by Fladwel Rawinji
The date is May 21, 2021. At approximately 10:30am, we officially received our registration certificate from the Registrar of Companies. And just like that, JENGE Kulture was officially born. While it was a small moment on paper, it was the start of something much bigger.
Looking back, it’s clear JENGE Kulture was a response — both personal and collective — to the context we were living in. The year before 2021, everything had changed. COVID-19 shook the globe. People, businesses, entire nations found themselves in survival mode. The creative sector, like so many others, was hit hard. Some parts of it grew, but many parts broke.
Here’s my personal Solopreneur Story
After nearly a decade working as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer, I started a creative studio in late 2019 — focused on helping SMEs and nonprofits tell their stories visually. While I was relatively great at my craft, and while freelancing was already paying well, running an actual structured (registered) business was a whole other beast! You know… no one prepares you for the many hats you have to wear running a creative business. Managing finances. Doing sales. Marketing. Client account and relationship management. Making sure you’re tax compliant. Legal stuff. HR stuff. And then, just a few months in — boom. COVID. My studio was still so new and everything felt fragile. Those early months were about survival. For me, and for so many creatives I knew. It was among the most trying times of my creative career — being an entrepreneur based in a foreign country at the height of COVID was super-isolating and scary!
And here’s the thing — this story isn’t unique. Across Kenya, there are thousands of young creatives who, like me, are talented, driven, passionate about their craft, and working hard to earn a decent living from it. But as they navigate the troubled waters of freelance work and solopreneurship, reality hits: studio rent is expensive. Business permits cost money. You try to stay afloat, but margins are razor-thin. You have no health insurance — a simple illness means you have to pause everything. Close shop, even.
That’s the context JENGE Kulture was started within, and why we were founded: To support creatives who (like me) were trying to leverage their talent to build the lives they desire, making and keeping a sustainable income while navigating and overcoming obstacles.
Our Journey of Learning: We started curious…
Since we started in 2021, we’ve been on a journey of learning. We did not launch with a polished plan or all the right answers. We started with big questions and a deep desire to figure things out — together. We rolled up our sleeves and got to work.
What We Tried (and What We Learned)
From day one, JENGE Kulture has been a big experiment. We started small, took bold swings, and learned by doing. Here’s a glimpse of what that journey looked like.
JENGE Creator Space, Embakasi (2021–2023)
We opened our first doors in Embakasi with a simple idea: give young Nairobi-based creators a space to work, learn, connect, and build real businesses. That was the heart behind the JENGE Creator Space — our pilot hub and physical home for creative ambition.
It was alive with energy. People found collaborators, landed paid gigs, grew their skills, and made new friends. Bringing together a community of over 40 Creators, JENGE Creator Space showed us the power of space and community. But we also learned something important: tools and space alone aren’t enough. They’re a great start — but they’re not the whole story.
JENGE Academy (2022–2023)
While running the Creator Space, we launched JENGE Academy. We wanted to go deeper — offering training, coaching, and mentorship to help creatives turn their talents into income and livelihoods.
And it worked, to a point. We saw real growth, real excitement. But we also hit a wall. Training is great — but without access to markets, capital, and ongoing support systems, it only takes you so far. We needed to think bigger.
AFARA Pro (2023–2024)
So we did. In 2023, we launched AFARA — which means “bridge” in Yoruba. The idea was to close the gap between talent and opportunity. We built a curated database of creatives and began connecting them to paid gigs through our partner/client network.
The impact was clear: more work meant more income. But again, we learned something. Income helps — but it’s not enough on its own. Without systems to protect and grow that income (to help creatives build sustainable wealth, not just hustle for the next gig) the impact isn’t sustainable.
Hitting Pause and Reset
By early 2024, it was clear: we needed to hit pause and take stock. We stepped back to reflect on the journey, and asked hard questions about our role — and how best we could show up for creatives in a fast-changing, complex ecosystem.
That moment of reflection led us here.
JENGE Kulture 2.0
We’re stepping into a new chapter. A refined vision. A reset strategy. One that’s deeply rooted in solidarity.
Here’s what we now know for sure: creative professionals are stronger together. But too often, the ecosystem is fragmented — isolated freelancers, underfunded studios, burnt-out founders. And fragmentation weakens us.
So, we’ve gone back to the drawing board. We’ve revised our mission, sharpened our theory of change, and established a new commitment — to building solidarity systems for sustainable economies.
What does this mean?
It means believing that young people (especially those working in the creative and cultural economy) thrive best in strong, collaborative systems. Not short-term handouts. Not one-off programs. But long-term, community-rooted support that builds resilience, inclusion, and shared power.
Our New Focus: Three Big Ideas
- Solidarity: We rise by lifting each other. We are better and stronger together than we are, each on their own. Shared goals, shared risks, shared wins.
- Sustainability: Creatives deserve more than survival — we’re aiming for long-term prosperity and resilience.
- Systems Thinking: We’re designing cooperative, interconnected structures that support creators in a holistic, long-term way.
A Pan-African Vision for the Future
JENGE is short for TUJENGE — Swahili for “let us build.” That word still guides us. And what we’re building isn’t just local — it’s Pan-African.
We imagine a future where young people — not just in Kenya, but across the continent and African diaspora — thrive in resilient local economies. Where youth-led businesses and collectives share resources, invest together, build cooperatives, and grow prosperity from the ground up.
Right now, we’re focusing on creative economies — but the bigger picture? Youth-led solidarity in any sector has the power to change everything.
So, What’s Next?
In the coming years, JENGE Kulture will focus on:
- Building solidarity infrastructure for the creative economy — think cooperatives, community funds, shared services, and support networks.
- Strengthening financial resilience among creators — so they can live with dignity (even at old age) and invest in Africa’s growing creative sector.
- Supporting the growth of solidarity-driven creative enterprises — with incubation, shared resources, and practical tools to help them last.
One Final Thing…
This isn’t a flashy relaunch 🙂 It’s a soft announcement — and a bold shift.
We’re not letting go of our purpose — we’re evolving how we go about achieving it. And we’re doing it with the communities, creators, and collectives we serve and who’ve inspired us from day one.
Here’s to JENGE Kulture 2.0 — and to building resilient, inclusive, solidarity-driven.
Let’s build! Together.
Fladwel Rawinji is a co-founder and the Head of Strategy & Innovation at JENGE Kulture.