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Oyana supports communities in Kenya by selling handmade, natural soap.
Alumna's social enterprise helps women in Kenya
Exeter alumna and current masters student, Sarah Habib (International Relations, 2021), is working with other students and graduates to support women in Kenya through a new social enterprise.
The organisation, called Oyana, supports communities in Kenya by selling handmade, natural soap, the profits from which are used to provide business training to disadvantaged women.
The start-up is part of the Enactus society (global social entrepreneurship organisation) which has received financial support from the Alumni Annual Fund and members have also received assistance from the Student Start-up team on campus.
Current university students work on the project, however some of Sarah’s fellow alumni, including last year's project leaders Natalia Lemanska and Zoja Vizinger, are now on the advisory board.
Sarah says: “Back in 2019 we were approached by a Charity called DOXA to help find a solution that could help address the most urgent needs of a slum community in Kwa Murugi, Kenya. Subsequently we visited Kwa Murugi with the mission to understand the community and its challenges. Together with the NGO Doxa and the local people we came up with the enterprise Oyana (impact driven brand that produces bar soaps).
“We just officially launched the Oyana brand so our biggest hope is that Oyana will be received positively by the public and that they are convinced by our high standard of product and our wider mission. All the profits made during our sales are 100% reinvested into the business and supporting our community of women.
“Everything we do is directed towards helping this community of women in Kwa Murugi. So, one of our biggest aspirations is to help these women set up their own "Oyana" business that they can run independently and that provides long-term social and financial security for themselves and their family.”
Read more online: https://oyanakenya.com/ or follow @oyanakenya on social media.
Date: 1 December 2021