Pine Kazi is a Kenyan company founded by three Africa Nazarene University alumni namely; Olivia Awuor, Mike Langat, and Angela Musyoka.
Awuor serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the company that focuses on creating eco-friendly shoes from pineapple waste.
Founded in 2019, the company works with unemployed youth, whom it contracts to collect discarded pineapple waste from farms and move it to the production center.
At the production center, the waste is sorted out and manufactured into a sustainable pineapple textile which is then transformed into the different products on offer, including eco-friendly shoes.
Some of the shoes produced by Pine Kazi. [Photo: Courtesy]
What Inspired the Creation of Pine Kazi?
The three noted that the idea to start Pine Kazi came after they visited a pineapple farm in Thika and saw huge piles of waste.
The huge amount of waste prompted them to explore ideas for possible ventures they could start. Initially, they created bags but later ventured into shoes which leverages their joint creative strength.
Who does What?
The three have assigned themselves roles in the organisation based on their strengths. Langat, who's the numbers person, is in charge of finance operations, while Angela oversees marketing operations.
On her part, Olivia is the CEO, meaning she handles the executive part of the business.
File image of Pine Kazi founders; Mike (L), Angela (C) and Olivia (R). [Photo: Courtesy]
Awards and Recognition
Their creative innovation has seen them receive recognition and awards such as 2021 Fashionomics Africa contest winner, Hult Prize winner at the 2023 Nairobi Summit, and the 2019 Amman Prize regional winners among others.
Pine Kazi hopes to expand into an international brand that not only creates employment for the youth in Kenya but across the continent.
It also hopes to leverage technology and expand the scope of its products, owing to the huge amount of pineapple waste at its disposal.
