ONE.org Mom Bloggers Meet Kenyan Entrepreneurs
During the week of July 25th, ONE.org the grassroots anti-poverty NGO, organized a learning and listening tour to Kenya for a group of 10 Mom Bloggers from the U.S. The aim of the visit was for the women to see firsthand how strong African leadership and smart donor investments are helping everyday Africans fight their way out of poverty. COMPETE’s East and Central Africa Trade Hub brought together a group of ECA Trade Hub clients: Carol Wahome of Moo Cow Kenya, Anthony Mulli of Katchy Kollections and KatyLeakey of the LeakeyCollection/Zulugrass, who shared stories of what inspired them to start a business and how, through their engagement in the community, they are providing jobs and offering pathways out of poverty for thousands of Kenyans. Katchy Kollections and The Leakey Collection are exporting home décor and fashion accessories to the U.S. under the African Growth and Opportunity Act while Moo Cow Kenya is supporting intraregional trade in cotton/textiles/apparel sector reaching out to the African design community for USAID COMPETE’s Origin Africa Fiber to Fashion events.
These entrepreneurs are eager to share their success. The founder of Katchy Kollections, Anthony Mulli, said this about his business philosophy, “When I hire someone to work for me, I tell them, ‘You had a dream before you came here. Whatever it is, don’t become content in this position and forget it. If you want to go to university, do that and then there will be a place for you here in the business side. I am here to help you reach your dreams, as well.’”
Lindsay Maines who blogs under the moniker Rock and Roll Mama made the connection when she visited Mercy and her daughter Nicole in the sprawling Nairobi slum of Kibera. Mercy makes her living by braiding hair and making jewellery. Maines in her blog post, Creativity, energy and extra-ordinaryness in Kenya, noted that, "diversifying the African economy can build stability, which will be a game-changer on both an individual and a continental level."
Says Maines, "The next employee Anthony hires and mentors could be Mercy, and she and her daughter could perhaps save enough to leave Kibera and pursue her other dreams - to open her own salon named after her daughter and eventually see her daughter in medical school"
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