At Zena, we believe that investing in female entrepreneurs has the power to change the stories of extreme poverty and gender inequality. Female entrepreneurs living in rural poverty are facing two major barriers to business opportunity: lack of education and lack of capital.
We set out to change that.
Zena products are handcrafted by female entrepreneurs in Kamuli, Uganda who were previously living below the poverty line. Through short term apprenticeships creating our products, the Zena women earn a living wage to support themselves and their families above the poverty line, access business education AND save monthly towards the start-up capital they need to start their businesses.
Donate now to support our impact in Kamuli.
Harriet joined our program when she was living below the poverty line selling charcoal informally on the street to support her 8 children. She had a dream of owning a wholesale charcoal company. After working on our program for 2 years, Harriet graduated with her dream business in August 2019. With her earnings from her business, Harriet pays school fees for her own 8 children and for 2 orphans. Read more stories of Zena graduates on our impact website!
"I am forever grateful to this program for the way it changed my life. For me, the program gave my life a new meaning."
- Harriet
We are committed to using recycled, locally sourced materials and making intentional packaging choices.
All of our products are made of waste materials. We work with Ankole Cattle Horn that has been discarded as a by-product of the agricultural industry. No animals are harmed in the making of our products.
Straight from the team at the HQ, here's the inside scoop on the work your earrings are busy funding ⭐
Phase III is a part of our multi-phased Entrepreneurship Training Program that has been designed to give the women on The Zena Launchpad an opportunity to put to practice the theoretical entrepreneurship tools they have learnt.
The Zena Lauchpad Entrepreneurship Director, Faith Natukunda, implemented this project and wrote the following report.
