Just this month, Funkidz, the furniture maker of children products, received government recognition from the Ministry of Environment for their efforts towards conservation of forests.
On their Facebook page, Funkidz shared the news with the world.
“We are humbled to receive a certificate of recognition from the Government Of Kenya for our innovative solutions towards addressing environmental challenges and our contribution to sustainable consumption and production.”
The post continued to say that with the ban of timber logging in Kenya, the company has embarked on creating a new green line of products which they develop using sustainable materials and what they termed as the Circular Economy model.
The maker of brightly coloured, innovatively thought out carpentry, Funkidz was founded in 2010 as an SME. They have eventually grown to become one of the biggest children’s furniture manufacturers in Kenya.
In their efforts to conserve the environment, they are using particleboard, medium density fibreboard, wood and fixtures to come up with baby cots, wardrobes, bedside cabinets, chairs and tables. Their latest addition is well thought out library furniture shaped in
Wanjiru Waweru Waithaka, the founder of Funkidz, calls herself a creative serial entrepreneur. According to her LinkedIn profile, Wanjiru has studied interior architecture at the Glasgow School of Art in University of Glasgow, United Kingdom.
In this interview, she explained why she ventured into a unique children’s brand furniture after After 11 years of running Amber Africa and Dawn of creation:
“I encountered challenges while shopping around for furniture for my first born child because I kept failing to find the furniture that I wanted. This combined with my passion for design led to the founding of this business.”
Their innovative thinking helped them bypass the Government logging ban on timber, to continue production through sourcing of alternative materials.
She buys her raw materials from supplier of interior decorative building materials PG Bison, who sell the parts according to client needs.
“Their products are obtained from sustainable and renewable man-made forests in South Africa and do not affect Kenya’s forest cover,” she said.
With the help of their design and production teams combined with modern technology at the factory, Funkidz churns out furniture that meets international standards.
In their nine years of existence, they are now venturing into the export market, with Rwanda and Uganda buying their products, beating the notion that Kenyan furniture is made to poor standards.
“Some Kenyans like imported goods as opposed to locally manufactured products due to quality concerns,” she said.
However, she called on Kenyans to correct their own misconception that local products are substandard through more public awareness on the high quality achieved by manufacturers.
“Customers and all end users should know that these products meet international standards as they are made by trained personnel with the requisite skills,” she said.
