Caroline Ng’ang’a Omondi, the CEO of Crafts With Meaning, secured a spot at one of the largest Business-to-Business (B2B) trade fairs in New York known as the New York Now Summer Market.
The CEO, who was among the 36 Kenyans that were interviewed to fill the four positions that fell vacant at the Independence Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in the run-up to the August 2022 Election, attended the exhibition seeking retailer to sell the exotic products in the US market.
Crafts With Meaning is a Kenyan-based organisation that engages artisans from Kenya and Uganda in making products that are then retailed and sold in other countries.
“We upraise artisans to meet current trends and quality standards in the international market and take up the challenging process of seeking retail partners and the intricate export process,” the company announced in a statement.
Caroline stated that the organisation joined the tradeshow to seek retailers and other wholesalers to partner with the business in distributing products in the United States.
“We are part of the fair until Wednesday, February 8, in the evening. All ready to receive customers,” she stated.
As the head of the organisation, Caroline has worked with women from Makueni and Turkana in Kenya to craft products like Kiondos, shoes, tote bags, and laundry baskets among many other products as a way of creating economic opportunities for African talents.
“Every piece of craft you find on our platform has a deeper meaning and is traceable to one of our talented artisans.
“In addition to the cultural heritage our pieces carry with them and the beauty and life they inject, our crafts are special because they eliminate poverty for grassroots communities in Africa using traditional artisan talent,” the organisation added.
Moreover, the organisation stated that its production is geared toward conserving the planet by using recycled raw materials for production.
So far, the company does business with a number of retail outlets.
In addition to her entrepreneurial roles, Caroline served on various boards including the Tourism Fund board among others.
She celebrated her milestone of being part of the 36 interviewed for positions in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in 2021, stating that she was determined to serve.
“It was great presenting myself to the vetting panel for the position of the IEBC,” Caroline stated on LinkedIn.
