ABOUT THE
NDEZA COLLECTIVE
Braiding Nairobi is now under the Ndeza Collective. Same ownership, same stories, a new direction.
Since creating "Braiding Nairobi" in September 2022, we've realized the greater need for storytelling and social entrepreneurship centering African women. Through our brand new company, we will be combining the power of storytelling with technology, accessibility, and the gig economy, to expand past the borders of Kenyatta Market, Nairobi, and Kenya. This is a truly innovative platform. You can download the app on the App Store or Google Playstore and order now.
About
Braiding Nairobi
As a Fulbright-National Geographic Storytelling Fellow, Natachi Onwuamaegbu explored the economic opportunities in Nairobi’s Kenyatta market by interviewing female hair braiders and the key players who made decisions that dictated the lives of the hair braiders. Kenyatta market is a place for Kenyan women to find economic liberation – young women can start businesses and support their families – but it can also be a place of economic entrapment. Women were paid impossibly low wages under bosses with no legal responsibility and had no healthcare or job security. Natachi created a series of articles profiling at least 20 people along with creating a series of videos, photo collections, audio pieces, and a book. Follow along with her work here, on Instagram, or on her National Geographic Blog.