‘Still Standing’, Says Hem Matsi

While she refuses to comment on a legal notice in the classifieds sections of The Namibian stating that her property is being repossessed to cover outstanding depts owed to Ogopa Butterfly Entertainment CC, Hem Matsi has made it clear that she is still standing and that her business, Hemline Fashion, is still going strong.

“I feel like everybody is waiting for my downfall,” she says. “Why?”

Hem also addressed the rumours currently circulating that she is bankrupt and has closed shop. She expressed shock at how some comments she made at a business luncheon in 2014 were taken to mean that she is out of business. “When I gave that talk, which was about women in business and how you can get back on your feet after you fall,” she says of a Nampa report from May 2014,“I had recovered from bankruptcy.” She says by the time she had given the talk, she was back on her feet and had learnt from her previous bad business choices.

“The bankruptcy happened in 2013 and was caused mainly by mismanagement of funds. People also don’t realise that I don’t do fashion full time, the shop is just a way to express my creativity,” she says. Rumours that the shop is closed are also untrue, says Hem. “We closed for only two days and I already had journalists asking me about it. If thinking that I’m finished helps people sleep better, they should go right ahead.”

In another blow to her brand, the legal notice which appeared in several local dailies this week listed several items to be sold in order to repay Ogopa Butterfly. The items include a counter, 72 assistant’s wedding dresses, one fridge and 44 men’s suits.

After her financial woes, Hem found a business mentor, who she says helped her change her way of operating business. “I changed my systems and took my girls (employees) for customer service training,” she says.

She intends on continuing and growing her business and providing a source of income to her employees. “The people working in the shop have families to look after so who will take care of them if I fail?”

A staunch activist who fights for the end of gender-based violence (GBV), Matsi says that as a medical consultant, she is also passionate about health issues. She has travelled the world in her pursuit of a GBV-free nation, going as far as the United Nations to advance her advocacy work. She also reveals that she is currently part of a team involved in training health officials on issues surrounding HIV and HIV testing.

“Fashion will always be there but I’m very passionate about the health issues in Namibia,” she says.

Her issue with Ogoba Butterfly is still a no-go area though, as she avoids all questions regarding that issue. “That is with my lawyers at the moment so I can’t say anything about it yet.” Ogopa boss Sula Kyababa also remained mum on the matter while expressing shock that the issue was exposed in a classified advertorial. “I have no comment on that,” was all he could offer this reporter.

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