Enda was founded by Navalayo Osembo and Weldon Kennedy. They met in 2015 and came together and formed a union over the love of running shoes they both shared. Weldon is a self-proclaimed running shoe nerd and also a social activist. Navalayo was born and raised in Kenya and is also a lawyer and an accountant.
The company has been trying to get investors to invest in the company but most of the investors they were able to reach has either never been to Kenya or were not interested in investing in the economy of a developing country, according to Navalayo.
Despite the fact that Kenya is a country in East Africa with world-class runners, they hardly produce running shoes themselves. The country is home to many Olympic medal carriers and world championship winners such as Brigid Kosgei; A 25-year-old young woman with a Gold medal in Chicago marathon for the year 2018 and 2019 respectively and Gold medals in Honolulu marathon for the year 2016 and 2017.
Eliud Kipchoge; A 35-year-old long-distance runner with Gold medals in the London Marathon in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019. Bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics for 5000m male, Silver medal in 2008 Beijing Olympics for 5000m male, Gold medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics for a marathon.
Paul Tergat; Paul Tergat is the first Kenyan to set the world record from the year 2003 to 2007, Silver medal in 1996 Atlanta Olympic games for 10,000m. Silver medal in 2000 Sydney Olympic games for 10,000m. 5 Gold Medals and 1 bronze in world cross country championships. Enda is the first running shoe company in Kenya.
Enda was able to raise the sum of $128k from a kick start campaign in 2016 that allowed them to launch their first product. Enda produces different sports products for athletic people from running shoes to sports bags to sports jersey shirt and sports bracelets.
According to Enda, Kenya is a country that has produced top runners in the world so the roads are the perfect testing ground for making the world’s best running shoe. Enda has finally managed to raise $350,000 from five investors in seed funding to support Enda’s production, distribution and marketing.
The design for the Enda shoe soles is soft but tough enough to last for hundreds of miles of use with lightweight flexible and breathable materials for the top part of the running shoes, so the feet won’t feel heavy while running.
Different components of the shoes are made in Asia but assembled in Kenya by Enda, but the company hopes to eventually produce the shoe from scratch to finish in Kenya. The company has professional athletes constantly testing their prototypes to help improve on the build and quality of all their products before releasing it to their consumers.
Enda released the first set of their running shoes to the public for sale in August 2017, the “Enda Iten,” available in the colours, black, red and green. They launched their second running shoes, “Lapatet” in 2019.
The company seeks to reduce waste and encourage recycling by using recyclable items in the packaging of their products. Instead of using tissue paper to stuff the shoe before packaging, they use old newspaper instead. To reduce plastic pollution and waste, the company uses reusable Enda sports bags to package their sneakers for shipping instead of plastic bags.