About this project
Enda: The First Kenyan Running Shoe
$128,187
pledged of $75,000 goal
1,021
backers
As we’ve surpassed our initial goal, we created a series of further goals. Why? We’re going to make amazing shoes, and our sustainability will strongly depend on you and other backers ordering more shoes. The more the orders, the greater the scale of production and the greater social impact we can create. In exchange, we will give you more choices and rewards.
Done: $100,000 - We'll be offering T-shirt in your choice of red, green, or black.
Up next: $150,000 - We’ll unlock a new colorway which will be decided by the community of backers. A top request is for a shoe that incorporates multiple colors, so here are some ideas we're playing with.
We are creating the first world-class Kenyan running shoes based on the advice, skills, and experiences of great Kenyan athletes.
But we can’t do it without the help of the Kickstarter community. We need your help to start production, and in exchange we’re offering some exciting rewards - all of which help us achieve our goal of having a positive impact in Kenya
Kenya defines running excellence. Successive generations of athletes have come to understand and have perfected the art of running. Working together with them, we have created the ultimate running shoe.
Throughout a year of design, development and testing, we strictly followed two principles:
First: We knew our shoe had to be worthy of the Kenyan running tradition, which is second to none. We relied on expert craftsmanship and the best available materials at every turn in order to produce a top quality shoe.
Second: We wanted a shoe that meets the needs of runners around the world by incorporating lessons from running in Kenya.
We’re confident that we’ve made a shoe that fits both of those criteria: the Enda Iten, our debut design named after a small nondescript town in Kenya known for producing running champions.
Technical Features
4mm Drop: The difference between the thickness of padding at the heel and under the forefoot can make a big difference on the way you run. Put too much foam under the heel relative to the forefoot, and you’re at risk of the thick heel hitting first and throwing off your gait. Put too little, and you might not have enough cushion under your heel when going downhill or over rough terrain. If you watch just about any Kenyan runner, you’ll notice they land on their mid-foot or balls of their feet. So we’ve given the Iten a 4mm heel to toe drop, which is about half of most traditional running shoes.
Wider Toe Box: We created more space for the pinky toe than is found in many other shoes to ensure it’s not squished into or under its neighbor. A natural toe splay helps to absorb impact, which is why we went a bit wider to give the pinky some room to do its work
Light Weight - 7.9 oz (224 grams): Lots of running shoes are classed as either trainers (read: thick and padded) or racing flats (read: thin and lots of ground feel). The Iten sits between those categories. With 21mm of cushioning under under heel and 17mm under forefoot, it's a shoe you can comfortably train in, but it's fast enough for race day.
Midsole as Heel Counter: while the Iten is a 4mm drop shoe, we realize it looks like it has more of heel than this. That’s because we brought the midsole up to cup the heel. When viewed from behind you get a sense of how much the foot really sits down into the midsole. This helps the shoe move with your foot when you’re running on terrain that might have your foot hitting at a funny angle or rolling a bit.
Full Rubber Outsole: this gives you grip and protection on pavement and on other surfaces, such as light trails. If you land on a small rock, you won’t feel it the way you might on a shoe with a less substantial outsole. Since it’s real rubber, it will also stick around through hundreds of miles, giving your Enda Iten’s almost as much endurance as you.
The Kenyan Heritage
We drew inspiration from different elements of Kenya, including its rich history:
1. Colors: these have been selected to match the Kenyan flag.
2. Our Logo: it’s design is based on the image of a spear tip. The spear features throughout the history of Kenyan national identity, from the flag to being one of the highest honors that can be awarded to an individual in Kenya (Elder of the Burning Spear) — not unlike a knighthood or a presidential commendation.
3. Harambee Philosophy: Under the sole, you'll find the word "Harambee". It's the official motto of Kenya, and a value that drives us as a company. In Swahili it means “all pull together”, and is used to refer to moments where communities come together to accomplish something individuals couldn’t do alone – just as we are turning to you to ask for help in making Kenyan running shoes a reality.
4. The Number 12: Jamhuri Day (Republic Day), the most important national holiday marking both the date Kenya gained independence in 1963 and the day, exactly one year later, when Kenya became a republic, is on the twelfth of December - or 12/12. That's why we’ve got exactly 12 lines on the lateral side of the Enda Iten.
5. The Great Rift Valley: most of Kenya’s running champions come from the rift valley. To honor them, and the valley’s unique high-altitude and mild climate that makes for the best training grounds in the world, the heel of Enda Itens is designed to mimic the valley and its great escarpments.
6. Geometric Patterns and Repeating Triangle Motifs: these feature in many traditional Kenyan fabrics and beaded patterns. We've brought three variations of these patterns into the side mesh, the heel strap at the back and the outsole.
We hope you enjoy these little bits of Kenya and find the Iten’s a pair of shoes you’ll want to wear both out on a run and about town.
Sizing
The critical thing for determining sizing is the last - a foot shaped mold around which the shoe is built. We worked with Jones & Vining, who have over 80 years’ experience in developing lasts, because they’re well known in the shoe industry to be best in class. Using their lasts means the Enda Iten will fit true to size.
If you don’t know your running shoe size, don't worry. You don't need to tell us until the campaign ends. Between now and then, there are a couple of things you can do:
- You can go to a running or sporting goods store near you and try on a couple of shoes. Odds are the size for a Saucony Kinvara or Nike Free 5.0 will be the right size for your Enda Itens.
- If you can’t make it into a store, then consider that most people wear a running shoe that is slightly larger than normal shoe, since our feet swell when we run and you want a bit of extra room to move forward when running downhill. If you normally wear shoes that have a bit of room in the toe, just order that size. If your shoes are snug, then you might want to order your Enda Iten’s a half-size larger.
How It’s Made
The long term goal is for all components of Enda shoes to be made start to finish in Kenya. Sadly, a great deal of the equipment necessary to make a great running shoe simply can’t be found in Kenya. So we’re starting simple, with a plan to build on as we go.
This means that, initially, we’ll be sourcing the component pieces from Asia, and then building the shoes and packaging them here in Kenya. For the components we’re using two excellent facilities in China that also produce running shoes for other major international running shoe brands.
How We Got Here
Making the Enda Iten has been a long process. It started out as an idea to make a truly Kenyan running shoe. In the 18 months since that start, we've worked with talented and experienced shoe designers, developers, and professional runners to create the ultimate running shoe. Two of the leading figures in this process have been:
Steve Burris - Steve’s passion for running and coaching led him to join the original product development team at Nike’s Exeter, NH R&D facility in the late 1970’s. He developed numerous commercially successful sport-shoe models for customers and world class athletes. In a 38 year career in athletic footwear & apparel, Steve led global product development teams for adidas in Germany and Reebok in the USA and was production Country Manager in several Southeast Asian source countries. Steve has managed large organization logistics with notable success, and more recently assisted smaller brands such as Newton Running, and start-up brands in setting up product sourcing organizations. But his passion remains high performance product which helps athletes at every level maximize their potential. Steve retains excellent relationships with suppliers and infrastructure providers across the industry and is highly respected for his ability to build world class product sourcing capabilities which achieve the best balance of quality, timely delivery and pricing.
Birdhaus Design - With a team bringing experience Under Armour, Reebok, and Keen, Birdhaus is well versed in designing and manufacturing top quality athletic shoes. Birdhaus uses design thinking and strategy to deliver innovative solutions to clients around the world.
We've gone through many iterations of the design and created many prototypes in order to build a pair of shoes that are a joy to run in, while still looking great when wearing them around town. Through that process we've built a team of people around us - freelancers, volunteers, and suppliers - that make it feel like anything is possible with the shoe. We're excited to keep working with them to bring you this shoe and hopefully produce more shoes in the future.
We're excited to be asking the Kickstarter community for support because it means we can offer you the first ever Enda Iten shoes as a reward.
Rewards
Of course the prime reward is a pair of Enda Iten running shoes, but we've got a couple of other things going on. You'll find that we've paired these various offerings as stand alone items or in groups. Here's what you'll find:
Thank You Mentions On Our Website - On a specially reserved space on our website, we will write your name and honour you for believing in us when all we had was nothing but a dream - and a prototype!
Bracelets with the Kenyan flag on one side and Enda on the other. These have been designed and handmade with love from two different places - a small shop in Iten and by women from around the Maasai Mara area.
T- Shirts - show off your first run with these cool running tees paired up with your Enda Itens. They're made in Kenya of course. Only available in black for the moment.
Train in Kenya - come join us for a private two week training programme for you and a friend in Iten, the home of running champions. You'll experience the joy of running alongside world champions in the midst of one of the most beautiful places on earth. The whole time you'll have expert coaching and we'll run multiple sessions exploring the design and construction of Enda running shoes.
This trip includes all accommodation, meals, transport within Kenya, and an overnight safari in the famous Nakuru National Park. For the daredevils, paragliding over the Rift Valley can also be arranged for a small additional cost. Flights to Kenya are not included. We assure you this will be the experience of a lifetime and will change your running forever.
Costs
One of the great challenges in creating the first Kenyan made running shoe is that producing shoes is an expensive process. We need $60,000 to move forward with creating our first set of shoe, which is why we've come to Kickstarter in the spirit of Harambee to ask for your support in making Kenyan running shoes a reality.
You'll notice our goal for the campaign is $75,000. That's to ensure we have enough to cover Kickstarter fees and shipping. Here's how that breaks down.
Timeline
Once we meet our campaign funding goal, it will take about 3 weeks for us to send out the survey to you and receive your order preference in terms of size and color.
You'll notice on the rewards that shoes aren't shipping until later this year. Once we have the funds, it will take time to start up the production process and churn out all the shoes. We anticipate that setting up and executing production will typically take about 5 months, and shipping approximately 3 weeks.
We will do our absolute best to ensure that you receive your pair of Enda Itens on time, and will let you know straight away if there's any reason why we might not hit our deadlines.
Enda (meaning "Go!"in Swahili) is a social enterprise founded to bring Kenyan athletic greatness to runners around the world, and to bring sustainable income to Kenya. Enda was founded in 2015 as a Benefit Corporation by Navalayo (Nava) Osembo-Ombati and Weldon Kennedy.
Nava comes from a village near Eldoret, Kenya, where many of Kenya’s running champions come from. A graduate of the London School of Economics, Navalayo has worked in different places around the world, including the US, UK, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya. She is trained as both an accountant and a lawyer, which explains why she is so interested in risk management, results-based management and writing.
Weldon is a social-change campaigner who has worked on a range of early stage social change startups. He built the student and international member programs at The ONE Campaign and most recently led Change.org's growth in Europe as the regional Managing Director. An avid runner and running shoe obsessive, his half marathon PB is 1:37:39.
We met in Nairobi in early 2015 and immediately clicked. After a couple of conversations we decided to found Enda because we believe Kenya can, and should, benefit more from it’s well earned running reputation, and because we believe it will be good for runners everywhere to have a stronger connection to the culture and traditions of Kenyan running.
Social Impact
We are a social enterprise with a mission of increasing the amount Kenya benefits from its well earned reputation in running greatness. We’re working with social impact consultants, Global & Smart, to ensure that we’re building a company that has creating social value at it’s core right from the start.
1. Creating Jobs
This is pretty straight forward. Kenya is a young country with a median age of 18 years. Frustratingly, youth unemployment in Kenya is 17%. Development experts and the Kenyan government agree that creating good jobs in sectors like manufacturing is one of the most important priorities for the country.
The challenge is that it is almost always cheaper and easier to produce goods in Southeast Asia. We plan on overcoming this obstacle by creating a brand that leverages the value of being made in Kenya, as well as taking advantage of preferential of tariff rates for importing footwear and apparel to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The result will be bringing some quality jobs to Kenya.
2. Supporting Local Communities
Many Kenyans lack access to basic sanitation, clean water, adequate health care, and quality education. Thankfully many clever and courageous people are working to address these challenges. From experience, we know how hard it is for them to fund their activities. We want to make sure we’re making our contribution too, so here’s how we’re going to do this:
- We’ll set aside a portion of our profits into a pool (of money, not for swimming!); Working with experts, we’ll identify a handful of most effective projects that could use some extra support every 6 months;
- Anyone who buys a pair of Enda shoes and registers their purchase will get one vote to help us determine which projects will receive money from the pool;
- Through this, we will link Enda runners across the globe to local communities in Kenya, and vice versa, and encourage empathy, creativity and innovation.
3. Changing The Way the World Sees Kenya
Kenya is already famous for the world’s best runners, stunning wildlife, fantastic beaches, and where President Obama’s father came from (never mind the rest of our species some 60,000 years ago). We want to make it famous for great products too.
Most people couldn’t tell you exactly where their shoes are made. We want Enda runners to be able to take pride in knowing their running kit comes from Kenya, and that Kenyan products are of the highest quality.
Share Enda On Social Media
Think we're amazing? Well then, don't keep it to yourself! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and share us with your family and friends!!!
Risks and challenges
We don’t think we’re the first people to think up the idea of making running shoes in Kenya. Certainly the idea has dawned on others, but they haven’t done it because it’s a downright difficult thing to do. Here are the top challenges we foresee, though knowing they might come up, we’re already working hard to mitigate their potential impact.
Import and Export Challenges - there are an increasing number of companies bringing materials into Kenya and exporting finished goods. The more companies do it, the smoother the process becomes. Still, the port at Mombasa is known to be challenging and slowdowns can occur. We’ll work with the best handling agents to mitigate this risk and hopefully be able to assemble and ship our shoes on schedule.
Shipping and Delivery - There may be other fees, forms or legalities we are unaware of that could block shipments of the shoes or cause them to be delayed or returned. While we're not experts on tax and other fees applicable to every country, we will do our best to ensure that your order arrives on time.
Consistency and Quality Control - when we start putting together a large volume of shoes for the first time, we’ll have to work hard to ensure they are consistently of the highest quality. We’re factoring this into our costs, and anticipate that there will be some shoes early on that won’t be up to our standards so we'll have some shoes we can’t ship.
Achieving Social Good Goals - all of our social good goals depend on us becoming a sustainable and scalable business. This Kickstarter campaign will get things rolling, but we’ll only really start creating jobs and revenue to Kenya if the attention and funds from the campaign get us to the point where we’re producing and selling a steady stream of shoes. So we’re already diving into a marketing plan for online sales, and will start selling to stores for the Spring 2017 season.
Sizing - we’ve worked hard to ensure our shoes run true to size. However, there’s always a chance that slight variations in foot shape mean that an Enda runner finds they need a slightly different size from their other running shoes. We’ll be using a distribution service to ensure returns are handled smoothly and efficiently.
Production Speed - making prototypes and a full production run are two totally different things, and there are likely unforeseen pitfalls we aren’t seeing yet. We don’t want to over-promise on this first production run, so we’ve added in extra padding on our production timelines. If we have any doubt that we’ll be able to hit delivery timelines we’ll be open and forthcoming so you know when to expect the shoes.
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Support this project
Pledge $7 or more
We appreciate your support in helping Kenyan made running shoes become a reality. We’ll give you thanks on a special section of our website.ESTIMATED DELIVERY34 backersPledge $25 or more
We’ll send you a handmade beaded Enda bracelet with the Kenyan flag on one side and Enda on the other.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the world25 backersPledge $55 or more
In addition to thanks and the bracelet, we’ll send you an Enda running T-shirt. Made in Kenya, of course.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the world18 backersPledge $85 or more
SUPER EARLY-BIRD.1 Pair of Enda Iten shoes in the color and size of your choice and a handmade beaded Enda bracelet.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the worldReward no longer available50 backersPledge $90 or more
EARLY-BIRD.1 Pair of Enda Iten shoes in the color and size of your choice and a handmade beaded Enda bracelet.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the worldReward no longer available100 backersPledge $100 or more
1 PAIR OF SHOES1 Pair of Enda Iten shoes in the color and size of your choice.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the world410 backersPledge $110 or more
SHOES AND BRACELET1 Pair of Enda Iten shoes in the color and size of your choice and a handmade beaded Enda bracelet.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the world65 backersPledge $125 or more
254 SPECIALOwn one of the first 254 pairs of Enda Iten running shoes that come off the production line in Kenya. Your shoe will be individually numbered.This is also your VIP pass. We'll be giving the first 254 supporters early access to the next design and ask for their input as we develop future Enda products.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the worldLimited149 backersPledge $140 or more
1 OF EACH1 Pair of Enda Iten running shoes in the color and size of your choice, 1 Enda running t-shirt, and 1 handmade Enda beaded bracelet.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the world65 backersPledge $165 or more
5 T-SHIRTSIn addition to sending you a pair of Enda Itens, we'll send you 5 Enda running T-shirts to share with your running crew.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the world8 backersPledge $190 or more
2 PAIRS2 pairs of Enda Iten running shoes in the colors and sizes of your choice.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the world51 backersPledge $270 or more
2 OF EACH2 Pair of Enda Iten running shoes in the colors and sizes of your choice, 2 Enda running t-shirt, and 2 handmade Enda beaded bracelets.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the world13 backersPledge $280 or more
3 PAIRS3 pairs of Enda Iten running shoes shoes in the colors and sizes of your choice.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the world6 backersPledge $370 or more
4 PAIRS4 pairs of Enda Iten running shoes shoes in the colors and sizes of your choice.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the world2 backersPledge $460 or more
5 PAIRS5 pairs of Enda Iten running shoes shoes in the colors and sizes of your choice.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the world2 backersPledge $1,963 or more
25 PAIRSThis is something special - 25 pairs of Enda Iten running shoes shoes in the colors and sizes of your choice.ESTIMATED DELIVERYSHIPS TOAnywhere in the world1 backerPledge $6,000 or more
BEYOND SPECIALWe'll meet you and a friend/training partner at Nairobi airport and head out for two weeks of training and immersion in Kenyan running culture with elite Kenyan runners in Iten. Beyond just the running, we'll spend hours talking through running shoe design and take a two day safari in the legendary Nakuru National Park. Please note that this doesn't include airfare and dates are subject to availability based on training season.ESTIMATED DELIVERYLimited0 backers
Funding period
- (37 days)
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