Running the shoe business beyond the last mile

For a country that has been producing record-breaking athletes, Navalayo Osembo, a young Kenyan entrepreneur, always wondered why Kenya had to depend on imported shoes for its runners.

Having harbored the dream of bringing Kenyan athletic greatness to runners all around the globe while fueling economic development in Kenya, Osembo saw the gap in the lack of professional locally manufactured running shoes as an opportunity to make a difference.

As a result, she co-founded Enda Sportswear in 2015 with Weldon Kennedy. Despite facing challenges at the beginning in designing their first shoes and the process of making them in Kenya, they were able to launch their first shoes in 2017 and have gone on to win international acclaim.

The latest feather in their cap was coming third in the 2021 Africa Business Heroes awards sponsored by China's Alibaba Group, and taking home a $150,000 award.

By demonstrating they are visionary entrepreneurs who embody innovation, resilience, growth potential and impact on Africa, Enda Sportswear convinced the judges to crown them among the best in Africa after beating over 12,000 applicants from across the continent in the results which were announced on Nov 17.

"At Enda, we exist to create fairness, justice, and equality. We do that by making running shoes in Kenya. The famed home of running champions profits relatively little from our reputation. By designing shoes with Kenyan athletes and then making those shoes here in Kenya, we can change that," Osembo said.

However, it has been a bumpy ride for the company, especially in an environment where traditional financing institutions prefer businesses with security or a long-documented history of success, which Enda Sportswear did not have at the initial stages.

"At the beginning, most financiers thought we were crazy, so we had a hard time raising capital. Thankfully, customers proved them wrong by pre-ordering our shoes, so we had revenue to make the shoes that way," Osembo said.

She added there were no factories in Kenya with the capacity to make their products and they had to work with factories overseas to develop their production capacity.

Knowing the significance of the award to her business, Osembo said there are no words to express its enormity.

"It has been great to meet all the judges and advisors. I know I will stay in touch with many of the people I have met through this process. It has also opened up opportunities for greater collaboration with China, from sourcing manufacturing equipment to launching Kenyan running shoes to help more people in China run Kenyan," Osembo said.

Enda Sportswear just launched in Italy and Spain, and according to Osembo are looking forward to launching in more countries in Europe soon.

"We are expanding our product range, launching a new trail shoe and casual sneaker. Truly the pandemic has made the logistics of production and sales via retailers a bit more challenging. However, millions of people took up running during the pandemic, so we have grown significantly as a result and just hope we can keep people engaged with their new fitness habits," Osembo said.