JENNIFER & PAULINE’S GROWTH STORY
Born From a Crisis
Mawu Africa was born in 2021 during one of the most disruptive periods the African crafts sector had ever experienced. As COVID-19 brought global tourism to a standstill, open-air markets, craft villages and cultural hubs across Kenya and beyond were abruptly shut down. For thousands of artisans, this meant an immediate loss of income and access to the customers they depended on for daily survival.
At the time, co-founders Jennifer Nyambogo (CEO) and Pauline Kariuki (CTO) had spent years working closely with artisans and sourcing directly from local craft markets across Kenya. As they watched livelihoods disappear almost overnight, they were confronted with a pressing question: how could artisans continue to earn an income when their customers could no longer reach them?
“We had spent years visiting craft markets and buying directly from artisans. When the pandemic hit, we saw talented people lose their entire customer base almost overnight. We knew that if we didn’t find a way to connect them to markets, many of these businesses would disappear.”
– Jennifer Nyambogo, Co-founder & CEO, Mawu Africa
What Jennifer and Pauline uncovered was not only a crisis of demand, but a deeper structural challenge. Many artisans possessed extraordinary talent but lacked access to digital platforms, formal markets and the business systems needed to grow sustainable enterprises.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
An Ecosystem, Not Just a Marketplace
Determined to bridge this gap, they set out to build more than just an e-commerce platform. They envisioned an ecosystem that could connect artisans to opportunities, markets and long-term economic growth. That vision became Mawu Africa.
What began as a small initiative supporting a handful of artisans has evolved into a thriving platform that supports more than 1,000 artisans and makers across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa. Through Mawu Africa, artisan-made products from these communities have now reached customers in more than 55 countries worldwide, giving many makers access to international markets they never imagined possible. Today, its impact extends far beyond the artisans themselves, creating opportunities for families, apprentices, suppliers, logistics providers and informal workers who form part of the wider value chain.
Within Mawu Africa, the transformation is evident in direct employment. The organisation has grown from two founders working to keep artisans afloat during a crisis into a structured business employing six to eight permanent staff and 10 to 15 temporary workers across sourcing, production coordination, quality control, logistics, customer experience and artisan engagement.
Yet the most significant impact can be seen in the jobs created beyond Mawu Africa’s walls. As artisans gained access to larger markets and more consistent demand, many began transforming from individual makers into employers, trainers and business owners capable of supporting others within their communities.
JOBS BEYOND THE PLATFORM
When an Artisan Becomes an Employer
One of these entrepreneurs is Nelly Nkwosseu, founder of By Her and Kotiam Group. Based along Kiambu Road, Nelly has spent the past three and a half years building her leather and Ankara bag business, and has accelerated its growth through Mawu Africa. In 2025 alone, she generated approximately US$60,000 in sales through the platform, driven by larger market access, new customers and the opportunity to scale her operations.
As demand for her products increased through Mawu Africa, so did the operational footprint around her work. What began as a personal venture has evolved into a growing enterprise involving assistants responsible for cutting, stitching, finishing, packaging and preparing products for delivery. Additional opportunities have emerged through raw-material suppliers and logistics partners supporting the movement of goods to customers. In many ways, Nelly’s business has become a small economic node, one that sustains livelihoods beyond her own.
A similar transformation can be seen in Rongai, where Faith, the young founder of Hazina Curio, has spent the last four years building a family-run craft business specialising in handcrafted wooden kitchenware and leather accessories. Through Mawu Africa, Faith generated approximately US$5,000 in sales during 2025 while creating opportunities for family members and fellow artisans who contribute to different stages of production, from wood carving and sanding to beadwork and leather finishing.
Faith’s story illustrates how artisan enterprises often function as community-based economic engines, creating work that extends well beyond the business owner. Through Mawu Africa, both Nelly and Faith have transitioned from informal selling to structured enterprise building. Their businesses now operate within more predictable demand cycles, allowing them to plan production, invest in equipment, improve product quality and gradually expand their workforce.
For us, success has never been measured by the number of products sold. Success is seeing an artisan receive a large order and knowing that order means more people will be hired, more families will earn an income, and more businesses will become sustainable.
Pauline Kariuki, Co-founder & CTO, Mawu Africa
WHAT IT ADDS UP TO
A Model for Inclusive Growth
Across these stories, a common thread emerges. Mawu Africa is not simply creating access to markets; it is enabling the conditions for sustainable job creation. Every order placed has the potential to generate work for artisans, family members, suppliers, transport providers and other actors across the value chain. What started as an effort to help artisans survive a crisis has become a powerful model for inclusive economic growth.
Today, Jennifer and Pauline’s vision continues to prove that when African artisans are connected to the right opportunities, they do more than build businesses. They create jobs, strengthen communities and unlock economic value across entire value chains. Mawu Africa believes that Africa’s creative economy represents one of the continent’s greatest untapped opportunities. By connecting skilled artisans to regional and global markets, the company is building the infrastructure that lets craftsmanship become a scalable engine for employment, entrepreneurship and inclusive economic growth, a future where cultural heritage is not only preserved, but transformed into sustainable livelihoods for generations to come.
