Geoffrey Mulei, the CEO of Inkisha, describes himself as an entrepreneur with a heart for Africa. Inkisha is an innovative startup designed to increase access to eco-friendly packaging among African consumers by partnering with advertisers and innovative brands. Geoffrey grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, where he was exposed to different forms of innovation. His exposure and drive resulted in his desire to benefit his community by offering eco-friendly packaging alternatives.
Inskisha began as a startup with a big dream: to make it possible for every African consumer to access free eco-friendly packaging as an alternative to plastic bags. By selling advertising options on their bags, they are able to supply small and medium sized retailers with the bags for free which enables wide distribution.
Presently his venture employs 17 young persons. Inkisha distributes about 3,500,000 free bags monthly. Only charging for advertising, they are able to incentivize retailers to shy away from plastic bags. Not only is Geoffrey providing employment, he is doing so while reducing the nation’s carbon footprint. Geoffrey describes Inkisha as a social enterprise because they are able to measure their positive impact on society.
Despite having to deal with a pro-plastic culture, Geoffrey’s team has been able to succeed by partnering with a number of companies– slowly changing the culture to be more accepting of eco-friendly packaging. He hopes to establish more partnerships, and to reach over 100 million consumers daily by 2020.
Geoffrey says: “By making environmentally friendly packaging free and accessible to people, we not only save the environment –by providing an eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags–but we also helped retailers save a significant part of their daily revenue.”
