Meet Balini Naidoo Engelbrecht. The trailblazing fashion designer behind Balini™ Braille Clothing, a clothing brand aimed at creating a more accessible and inclusive shopping experience for blind and visually impaired people.

Balini attended primary and high school at Somerset West before doing a foundational course in architecture at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. After realizing her real passion lay in fashion design, Balini shifted her studies and enrolled at the Durban University for Technology for a Bachelor of Technology diploma in fashion and textile design. It was here, working on a business study project, that Balini first conceived of Balin Braille Clothing. An idea drawn from conversations with her visually impaired uncle and his daily struggles when it comes to clothing.  

After years of research and prototyping, Balini developed her designs along with her very own Braille Identification System used on each garment piece. The brand gained much recognition after Balini was chosen to showcase her work at the Design Indaba Emerging Creative Class of 2018. Since then, she has worked hard to create a product that has an impact and will continue to help people in the future.

Alongside her business, Balini is very active in the blind and visually impaired community. She is incredibly passionate about teaching valuable skills like sewing to children and older members of the community. Even going through the process of accreditation to offer official training classes.

Balini shares the Woolies Youth Makers Programme has provided valuable insight in areas like product development, sales and marketing. She credits her mentors for helping her think outside of the box to find ways to make her product more accessible and affordable to her customers.