When Northeastern student Michael Behan decided to volunteer in Kenya with Flying Kites two years ago, he didn’t know how quickly he’d feel like he had joined a family. Working with abused and orphaned children on a daily basis, Behan says, “I just really fell in love with those kids.” The experience was so inspiring, it then motivated him to launch Njabini Apparel.
Njabini Apparel is a microenterprise that employs disadvantaged and disabled women in Kenya. By providing the women with employment, they’re given the opportunity to be self-sufficient, support their family, educate their children and save for the future.
With the help of Flying Kites and Tom Eliuz Mwangi, who’s now the manager at Njabini Apparel, the company was able to get off the ground. Behan admits Mwangi taught him a lot about the Njabini area in Kenya, showing him how fertile the land is. “Agriculture is really the backbone of the economy there,” Behan says. “It’s a tough economy, but because the land is so fertile, there is a lot of opportunity.”
Yet, several women weren’t previously able to engage in that economy, because of their physical disabilities or the fact they didn’t own land. Behan and Mwangi wanted to change that, however, and decided to start a business that would employ mothers and get them participating in the agricultural economy. “If you can provide a mother with a high income, then it will trickle down to her children and her family,” Behan says.
Njabini Apparel employed five mothers first, having them design slippers, sandals, hats, bags, wristlets and scarves from materials such as sheep’s wool and recycled tires. While production was happening in Kenya, distribution channels in the United States were being built, and the team was able to launch a Fall/Winter collection in October. In the months to follow, they were awarded a grant by Northeastern’s venture accelerator IDEA, along with a separate grant from the Dean Tom Moore Social Enterprise Fund.
Those grants allowed Njabini Apparel to go beyond selling clothes and establish a credit system that would give Kenyan women the ability to make money and start their own companies. One has already started an input business, selling seeds to local farmers, while others are being taught how to invest and save what it is they’re earning to support their families.
“What’s most important to us is the scope of our impact rather than the scale,” Behan says.
Now, through Njabini Apparel, other campus groups can make an impact, as well. After receiving a second grant from IDEA just last week, Behan says they’ve begun building and implementing a new model. Any campus group -- from sororities to net impact groups -- can use Njabini Apparel products as a fundraising tool to donate to a philanthropy of their choice. “By selling our products, they’re helping us,” Behan says, “yet they can also earn a fundraising margin for themselves.”
Fifty percent of Njabini Apparel’s profits go directly back to the women they’ve employed, while Flying Kites receives 15 percent of every purchase made. Currently, seven women are employed full-time, and Behan claims they’re hoping to enroll more women in the next few months.
The team’s just launched their Spring/Summer line, featuring a yoga bag, beach tote, necklaces, bangles and a make-up bag, among other products. Behan’s priority now, though, is to continue strengthening the programs they’re developing in Njabini.
“That’s what will enable Lucy or Mary to use the money they’re earning to take the next step forward and really invest in the future,” he says. “We have a long way to go, but we’re definitely excited.”
