20 September 2026

At Miko & Anna’s Rise Together Conference, Mr. Kang shared the personal story behind our brand. From growing up in a farming family in China to building a business in South Africa, he spoke about starting from zero, protecting quality, taking responsibility when things go wrong, and creating opportunities for others.

It was also a chance to recognise the people who have helped Miko & Anna move forward. Mr. Kang thanked our Sales Ambassadors, office team and supporters, and outlined the next steps for our business. These include bringing our office and warehouse together, providing more printed catalogues, improving training facilities, and investing in products and marketing support.

At the centre of his message was a shared ambition: to build a business where more people can earn, grow and help others succeed.

“What matters is not the highest point. What matters is the direction.”

“I don’t want 20,000 names. I want: 20,000 real opportunities.”

“A dream can start with one person. But a truly great business is built by many people together.”

Watch the Rise Together Conference Highlights

Experience moments from the conference, including the awards, our community, and the people helping to build Miko & Anna’s future.

Below, Mr. Kang shares his story and his vision for Miko & Anna in his own words.

I HAVE A DREAM

FROM MY DREAM TO OUR DREAM

Good morning, everyone.

It’s really great to see all of you here today.

When I was preparing for this speech, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about what I really wanted to say to you.

Of course, we could talk about many things. Sales. Products. Targets. Rewards. And our plans for the future.

But today, I want to speak to you a little differently. I want to speak to you as my brothers and sisters, as my family. And simply share a little bit of my own story.

I want to talk about my dream.

Many years ago, I had a very simple dream.

I wanted to have a stable job. I wanted to become good at what I did. And if I ever had the opportunity, I wanted to build something of my own.

A business that I truly believed in. A business that I could be proud of. And at the same time, a business that could create opportunities for other people.

For a long time, I told myself:

What I do cannot only be about making money.

Of course, making money is important. But more important than money is building something that is truly my own.

And today, standing here and looking at all of you, I realise something:

This dream is no longer only my dream.

It is slowly becoming:

Our dream.

I ALSO STARTED FROM ZERO

I come from a very ordinary farming family in China.

After university, I started from the most basic sales position. Then I became a Sales Manager, a General Manager, and later started my own business and built my own factories.

I started with no customers and built everything step by step.

It has been nine years since I started my own business. But when I look back, I don’t think those nine years are enough.

Because the biggest thing I have learned is very simple:

I never stopped learning, and I never stopped moving forward.

I have failed. I have fallen down. But I never wanted to spend too much time complaining.

I always asked myself:

What do I do next?

And even today, I still believe:

Nothing is impossible. It is possible because we believe it is possible.

MY JOURNEY WITH SOUTH AFRICA

My real journey with South Africa started in 2017.

Of course, I had done business with South African customers before that. Mr Price was one of them.

But honestly, at that time, I didn’t even know much about South Africa.

Sorry, my geography was not very good.

[pause / smile]

In 2017, I started working with a South African brand, supplying bags to them.

My very first order was only 2,700 bags.

Looking back today, it was not a big order. But I took it very seriously.

They did not ask for very high standards at the beginning. But I kept pushing the quality higher myself.

The packaging. The details. The materials.

Even their metal branding was designed by us.

Step by step, we built higher standards.

Over the following years, their business grew very quickly. And through that journey, I also began to understand South Africa much better.

A lot of people in China believed that South Africa mainly wanted cheap products. But I saw something different.

I saw a market that wanted good products, good quality and real brands.

That is when I started to see the opportunity here.

IN 2022, I MADE A CHOICE

In 2022, something important happened.

There was a proposal to reduce the product cost by around 20%.

I understand that every business needs to control costs.

But I believed something very strongly:

If we keep lowering the quality just to lower the price, eventually we are not only losing the product, we are losing the brand.

Quality has always been something I believe in.

So eventually, we decided to end that cooperation.

And that was when I seriously started asking myself:

If I truly believe in this market, why can’t I build a brand of my own?

A brand from Southern Africa, and one day, a brand for the whole of Africa?

And that is how:

Miko & Anna was born.

THEN I LEARNED THAT BUSINESS IS NOT THAT SIMPLE

When I started, I thought it would be quite simple.

Good design. Good quality. A competitive price. And my previous experience.

I thought that would be enough.

But very quickly, I learned:

Business is never just about having a good product.

Once you start, there are always problems you never expected.

From 2022 to 2024, it was a very difficult period for me.

I invested a lot of money. There was no return, so I invested again. Still no return, so I invested again.

By the time I came to South Africa in 2024, I realised that there was not only no money coming back, there were also debts.

Stock was sitting in the bonded warehouse.

Some Sales Ambassadors had already collected money from their customers, but the stock had not been delivered.

At that time, I was honestly very lost.

I even thought about leaving.

Going back to China and starting again would actually have been the easiest option for me.

But then I thought about the people who had already believed in us.

They had trusted the company. They had collected money from their customers.

And if I walked away, what would happen to them?

So I stayed.

Not because I knew we would definitely succeed.

But because:

I started this journey, so I had to take responsibility for it.

24 JULY 2024

From June 2024, I started solving the problems one by one.

Stock. Clearing. Logistics. Funding.

I stayed in a hotel in South Africa for almost two months, working through everything step by step.

And I will never forget:

24 July 2024.

That was the day we finally released the first shipment. And we started delivering stock to our Sales Ambassadors.

For me, that day was very important.

Not because everything suddenly became perfect.

It didn’t.

But because:

We did not run away. We faced the problem. We took responsibility. And we finished what we had started.

Slowly, orders began to come back.

In November 2024, we did around R1.6 million in sales.

Last November, we did around R3.6 million.

And this November, under normal circumstances, I believe we can reach around R6 to R7 million.

But today, I don’t want to focus on which number is the highest.

Because for me:

What matters is not the highest point. What matters is the direction.

We made it through.

And I believe the road ahead will become faster and faster.

THANK YOU

But before I move on, I want to say something from my heart.

Thank you.

To all our Sales Ambassadors who stayed with us, especially those who stayed when things were difficult, thank you for your patience, your trust, and for continuing to believe in Miko & Anna.

I also want to thank everyone in our office team.

There is a lot of work that happens behind the scenes that people never see, the pressure, the long hours, and the problems that have to be solved every day.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

And I want to give a special thank you to Mooniba.

Mooniba has been with us for the past year and a half.

She has walked through a very important part of this journey with us, and I truly appreciate her commitment, her support, and everything she has contributed to the team.

And I also want to welcome Chantell, who has just joined us.

Chantell represents new energy, new ideas and new strength for the next chapter of Miko & Anna.

I’m very happy to have you with us.

And to the South African friends who have quietly supported me behind the scenes, with advice, encouragement, or simply by being there when I needed someone:

I may not always say it, but I remember it all.

I carry it all in my heart.

Thank you.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

Looking back at these past few years, I have learned something very important.

Difficulties are not always there to defeat us.

Sometimes, they are there to make us stronger.

They make us understand ourselves better. They make us understand people better.

So today, when I look back at those difficult years, I don’t regret them.

Because they helped shape who I am today.

And I have learned this:

No one can guarantee that every decision they make will be the right one.

But we can take the decisions we have made, and through our actions, turn them into the right decisions.

So when we face a problem, instead of spending too much time asking:

“Did I make the wrong decision?”

I think the better question is:

“What can I do now to make it right?”

NEVER FORGET WHY YOU STARTED

There is another simple message I want to share with you:

Never forget why you started.

Why did you join Miko & Anna?

Maybe it was for income. Maybe it was for your family. Maybe it was for independence. Maybe you simply wanted to give yourself a new opportunity.

Everyone has a different reason.

But whatever your reason was, don’t forget it.

Because the further we go, the more important it becomes to remember why we started.

KEEP AN OPEN MIND

There is also something I have come to understand more deeply over the years.

The world keeps changing.

The market changes. Customers change. Information changes. People change.

So our past experience is valuable, but it cannot replace learning today.

I hope we can all keep an open mind.

Be willing to listen. Be willing to learn. Be willing to change.

Because:

Yesterday’s success does not guarantee today’s success.

What really matters is:

Are we better today than we were yesterday?

RISE TOGETHER

There is a Chinese saying I often use:

“When there is harmony in the family, everything can prosper.”

I believe a team is the same.

The bigger we become, the more we need understanding, support and tolerance.

When someone needs help, give them a hand.

Because I truly believe:

When you genuinely want other people to do better, you will also do better.

The strongest relationships are not built on what we can take from each other.

They are built on:

mutual success.

Friends. Family. Colleagues. And our team.

We are not together only because of what we can get from one another.

We are together because:

we can make each other better.

That is what Rise Together means to me.

NOW, WE NEED TO CHANGE

Over the past two years, we have changed a lot.

But it is still not enough.

Because the market is changing, so we must change too.

So we are going to make some very practical improvements.

First, in October, we are moving into a new office.

The office and warehouse will be together.

Faster dispatch. Better stock management. Fewer mistakes. And more time for everyone to focus on customers and sales.

Second, we have invested in our own printing equipment.

We will prepare our sales catalogues earlier.

For Sales Ambassadors who are actively selling, we will provide 3 to 5 printed catalogues every month.

We want to make selling easier.

Third, the new office will have a Showroom, Meeting Room and Training Room.

You can bring customers. You can bring your team. You can bring new people for training.

I don’t want this to be just an office.

I want it to be a place where people can learn, connect, train and grow.

At the same time, we will continue expanding our product range and investing in better photography, models, videos and marketing content.

Because today:

Your phone is your business.

Your WhatsApp is your business.

So the company must give you better products, better content and better tools.

OUR TARGETS

Over the next year, we have some very clear goals.

Today, we have more than 6,000 registered Sales Ambassadors.

By the end of August next year:

20,000.

But I don’t want 20,000 names.

I want:

20,000 real opportunities.

Today, we have around 130 BAs.

By the end of August next year:

300 BAs.

But I don’t want 300 titles.

I want:

300 real leaders who can help other people succeed.

And our annual sales target:

More than R100 million.

I also want the average income of our Sales Ambassadors to reach two to three times what it is today.

These numbers are not the dream.

They are the results we should create together.

WE ARE NOT CHASING SPEED FOR THE SAKE OF SPEED

I am not someone who only wants to move fast.

During our first two years, we moved slowly.

Because we needed to solve problems. Build the foundation. Build the right systems. And make sure we were on the right road.

Since 2024, you have seen us moving faster.

And over the next one to two years, I believe we will really start to run.

But I also want to be honest with you:

Miko & Anna is still far from being the best.

We are still a young company. We still have problems to solve. We still have a lot to learn.

So I will not stand here and tell you:

“We have already succeeded.”

I would rather tell you:

We are on the way.

And the next part of this journey, we need to walk together.

FROM MY DREAM TO OUR DREAM

When I look back at my own journey, from an ordinary family, starting from the most basic sales position, and slowly building my way to where I am today, I believe more strongly than ever:

Nothing is impossible.

But I have also learned something else.

A dream can start with one person.

But a truly great business is built by many people together.

In the beginning, this was my dream.

Then, it became Miko & Anna’s dream.

And today, it has become:

our dream.

I don’t want Miko & Anna to be just another brand.

I want it to become a platform that genuinely helps ordinary people change their lives.

A place where someone can come, work hard, build something of their own, and become a better version of themselves.

And one day, that same person can help someone else become better.

If we can do that, that will be true success to me.

And I know I cannot do this alone.

Everything we have achieved so far has been because people chose to walk this road with me.

To every Sales Ambassador, every member of our office team, and every person who has supported us along the way:

Thank you for walking this road with me.

But from today, I don’t want to call it my journey anymore.

This is our journey.

So today, I want to share my dream with you.

And I hope you will bring your own dreams here too.

Let’s build it together.

Let’s grow together.

Let’s help more people together.

Faster. Higher. Stronger. More united.

But most importantly:

Together.

FROM MY DREAM TO OUR DREAM.

WE ARE THE FUTURE.

LET’S RISE TOGETHER.

Thank you.

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