Tourism Update is profiling the top three 2023 finalists announced for the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge (AYTIC) held in Swakopmund, Namibia, in May this year.

The winner will be announced at the Africa Tourism Leadership Forum and Awards in Botswana, this October. This is the second of three profiles.

The Shaba in Kenya is a social impact design brand that works closely with rural communities to make handcrafted sisal bags, ultimately connecting them to potential buyers such as hotels, lodges, and souvenir shops through its digital platform.

“The most interesting thing outside working with communities is that hotels and souvenir shops within the tourism value chain can stock up on our bags using The Shaba’s retail app. So you’ll find that hotels like Fairmont, Taita Hills, Crowne Plaza, Salt Lick, Baobab, and a few restaurants have the products in stock,” said Founder and CEO, Gloria Kisilu.

How it started

The Shaba started in 2018/2019 after Kisilu saw the need for artisans to have direct access to the market, and wanted to help bridge the digital divide that artisans in rural areas experience, through the creation of The Shaba.

“My grandmother used to weave baskets and she never actually realised the benefit of it – and it’s been like that for years on end. I wanted to make a difference because I knew and understood that there is a huge demand for craft products. But then artisans don’t know what to make or the quality needed, and they generally don’t know if they are being shorthanded by the middleman.

“The digital divide also played an important role, as a lot of the artisans who do the craft are in rural areas and don’t have access to the Internet or mobile phones,” said Kisilu.  

She said, with The Shaba, she began to understand why communities wanted the solution, why hotels wanted to stock the products, and why clients wanted to buy the products.

“We wanted to connect the chain from the community to the hotel and the client. Travellers want an authentic and aesthetically pleasing product with high quality. We understood that the product needed to be functional, good quality, and match the fashion trends that are currently happening.”

How it differs from other products

One of the criteria of the AYTIC is to come up with a new idea or to be different from other similar products.

Kisilu said The Shaba stood out in the market as pioneering a unique and game-changing approach to the production and distribution of handmade sisal products.

“Our innovation leverages the power of a virtual factory and an intuitive app-based system, setting us apart from conventional methods and establishing a new standard in the industry.

“Shaba's innovative virtual factory and app-based system have transformed the sisal craft product supply chain, leading to increased efficiency, empowerment of rural communities, and sustainable practices to design beautiful products.

“Our data-driven approach demonstrates tangible benefits, making The Shaba the unique and preferred choice for those seeking a modern, socially responsible, and technologically advanced solution in the sisal craft product market.”

She said guests and hotels wanted to buy a product that made a difference in the community they visited or operated in. The gap that The Shaba is trying to fill is the efficiency and effectiveness of inventory management, especially for gift and souvenir shops, because they are not usually the main priority for hotels.

“However, they are a source of income and they need to stock up on products that are eco-friendly and sustainable, which is in line with hotels’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects,” she added.

Future plans

Looking forward, Kisilu wants to collaborate more with hotels and expand to international markets.

“Outside the products that we sell, we also want to lean on The Shaba experience, whereby we go to hotels and collaborate with them to show their guests one of the community members or artisans conduct a live demonstration of their products. In doing so, the guests will learn about the cultural heritage of the artisans and their craft so that there is that direct correlation between what we do in the tourism industry and how we sell our bags.

“We are also keen on international expansion because we have massive potential to skill our solution, whereby we on-board more communities and products. We do not only want to do sales in Kenya, but also in other markets in east Africa and outside the continent,” she said.

Challenges

On-boarding communities has not been a challenge for The Shaba, as artisans and communities understand the vision and mission in terms of where they want to go and what they want to achieve by being part of The Shaba community.

“The main challenge has been to get retailers to sign up on the platform. Mostly hotels, because it has been difficult to get them to understand and appreciate the craftsmanship within the communities they are in. Also, for them to understand that working with us is not only benefiting us, but also benefits them and the communities they operate in.”

Financing, increasing its budget and finding the right staff have also been challenges.

Kisilu said being selected in the top three had gained The Shaba much visibility from key players within the tourism industry.

“We are now in line to collaborate with hotels whereby we give their guests a lot more exposure about the culture, heritage, and craftsmanship of our products.”