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Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Zoe Cohen produces her Zoko Bags from Kenya. Here’s how she got her start as a destination entrepreneur.

After finishing graduate school in the U.S., Zoe Cohen took a job with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), an international relief and development agency. They paid for her to move to Nairobi, Kenya, to take their one-year management training program. When the program ended, Cohen had fallen in love with Nairobi, and decided to stay (instead of getting posted to another country though the program). She negotiated with CRS to transition onto a consulting agreement.

Around the same time, Cohen started a company that hand-crafted fashion bags, using recycled leather and colorful African fabric lining that she could find at sprawling Gikomba markets in Nairobi. Each bag, named a Zoko Bag, is customized according to the specific preferences of each customer and takes about six weeks to deliver.

Source: Fast CoExist (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Impact Assessment
Tags
business development, philanthropy