chpter. champions
chpter. Champions is the official chpter. podcast where successful entrepreneurs and e-commerce experts share their experiences and practical advice for growing their businesses online. Each week, hosts Tesh Mbaabu and Mark Kiarie invite successful founders to share their inspirational stories.
chpter. is an African technology company. We enable businesses who sell through social platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram to manage their inventory across multiple channels, collect orders and payments seamlessly and grow their revenues through better customer engagement.
chpter. champions
#019 Cris Njoki of IKOJN | How $2 and African Ingenuity Built a Global Fashion Brand
Cris Njoki shares her motivating journey with IKOJN, a leading Kenyan fashion brand, and what it entails to be in an environment full of challenges, growth strategies, and a more dynamic fashion industry.
HIGHLIGHTS:
🌟 IKOJN's rise as a famed fashion brand in Kenya speaks volumes about its branding, innovation in design, and a sharp eye on the local market.
📈 Striking a strategic balance between product quality and brand storytelling has been central to creating a loyal customer base.
🤝 Building a team that is passionate and skilled has been our means of ensuring that our products are always top-notch and that our customers are always satisfied.
💡 Cris always emphasized the role of being resilient, adaptive, and always learning in continuously surfacing from problems that can hinder business operations, such as market saturation and changing consumer trends.
🌍 Cris views IKOJN as a brand that is not only dominant in Kenya but has a chance to make a mark on the world scene in terms of fashion, representing African creativity and culture.
🎨 The way that the brand melds contemporary trends with traditional African elements makes IKOJN distinct in a very competitive and noisy world of fashion.
📱 The regular use of social media and digital marketing made things a lot easier for IKOJN. It also helped the brand get into the larger notice.
KEY INSIGHTS:
🛠️ Quality of Product over Marketing: Cris tells us that all you will ever need marketing for is getting noticed, but it's your product's quality that will get you reorders and keep your customers loyal; a good product markets by itself from the word of mouth and reorders.
📊 Learning from Challenges: Cris's journey goes a long way to exemplify that resilience in business is very important. Every challenge in production or the marketplace turned out to be a learning curve in building a business model and strategy strong enough for IKOJN.
👥 Team Collaboration: Building a team that shared the brand's vision and values has been critical to the success of IKOJN. Cris is a firm believer that the arena of innovation and high standards can only be fostered through trust and collaboration.
🌱 Community Involvement: Involvement in the community has really been an impetus for IKOJN's growth; connecting with customers at a personal level is something that Cris believes in. It has really helped to make the brand become part of a strong, supportive community.
🌈 Vision for Growth: Driven by the global recognition for African fashion, Cris oozes. It's this vision that drives the dynamism behind her passion and guides the strategies for IKOJN's expansion, set to position the brand on international platforms.
🧵 Design Innovation: IKOJN sustains its potential through innovative design integration of the current contemporary fashion trend with African cultural features. The compelling blend made the brand carve out an identity in the market.
📱 Digital Engagement: IKOJN has created its brand awareness through a robust digital strategy, utilizing social media and influencer partnerships.