Blood, Sweat and Entrepreneurship - Enzi

Longtime friends turned founders Jawad, Azi and Sam grew up in Kenya and then scattered across the US and UK for university. The guys reunited, completing the team with Christian and established ENZI in 2011. Since then it’s been a bumpy, but joyous, ride. “One of our highlights was definitely the launch of our first line of footwear, Meneliks, in London. We launched this line at a local dive bar and restaurant in Camden Town, London. We invited friends, fashion bloggers, stylists and boutique retailers. A good crowd showed up including Kenya’s DJ Edu from BBC 1Xtra and West Ham striker, Ricardo Vaz Te. It was a defining moment in our brand development that gave us confidence that we were on to something,” says an enthusiastic Sam Imende, co-founder of Enzi.

The brand has slowly gained recognition all across East Africa, but getting started wasn’t easy. “The most challenging thing has been pushing forward amidst all the uncertainties. We rely heavily on our factories we partner with and as a start-up without much leverage we’re often at their mercy in terms of quality control and delivery time. We’ve had several set-backs and had to shift factories a couple of times,” Sam says.

Despite all the long hours and frustrations with partners, Sam wouldn’t trade it with anything. “If there’s something you’re passion about, something that seems bigger than you, go after it! Be smart about it though. Seek support from good advisors and partners and take your time. You’ve heard the saying “Rome wasn’t built overnight” but we often want our dreams to come through right away. In fact, if it’s something that can happen overnight, it’s probably not worth pursuing.”

This year Enzi is planning to launch their first full collection that includes three new styles of footwear made in Ethiopia with complementary V-neck T-shirts made in Kenya.

By Joseph Kibiru