A cleaning brand born from hope and hustle to assist people in community

In the heart of New Brighton in the Eastern Cape, a determined Khulile Moyake set out to rewrite the narrative of his community, which had been portrayed as crime-ridden.

“I was wondering why this was the case,” he said, reflecting on the high crime levels in the area.

“And the answer I received was that ‘I have no one to look up to’. I went to the drawing board to figure out how I could solve the problem of a lack of role models and tackle unemployment in the process.”

From that deep reflection, Asicoce Products was born – a home-grown detergent manufacturing business with a mission to provide affordable, high-quality cleaning products while also empowering the community.

Moyake said that the aim is to control the entire value chain in the manufacturing process while ensuring that the products are affordable.

While the business began in 2022, the journey started much earlier.

Before founding Asicoce Products, Moyake worked at a local Hungry Lion franchise.

“I had this feeling that I was not doing enough. I decided to quit my job and started researching opportunities that I could pursue. I realised that every household uses detergents, and I thought maybe I could give it a try,” he said.

Initially, he sold and resold established detergent brands, but the model proved to be financially unsustainable.

“I did not have the money to do proper research, so I had to settle for just searching on the internet. I googled ‘How to make a liquid soap’ and I found a channel on YouTube,” he said.

Asicoce manufactures dishwashing liquid, thick bleach and a multipurpose cleaner.

This is an edited version of an article first published in the GCIS’s Vuk’uzenzele