Crafting A Future Beyond Survival: The Story of the Refugee-led Kisasa Craft Shop
David and Agnes — both refugees from Congo tell us how they are preserving African heritage and empowering the community through their shop — Kisasa Craft
By Devyani Nighoskar and Kimararungu Cadeau Héritier
Memories, Encounters, Love and a Business
“Our African heritage is one to be admired and relived. At Kisasa Craft, we ensure that these cherished memories resonate with you by creating the finest African crafts.”
This tagline from Kisasa Craft Shop’s social media captures the vision and operations of their compact shop in Mwariro Market, Nairobi. Featuring handcrafted embroidered sandals, colourful bolga bags, vibrant shoes and baskets — the small shop may resemble its neighbours’ offerings, but its story is unique. Founded by two refugees, Kisasa Craft Shop is more than just a business — its mission is to provide livelihood opportunities to others who were forced to flee their homes.
The founders, David and Agnes, are often found at the shop. David shuffles between the workshop and the office while Agnes, the primary salesperson, stands behind the counter. Besides being business partners, they are husband and wife, a couple who fled from their home country of Congo at different times. While Agnes went to Uganda, David came to Kenya. They found love online in 2017. The craft shop was founded six years later in Nairobi.
Weaving Stories Into Products
“I was 17 when I fled the war in South Kivu, Congo, and arrived in Kenya. It didn’t matter that my education was interrupted; I wouldn’t have been able to get a job anyway, as a refugee, even if I had a PhD,” says David sarcastically. For the first few years, the 32-year-old survived Nairobi by doing odd jobs around the city — mostly hawking on the streets.
“I even went to prison a few times because I was hawking without any permits or documentation, just like several other refugees. I wanted to start something to provide a stable livelihood to those facing helplessness like me,” he adds.
The idea of a craft shop was born out of the couple’s love for making things by hand — something David believes he picked up from his father, a tailor. “It is, in a way, therapeutic — it is like with our efforts, we are weaving our stories into our products too,” says David, adding that he loves crafting bags. He holds up two of his latest creations for us — a black tote bag with colourful borders and stripes and a sleek beige backpack.
Aspirations Undone, and Recreated, Through Migration
As a child, David never imagined he would get into handicrafts and run a business. He loved mathematics and wanted to join the army — a dream he tried to pursue even when he arrived in Kenya. “I applied to join the US Army twice but did not get through. Now I am past the cut-off age and focused on the growth of Kisasa,” he says.
On the other hand, Agnes, 29, always dreamt of being a ‘businesswoman’. She laughs coyly when asked if she thinks she has fulfilled her dream. “We are still in the early stages of our business. We run it to pay homage to Africa — our home, our culture transcending borders. There is so much talent here, and we want to promote it internally and outside the continent while supporting others,” she adds, explaining their vision for Kisasa.
Beyond a shop, Kisasa Craft operates as a Community-Based Organisation (CBO) working with nine leaders: six refugees, mainly from Congo, and the other three from Kenya. Working with 21 members; they have two strands of work: Making Products — primarily led by refugee women and single mothers, needy and widows from the host community and Digital Marketing, for which they work with refugee youth to help sell the products online and create a vibrant online brand narrative.
Their efforts are paying off. Kisasa Craft Shop has a range of products, including men’s and women’s sandals, baskets, belts, mats, handheld fans and bags in African aesthetic — featuring bold colours, various patterns and shapes, beadwork and colour layering. Sustainability is at the core of everything they do. Whether it is the materials they use, the longer production cycles, supporting artisans or using low-carbon transport, they try to put the planet and people first.
From the Local to the Global: Online Presence and Branding
The vibrancy is also evident in their brand narrative and a thriving website, Instagram and TikTok page featuring self-made advertisements, product photography with witty captions and a user-friendly database for online shopping. While their main story and vision need to be added to their website, their new Instagram series aims to highlight video stories of the people they work with — starting with the story of David.
Last year, they achieved significant sales from digital marketing efforts, including some exports abroad to America. Combined with sales from their physical shop, they earned a profit of about 50,000 KES last year.
This was also the amount with which David and Agnes started Kisasa.
“When the idea for this craft shop was born, finding the funding to make it a reality was quite challenging. I had approached many big organisations and donors, but sadly, it didn’t work. In the end, we decided just to put in our savings. It was a difficult decision — but I am glad we took it,” says Agnes.
Registering as a CBO with Kenyans on the team made navigating a complex and bureaucratic system that was previously unwelcoming towards refugees slightly easier. Yet, in spite of these challenges, Kisasa has been able to make an impact.
So far, they have worked and trained 25 people, working with expert crafters and digital marketers who volunteered their time. Now, the first batch of trainees are trainers themselves. One of them is Cynthia, seated outside the shop, working her hands to make a beaded pair of women’s sandals. “This job has allowed me to feed my family,” she adds.
Mugisha, a young refugee from Congo who has been working at Kisasa as a shopkeeper since September 2023, resonates with Cynthia’s sentiment. “I found out about Kisasa through another Congolese refugee in Nairobi and asked them for work. Here, I enjoy meeting new customers, getting to know them — this job has given me stability, creativity and confidence,” he adds.
Gathering Support for Kisasa Craft and its Refugee Business Leaders
However, there is a lot more that Kisasa wants to do — but they need support — including capital, to expand their operations and production capacity and hold mentorship sessions.
“While there are a lot of capacity-building and training opportunities organised by international organisations for refugees, a 2–3 day workshop is hardly sufficient. We need practical experience with more extended mentorship support as we put our ideas and skills to the test. That is also the kind of programme we are aiming to build with our shop, with a focus on promoting handicrafts through the promotion of digital livelihoods,” says David.
In a few months; Kisasa plans to run a digital marketing training and mentorship programme through Ajira Digital Program, a Kenyan government initiative designed to empower over one million young Kenyans by facilitating access to digital job opportunities.
“Most organisations only focus on the survival of refugees, but we need to move beyond that mindset. We need to make sure they don’t just survive, but thrive,” explain David and Agnes.
That is the spirit with which they run Kisasa.
You can visit Kisasa Craft Shop at Mwariro Market in Nairobi at shop A67. You may check out their online shop here and instagram page here.
