I am Kenyan and I have to agree that we hardly endorse what is ours. Remember the social media campaign #PlayMusicKE? Because local artistes felt we never supported them enough?
Well, one of our own has done it on our behalf. Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o has endorsed Kenyan running shoe brand Enda.
In an interview with Complex Media’s Joe La Puma released on Monday, she said, “I was really impressed, It’s about time that we had a home-grown sneaker. So I like the innovation behind it, and decided to support it.”
Enda, “go” in Swahili, was founded by Navalayo Osembo and Weldon Kennedy with a mission to bring Kenyan athletic excellence to runners everywhere and fuel economic development in Kenya.
The two started a crowdfunding campaign for a daily trainer, the Lapatet, last week. If successful, it would be the first-ever daily trainer produced in Kenya.
Nyong’o’s “Us” co-star Winston Duke added, “Kenya and Africa is not a place where people usually identify where sneakers come from. And it’s really great to just change that narrative that we have our own thing.” The two actors also talk about their style growing up, how their African and Caribbean heritage has informed how they dress and much more.
The first model, the Iten, is a lightweight trainer and has been worn by more than 4,000 people around the world, including Nyong’o.