She’s Next Kenya program aims to support women-owned small businesses with funding, training, and mentorship.
In this year’s grant competition, the winning company received a Sh. 2.5 million prize, while Timao Group and Code with Kids took home Sh. 2 million and Sh. 1 million for second and third place, respectively.
Over 2,300 SMEs nationwide entered the competition, showcasing innovative solutions in their sectors. Crafts with Meaning and Cladfy were each awarded Sh. 500,000 in recognition of their participation.
Winner
Busu Naturals: CEO – Emma Omany
Busu Naturals addresses the need for locally manufactured emollients that cater to sensitive African skin by incorporating local botanicals and traditional beauty practices from different Kenyan ethnicities to provide high-quality, safe, and consistent skin care products.
Emma, who had a bad case of eczema that affected her when she was still young decided that that was not going to be the case for her son who also growing up had the same condition.
She decided to research and look for products that will help get rid of the condition and that will help more people since it was discovered that a lot of people suffer from eczema.
She looked for plants and natural oils that would help get rid of the condition once and for all instead of taking chemically manufactured meds from dermatologists.
Busu Naturals walked away with Sh. 2,500,000 which will help her grow her business and help other victims of eczema and any other skin condition.
1st Runner’s Up
Timao Group: CEO – Jean James
Addresses plastic pollution and affordable housing in Kenya by transforming plastic waste into durable, cost-effective building materials for modular homes.
Jean, who was collecting plastic and selling it to make a living made up her mind that that was not going to be her life forever.
She researched and found a way that she could make building material from plastic and after she got the methods, she seized the opportunity she had gotten to its full potential.
Timao Group walked away with Sh. 1,500,000.
2nd Runners Up
Code with Kids: CEO – Renice Owino
Code with Kids empowers children from low-income backgrounds with affordable and accessible STEM education, ensuring socioeconomic barriers do not hinder their ability to learn, innovate and succeed.
Renice, always wanted to work with computers since she was young but after her mother passed away, she was forced to go live with her aunt in the slums of Kibera.
How to access up to Sh. 150,000 loans without visiting any bank
Unfortunately, there were not many opportunities for her there. That is when she decided that she would open an institution where children who were interested in coding could explore their dreams.
Code with kids walked away with Sh. 1,000,000.
Cladfy: CEO – Ebby Gatamu
Cladfy is an organization that addresses the credit gap in South Saharan Africa’s informal sector by enabling micro-lenders to provide working capital loans to micro-businesses such as smallholder farmers, fish vendors and motorcycle riders.
Crafts with Meaning: CEO – Caroline Ng’ang’a
Crafts with Meaning is an award-winning social enterprise that collaborates with artisans in Kenya and Uganda to create lifestyle accessories, bags, and corporate merchandise inspired by African heritage.
They also find a way of recycling the textile waste they get after manufacturing the bags by creating home decor goods.
