From Hair Care to City Hall: Herman Mashaba Leverages Business Legacy in Johannesburg Mayoral Bid
Long before emerging as a prominent political figure, ActionSA President Herman Mashaba was an entrepreneur risking everything in an apartheid-era economy.
Now, as the 4 November local government elections approach, the Johannesburg mayoral candidate is placing his business background—most notably the creation of the iconic hair and cosmetics brand Black Like Me—at the centre of his political pitch to voters.
Raised by a mother who worked as a domestic worker after his father passed away when he was two, Mashaba’s early life lacked traditional corporate role models.
After his university studies were disrupted by the anti-apartheid struggle, he turned to commission-based sales, selling crockery, linen, and insurance directly from the boot of his car.
In 1984, Mashaba took a defining gamble. He secured a R30,000 loan from a friend at a steep 31% interest rate—repaying it in full within seven months—and partnered with chemist Johan Kriel.
Together, they launched Black Like Me, defying the strict racial segregation of the era to build an enduring South African brand.
Over the next four decades, Mashaba expanded his business footprint into construction, real estate, retail, energy, and financial services, eventually earning an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from the Central University of Technology in 2013.
Mashaba asserts that his entrepreneurial journey directly informs his approach to public service.
Having previously served as the Mayor of Johannesburg from 2016 to 2019, he points to his track record of stabilising the city’s finances, improving revenue collection, and enforcing a zero-tolerance policy on corruption as evidence of his business-minded governance.
For his current mayoral campaign, Mashaba and ActionSA have prioritised several critical urban crises, tackling high unemployment through business-led job creation, resolving water shortages, fixing broken streetlights, and maintaining aging infrastructure and combating rampant crime, drug dealing, and the crisis of hijacked buildings.
To reconnect with voters and share the lessons of his multi-decade career, Mashaba recently expanded into digital media.
On 21 September, he launched Black Like You, a new podcast on his personal YouTube channel. Named after his autobiography (co-authored with Isabella Morris), the podcast is also broadcast across 13 community radio stations, offering a wide platform to discuss entrepreneurship, capital access, and economic growth just as voters prepare to head to the polls.
Ultimately, Mashaba is betting that Johannesburg residents are looking for an administrator who views municipal management through a corporate lens—focusing on accountability, economic generation, and getting basic services right.
