matric, he relocated to Alexandra, Johannesburg, to live with his uncle while pursuing his BComm Accounting degree at the University of South Africa (UNISA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While studying, Baloyi started selling perfumes door-to-door and was later selected for PwC’s graduate programme, ultimately being transferred to Dubai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inspiration for his footwear business struck during a seven-hour layover at an airport, where he met a French businessman who owned a shop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their extensive discussion about business ignited Baloyi’s curiosity about the entrepreneurial narratives crafted in Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This encounter planted the seed for what would become his South African footwear company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, he resigned from PwC, one of the Big Four accounting firms, where he had spent three years building his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI decided to quit my job and be of service,\u201d he said in an interview<\/a> with TFG Media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I visited home, I saw many young people who had lost hope. But, for most, it wasn\u2019t because they were lazy; they had not been awarded opportunities like I had,” he said in the interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bathu Shoes was founded in 2015, with a journey that began in Alexandra, and launched with 100 pairs of the Mesh Edition sneakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, Bathu has experienced considerable growth, with over 35 outlets nationwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baloyi\u2019s initiative, “Bathu for Batho,” aims to donate one million pairs of school shoes to underprivileged children over the next decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has also created job opportunities for family members and the Alexandra community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout his career, Baloyi has earned several prestigious accolades, including the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Gauteng Premier Service Excellence Awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was also awarded the Top Empowered Young Achiever of the Year Award and a Pioneer Award at the London Global African Awards. He was also recognised as a Young Business Leader of the Year by Forbes Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bathu Shoes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBathu\u201d is a widely used slang term in South Africa, particularly in townships, referring to shoes. The brand Bathu was founded in 2015 in Alexandra, a local township. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, it has experienced significant growth, expanding to over 30 stores nationwide and employing more than 300 staff members, predominantly consisting of youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founder Theo Baloyi spent several months conducting feasibility studies and was rejected by 13 different shoe factories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, his perseverance gave birth to his first Bathu shoe, the Mesh Edition Sneaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, the brand bought its first delivery vehicle and opened its first physical store in Newtown Junction Mall, Johannesburg. In 2021, Bathu was ranked 9th in Africa’s most recognisable brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Bathu story is more than just a story of sneakers. It’s a story of owning your destiny, staying true to who you are, persevering, following your dreams and doing something you are passionate about,\u201d said the brand on its website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a story of walking your journey. We are more than just a sneaker business but a beacon of hope that each person has valid and attainable dreams regardless of background and unfavourable personal circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bathu brand offers several types of shoes for both kids and adults, including sneakers and slides, ranging from R800 for the original Mesh Edition sneakers to R2,000 for the V240 Black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bathu brand also sells football jerseys, which come in four colours: black, blue, turquoise, and pink, priced at R900 each.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Theo Baloyi is a South African entrepreneur and the founder of Bathu Shoes, which he launched in 2015.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":862390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2088596836692955351","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2176882399798826","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18100832980970880","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[21872,21874],"class_list":["post-862271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-bathu-sneakers","tag-theo-baloyi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862271"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":869130,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862271\/revisions\/869130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}