With summer literally around the corner, what better time to treat your feet to a luxurious shoe brand that prioritises comfort and timeless designs above all else. Whether your preference is flat or high heeled sandals, slingbacks, court heels or brogues, Umzee has your personal style and taste.
Following years of meticulous behind-the-scenes planning, Umzee has finally launched its own shoe line, made with the finest genuine leather in Brazil. Fun fact: Brazil produces around 895 million pairs of shoes annually and is one of the top ten shoe manufacturing countries in the world. From the classic designs to choosing materials and colours, Umzee handles it all.
Umzee founder Tsele Khoabane-Lepono initially started the brand as a way of sharing her unique shoe style with her friends and corporate circles in 2013. During her international travels, Tsele would source unique premium quality shoes and resell them to her ever-growing client base.
Tsele holds qualifications in Synoptic Meteorology and Computer Systems Engineering and boasts an unmatched passion for shoes. She believes that both degrees have helped shape the Umzee brand ethos — that shoes should be designed for comfort first.
Tsele started out as a desktop technician, then worked her way to becoming an Oracle developer. She later moved into Business Intelligence for Data Analysis and Reporting. Today, she’s a certified SAP Security Professional with sixteen years’ experience spanning various industries and environments — laboratories, consulting, mining, finance, and most recently the automobile industry.
“My early years at Rand Water’s laboratory instilled in me a passion for analysis and attention to detail. This would later become the foundation for Umzee. I later transitioned into the mining industry as a consultant for Barnstone — diamonds, silver, gold, and platinum represent the finer things in life, which is exactly what Umzee represents,” says Tsele.
A placement at Standard Bank, through Deloitte, introduced her to the Banking Sector. This opportunity honed her business acumen, exactly the skill she needed while establishing the Umzee brand. Through Telic, Tsele was a member of the IT Security team at the revolutionary Discovery Bank. She currently works for a German automotive firm where she is learning how to establish an international brand while incorporating one’s background and focusing on quality improvement through continuous refinement. And this right here, is the quintessential definition of Umzee Woman!
Bongi Sikelo 