Artisans Hard at Work: Prototyping at Imirasire Coovamaya

To meet growing market demand for our handmade accessories and home décor products, Indego Africa has been canvassing Rwanda for potential new artisan partners. During this extensive search, a weaving cooperative called Imirasire Coovamaya popped firmly back up on Indego Africa's radar.

Located in a village called Mayange in Rwanda's Eastern Province, Imirasire Coovamaya is comprised of 180 women. Although the relationship is still in its exploratory stages, Imirasire Coovamaya is already playing a central role in Indego Africa's push to design and develop new prototypes and samples for large retailers in the U.S. And in these initial efforts, the cooperative has demonstrated in short order that  it could prove a substantial value-add to Indego Africa's production capacity.

Imirasire roughly translates from Kinyarwanda as "sunshine," and the sunny workplace disposition of Imirasire Coovamaya membership definitely lives up to the cooperative's name. Each time Indego Africa staff arrive onsite, we are greeted by a sprawling throng of impeccably cheerful and brightly-outfitted women hard at work beneath a row of eucalyptus trees.

To put into perspective what rockstars the women of Imirasire Coovamaya are, here is a snapshot of just their past two weeks work: 6 prototype requests to make samples for 4 different U.S. retailers, resulting in 326 total units in 23 different styles, and 142 different color-ways.

The membership of Imirasire Coovamaya came out in full and united force to complete these complicated orders. After a marathon session of dyeing imigwegwe to fulfill the many color combinations, members grouped themselves into production teams. Each group took responsibility for one style of bracelet or necklace and, within each group, each member took responsibility for specific color-ways.

Two weeks of long work days within their internal system of specialization paid off and the order was completed on time and with uniformly outstanding quality. Packed up in boxes and on its way to the U.S., the women of Imirasire Coovamaya anxiously await news from Indego Africa's sales and marketing team to see just how these newest designs fare!

-Crissy Vicendese, Design and Production Manager

(Photos: members of Imirasire Coovamaya work on product prototypes and samples for upcoming meetings with U.S. retailers)

Indego Africa is Fab(.com)

Indego Africa found itself yet another innovative marketplace during a fast-paced, high-volume sale with the website Fab.com last week!

Fab.com is a flash sale e-commerce site renowned for its exquisite taste and expert eye for coveted consumer goods designs – its primary mission is to enable everyone to incorporate great design into their lives. Fab.com approached Indego Africa a few months ago to be one of its “Daily Design Inspirations,” and we recently took place in a five-day online sale of our Plateau Baskets, Wine Bags and Yoga Bags. And amazingly, we had sold over two hundred products by the time the shopping was over!

Collaboration with Fab.com proved a big boon to us; as a social enterprise, Indego Africa's earned income strategy is to design, develop, and bring to market an array of African-inspired contemporary home decor and accessory product offerings to generate much-needed income for our artisan partners.

Fab.com has a well-established reputation for vetting and tabbing approachable and affordable (and inspired) designs. So our sale with Fab.com was really a wonderful acknowledgement of the work that Indego Africa and our artisan partners are doing in harnessing the best of Rwandan craftsmanship, artisanal heritage, and available raw materials to develop fashion-forward products.

We at Indego Africa believe selection by Fab.com was another positive indicator that we are fulfilling an objective of unleashing the full production potential of our partner artisan groups. Now that is Fab!

-Rachel Tennenbaum, Communications Intern

Indego Africa Unveils its Board of Advisers

It is my distinct pleasure to present to you Indego Africa’s inaugural Board of Advisers. As you can see from the biographies below, this talented group, which also includes Ambassador Michael Arietti, Cameron Cowan, Zachary Kaufman, Jackson M’vunganyi, Elchi Nowrojee, Tamsin Smith, and Samantha Taylor, hails from diverse professional, experiential, and cultural backgrounds.

What this Board of Advisers shares is a longstanding belief in the mission of Indego Africa and the principles upon which it is built. As importantly, this Board of Advisers maintains a firmly-held commitment to supporting Indego Africa’s artisan partners and a resolve to marshal our wealth of experience and expertise to serve Indego Africa as it deepens its impact in Rwanda and beyond.

I know that I can speak for this entire group when I say that we have long awaited this opportunity to formalize our respective roles in driving Indego Africa forward. We are honored to serve as advisers to this dynamic young organization and truly look forward to the bright future that lies ahead for us all.

-Steve Foresta, Chair of the Board of Advisers

Please read on, or click HERE, for full biographies of each member

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Steve Foresta

Steve Foresta is a partner at the international law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in New York and is the firm-wide leader of the Litigation Practice Group. He has extensive experience handling all phases of complex litigation and has tried numerous cases in state and federal court and before arbitral panels in the U.S. and abroad. Steve is also an active participant in Orrick’s pro bono and associate training programs, and in recognition of his unwavering commitment to professional development, he received Orrick’s Excellence in Mentoring Award for 2010.

Steve also devotes a substantial amount of time working with community service organizations. During the summer of 2009, Steve traveled to Rwanda with his son Michael to work with Indego Africa’s staff, artisan partners, and Generation Rwanda interns, and he’s been a devoted Indego Africa supporter ever since. Steve also serves as Chair of the New York Board of Advisors of Disability Rights Advocates, a non-profit legal center whose mission is to advance equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities. Steve graduated from Fordham University School of Law in 1987 and received his undergraduate degree in 1984 from the University of Virginia, where he was an Echols Scholar.

Ambassador Michael R. Arietti

Michael Arietti, now retired, is a United States diplomat and a career foreign service officer with the Department of State. He served as the United States Ambassador to Rwanda from 2005 to 2008.

Ambassador Arietti joined the Department of State in 1973 and is a member of the Senior Foreign Service. Before his tenure in Rwanda, he held the position of Director of the Office of West African Affairs. During this period he was directly involved in efforts to bring about peace in Liberia, as well as coordination of American cooperation with ECOWAS headquarters on regional issues.

Ambassador Arietti has previously served as Deputy Permanent Representative at the U.S. Mission to the U.N. in Geneva and as Deputy Chief of Mission in Lusaka, Zambia. He has also served at U.S. Embassies in Sweden, Australia, and Iran. Within the Department of State, Ambassador Arietti has served as Director of the Office of UN Peacekeeping Operations, as Director of the Human Rights Office and in other positions responsible for arms control negotiations, and Middle Eastern issues. He has also worked on environmental issues, including the protection and sustainable use of African timber resources. Prior to joining the Department of State, Ambassador Arietti served as a Peace Corps volunteer in India.

Cameron (Cam) Cowan

Cam Cowan is a partner in the Capital Transactions and Real Estate Practice Group for the international law firm of King & Spalding in Washington, D.C. He serves as counsel to financial institutions, corporations and government agencies in complex financings in the United States, Europe and Asia and as an advisor on financial markets regulation. Cam also advises nonprofit organizations focused on microfinance and impact investment in developing countries.

Cam has been recognized as one of the top structured finance lawyers in the world by The Best of the Best Experts Guide. Cam also has been selected as one of the top structured finance lawyers in the United States by Chambers Global, listed in Band 1 for Capital Markets: Securitization, and as the top ranked lawyer in the world based on personal nominations by Legal Media Group’s Guide to the World's Leading Structured Finance and Securitization Lawyers. Cam is listed in Who’s Who Legal – Capital Markets, in The International Who’s Who of Capital Markets Lawyers, in Lawdragon 500 and in The Best Lawyers in America. Cam was named Best Lawyers 2011 Lawyer of the Year for Washington, D.C., structured finance.

Cam previously was a partner in the global finance group at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, where he served as a member of the Executive Committee and in various leadership roles in the firm, including Senior Partner for Transactional Practices and Senior Partner for Asia, and where he oversaw the opening of its Washington, D.C., and three China offices. Cam is a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Virginia Law School Foundation. He received a B.S. from Syracuse University, magna cum laude, in 1975, an M.B.A. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business in 1975, and a J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law in 1981.

Zachary (Zach) Kaufman

Zachary Daniel Kaufman (www.zacharykaufman.com) is an attorney, professor, writer, speaker, and social entrepreneur. A graduate of Yale University (where he was the student body president and co-captain of the wrestling team), Oxford University (where he was a Marshall Scholar), and Yale Law School (where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law & Policy Review and co-founder and co-president of Yale Law Social Entrepreneurs), Zach focuses his research, writing, and teaching on International Law, particularly International Criminal Law and Transitional Justice. His first book, After Genocide: Transitional Justice, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, and Reconciliation in Rwanda and Beyond (www.aftergenocide.com), which he co-edited with Dr. Phil Clark, was co-published by Columbia University Press and C. Hurst & Co. in 2009. Zach is also the editor of the forthcoming book Social Entrepreneurship in the Age of Atrocities: Changing Our World, which will include a chapter about Indego Africa.

Zach is currently an Adjunct Professor at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs and will soon re-join the international law firm of O’Melveny & Myers. Zach’s professional experience has focused on the investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of suspected perpetrators of atrocities, including genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and terrorism. He has worked at the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit; the United States Departments of Justice and State; the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and for the Former Yugoslavia; the International Criminal Court; Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law; O’Melveny & Myers; and Google’s Global Public Policy and Government Affairs department.

Zach is the founder, president, and chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Friends of the Kigali Public Library and an Honorary Member of the Rotary Club of Kigali-Virunga, Rwanda. Together, these non-profit organizations are fundraising and collecting books for, raising public awareness about, and building Rwanda’s first-ever public library. Zach also serves as a consultant to other non-profit organizations and social enterprises.

Jackson Muneza M'vunganyi

Jackson Muneza M'vunganyi is the host of Upfront—Voice of America Radio, a fresh, fast-paced show aired in both the U.S. and in Africa that talks to and with teens and young adults about trends, lifestyles, health, entertainment, and other issues touching the lives of listeners. Jackson’s broadcasting career has been multi-faceted so far, working in both radio and television, in Africa and the United States.

Beyond his broadcasting merits, Jackson also volunteers his time with African communities in the Diaspora on issues affecting the continent. A native of Rwanda, Jackson holds a B.A. in Multimedia Development from American University in Washington, D.C. and an M.A. in Information Management from the University of Maryland.

Eruch (Elchi) Nowrojee

Elchi Nowrojee, Director and Counsel, is Co-Head of Legal - Americas for the Asset Management division of Credit Suisse. Elchi provides legal coverage principally for the Alternative Investments businesses of Credit Suisse in the Americas. He is based in New York. Prior to joining Credit Suisse in November 2006, Elchi specialized in complex financial transactions, including private investment fund formation, strategic partnerships and private acquisitions at the law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. While there, Elchi represented a number of clients investing in African companies, forming African investment funds and working with other Africa-related businesses. He assisted in legislative monitoring for African multilateral clients and participated actively in African business development.

Elchi currently sits on the Sub-Committee on Africa of the Advisory Committee of the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice. He is also the immediate past Chair of the Committee on African Affairs of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Elchi has worked and lived in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. Elchi holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, a M.Phil. in International Relations from St Antony’s College at Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and a B.A. in African Studies from Yale College.

Tamsin Smith

Tamsin Smith is the founder of Slipstream Strategy (www.SlipStreamStrategy.com), a consultancy dedicated to helping philanthropists, executives, international organizations, non-profits, and inspired individuals bring good ideas to life. Prior to forming Slipstream Strategy, Tamsin served as president of (RED), the for-benefit brand that harnesses private-sector ingenuity and influence to activate the buying power of the public in the fight against AIDS in Africa. Recruited by (RED)’s founders Bono and Bobby Shirver, she helped (RED)’s corporate partnerships to include Converse, Gap, Motorola, Emporio Armani, Apple, Hallmark, Dell, Microsoft, Starbucks, and American Express in the UK.

Before joining (RED), Tamsin shepherded Gap Inc.’s public-policy strategy, joining the global specialty retailer in 1997 and creating and leading the company's government affairs department for nine years. Tamsin began her career with six years on Capitol Hill, serving as senior legislative assistant to two members of the U.S. House of Representatives and associate staff to the House Appropriations Committee. Tamsin graduated Kenyon College Phi Beta Kappa with highest honors in literature and holds a Masters in Law & Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Samantha (Sam) Taylor

Sam Taylor is the Founder of Reputation Dynamics, Inc., a company that provides a value-add network of brand marketing, issues management and communications, as well as social responsibility services for the lifestyle and professional services industries. She is also Senior Advisor to The Synergos Institute, a non-profit dedicated to reducing poverty and promoting social equity in emerging economies around the world including the African continent. Formerly, Sam was the Chief Marketing Officer of GMHC, the nation’s oldest non-profit HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care services provider where she spearheaded a once-in-27-year rebranding initiative in 2009.

A native of London, Sam spent an impressionable part of her childhood growing up in Kenya, East Africa where she was engaged in community work with The East African Women’s League. She is also a founding member of The CMO Club and an advocate and speaker for ‘Doing Good in Society,’ where she consults with a diverse range of organizations who are about to start, or currently engaged in, developing sustainable responsibility program initiatives aligned with business impact.

Cocoki's Therese Accepted into the 10,000 Women Program

As earlier reported in Indego Africa's newsletter, Therese Iribagiza is following in the illustrious footsteps of her Cocoki colleague, Emelienne Nyiramana, in attending Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Program. Read more below:

Indego Africa could not be more pleased to announce that Therese Iribagiza, vice president of Indego Africa’s partner cooperative Cocoki, was recently accepted into the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurship Certificate Program at Rwanda’s School of Finance and Banking.

Born in the Southern Province of Rwanda in 1976, Therese excelled in primary school before joining a sewing training center. She eventually relocated to Rwanda's capital city, Kigali, in search of better business opportunities, and, in 2008, became a member of Cocoki. In her leadership role as vice president, Therese is one of the chief architects behind Cocoki’s transformation into a flourishing and profitable international business. Therese is also a proud wife and mother of three girls: Anne Marie Merci (age 13), Marie Adorate (age 11), and Celine Umubire (age 7).

Coursework for Rwanda's latest cohort of 10,000 Women participants kicked off on July 20th and the word on the street is that Therese is already making quite an impression. Professor Matthew Brown, visiting from Thompson Rivers University’s School of Business and Economics in British Columbia, shared with us the following thoughts about Therese’s first day of class:


"Therese is very fortunate to be a participant in our seventh cohort here in Kigali, Rwanda, but perhaps better said is that this enthusiastic student cohort is just as fortunate to have her sharing the learning experience.

Today, Therese gave the group what amounted to a 10-minute speech about how important it is to sometimes partner with competitors to achieve mutually beneficial business goals. I told her we have a name for that sort of counter-intuitive behavior...strategic alliance. After a lively discussion on the merits and risks of such partnerships, I told Therese how pleased I was that she provided our young class with such a powerful example of the meaning of strategic thinking.

I told this cohort at the end of their first week that they were ALL being elevated to being University Students, not beginning freshman, but senior status, . . . and quite honestly, I don't think that level will be satisfactory enough for this cohort . . . they want to go higher!"

As a neat postscript to her 10,000 Women acceptance and enrollment, Therese is U.S.-bound this Fall. She will join Emelienne and Indego Africa Operations and Accounting Associate, Yves Ndashimye, stateside from Oct. 12th through Oct. 27th. The trio's trip will include meetings with retailers and designers, events at Nicole Miller’s SoHo boutique and the Rwandan embassy, and a signature dinner in their honor - "Meet the Artisans: An Indego Africa Celebration of Entrepreneurial Women."

We might very well content ourselves to sit here and say that we are very happy for you, Therese. AND WE ARE. But the truth is that you earned this opportunity through your own ambition, savvy, and hard hat-and-lunch pail work ethic. And the truth is that we have come to expect great things from you. You have only scratched the surface of what you can do. Now is your time. Stand bold.

-Conor French and Rachel Tennenbaum

(Photos: at top, Therese, along with Jacqueline and Anne-Mary, attends Emelienne's graduation from the 10,000 Women Program, at middle, Therese leads Cocoki's Pricing Committee, which also includes Beath, Melante, Honorine, Jacqueline, Anne-Mary, and Florence, in a product costing negotiation, and at bottom, a blast from the past as Therese gets her first glimpse of the 10,000 Women application)

Indego Africa Announces New Partnership With DANNIJO

Indego Africa recently stopped by DANNIJO’s resplendent design studio in the Meatpacking District and were immediately overcome by the combination of joy and diligence that co-founding sisters Danielle and Jodie Snyder pour into their ultra-stylish enterprise. Why were we there? Delivering colorful new Dutch Wax Cloth jewelry pouches, of course.

By way of launching a high-profile new partnership between Indego Africa and DANNIJO, Danielle and Jodie teamed up with seamstresses at Indego Africa partner cooperative Cocoki to produce a vibrant new line of jewelry pouches. Starting now, each time a customer purchases a DANNIJO product from their website, it will arrive in a jewelry pouch handmade by a member of Cocoki. And as is the case with all Indego Africa products, each jewelry pouch is personalized with the name and signature of the artisan woman who produced it.

Partnerships work best with a purpose. We were greatly comforted that, for DANNIJO, it was instantly clear that collaborating with Indego Africa was about a whole lot more than just people feeling good about themselves. In many ways, it was, for DANNIJO, a return to their roots. In 2006, Danielle visited Lwala, Kenya and co-founded a non-profit organization called L.W.A.L.A. (Live With A Lifelong Ambition), for which Danielle and Jodie designed a capsule jewelry collection. Indeed, the success of that philanthropic jewelry collection played a pivotal role in their eventually launching DANNIJO as a luxury accessories label in 2008.

Partnerships also work best when partners truly complement one another. For instance, it only took juxtaposing Danielle darting around the room with ideas practically flying off her tongue with Jodie carefully pouring over an arrangement of images spread out before her for us to realize the explosive potential of this sisterly duo.

For Indego Africa and DANNIJO, we had to initially cast aside some of our obvious differences – DANNIJO blends a bohemian rocker vibe with timeless sophistication while Indego Africa blends unapologetically nerdy competence with, well, unapologetically nerdy competence. But the startling (and highly promising) array of collaborative approaches and ideas that sprung out of our short visit was proof in the pudding that these two organizations complement each other well and that this partnership is built to last.

We at Indego Africa absolutely love when successful woman entrepreneurs around the globe find creative ways of encouraging the work of blossoming women micro-entrepreneurs in Africa. From the bottom of our hearts, hats off to you Danielle and Jodie for blazing your own entrepreneurial trail and for remaining grounded enough to keep making a difference while doing it.

-Conor French and Deirdre McGuigan

(Photos: Artisan women, jewelry pouches, awesomeness)

Indego Africa and VisionSpring Team Up to Provide Eyeglasses for Artisan Women in Rwanda: Part Two

After learning that poor eyesight was causing significant problems for many artisan partners in both production and in the classroom, Indego Africa partnered with VisionSpring, a social enterprise committed to global proverty reduction through the sale of affordable eyeglasses. In two parts (read Part One HERE), Rwanda team member Laila Qaimmaqami reports from the field on her experiences orchestrating everything from initial sight tests all the way to placing orders for first-ever pairs of eyeglasses for almost 200 women.

If you haven’t already heard, Indego Africa is on the forefront of the social enterprising fashion and home decor consumer goods scene. In the last year, we have grown exponentially, integrating new partner cooperatives, building in-country capacity, and striking exciting deals with top retail clients like Anthropologie, Nicole Miller, DANNIJO Jewelry, ShopBop, and Steven Alan. Indego Africa is thrilled to provide our artisan partners with more and more opportunities for work and income, but an uptick in production also means even more strain on artisan eyes. As a result, Indego Africa's partnership with VisionSpring could not have arrived at a better time.

Despite the streamlined process and method provided by VisionSpring, certain challenges nevertheless arose. One was turning away people who were not Indego Africa artisan partners. At partner cooperative Hope in Kigali, one mother brought along her cherubic six-year-old son. At Kayciru Hospital, where partner cooperative Mpore Mama is located, a nurse tried to squeeze herself onto the list. Each departed disappointed, but such instances only reconfirmed the importance of making available affordable eyeglasses in Rwanda. While we had to limit our own involvement to our artisan partners, we could seek some solace in our collaboration having opened an entry point for VisionSpring into Rwanda.

Challenges aside, the VisionSpring project proved an amazing experience that took us on intrepid bus rides to all corners of the capital city and beyond. In just under four weeks, Indego Africa screened over 230 women across eight partner cooperatives! The personal stories shared by some of our artisan partners left an indelible imprint on us. For instance, like most of our artisan partners, Emerthe survived the 1994 Genocide. She suffered severe head and leg injuries from grenade shrapnel. Eye surgery years ago attempted to fix some of the damage caused to her eyesight but she hasn’t been able to afford any follow-up treatment. Being able to provide her with single vision glasses was memorably fantastic even though in an ideal world we would also be able to ensure that she received further medical attention that her condition almost undoubtedly warrants.

And here I’m going to cycle back to social enterprising. So the answer to the question raised in Part One is “No.” Given the regulatory implications in play, as well as our pressing desire to help these hardworking individuals to see better and live healthier, more productive lives, Indego Africa chose to provide our artisan partners with eyeglasses free of charge.

Were our artisan partners to contribute for their own pairs of eyeglasses, a sense of responsibility and ownership might have been shifted to them rather than to Indego Africa. Eyeglasses in hand, perhaps the women would reason individually or collectively, “Well, I’ve come this far. Might as well forge ahead and pay for a trip to the clinic.” Or not. It’s hard to say. Time spent away from the cooperative means less income and, for the majority of these women, money is empowerment, their ticket to a better, more secure existence for themselves and their family. To treat them as true business partners, Indego Africa must accept that that what we might want for them will not always line up with what they want for themselves. And that is okay. (To this point, some members chose not to show up for the screening tests.) Even the notion of empowerment takes on a different hue. Color it in we may try, but in the end it’s up to the women to take control of their lives. The best we can do is to give them the knowledge and the tools - or the eyeglasses! - to get there.

Thanks to the entire Indego Africa staff, VisionSpring, and in particular to Jean de Dieu Niyomugabo, Valens Rutazihana, Yves Ndashimwe, Chantal Musabimanaand, and Deo Gakuba for their invaluable assistance. And a BIG BIG thank you to Mrs. Marcella Halter, whose overwhelming and much-appreciated generosity has made this project possible for these incredible Rwandan artisans.

-Laila Qaimmaqami, Rwanda intern for Summer 2011

(Photos: at top, an artisan at partner cooperative Susuruka logs her eyeglass order, at middle, a lineup of sample eyeglasses and screening forms, and, at bottom, another artisan at Susuruka models her new eyewear)