Kenyan Ken Karangi (pictured) is making a splash in his nation’s art scene by running a successful distribution business that brings art to the people at affordable prices, and his business is growing, reports CNN.
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Karangi was a website designer in 2011, when a friend sent him artwork via e-mail.
While Karangi enjoyed the art, the price of the items was prohibitive, spurring an important question: how could he make art available to the common individual?
By 2013, Karangi quit his job to work with six local artists in Nairobi by selling their artwork (pictured) through his Facebook page.
Explaining his business model, Karangi says, “We create custom-made items, items that you don’t pick from the shelf, but you create them to suit your needs.”
And the venture quickly took off.
Since then, business has been steadily on the rise and in his second year Karangi almost doubled his revenue to $20,000, a threshold he has already surpassed in 2015.
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The business, called “ByHand Products,” now has its own website and sells six items per day on average. Karangi also opened a showroom in Nairobi for customers who’d like to see the items before buying.
And the ever-growing middle class in Kenya provides a steady clientele for Karangi’s artists.
Karangi adds, “It feels great to see a passion growing into a business idea. The market is growing well given that Kenya’s middle class is on the rise. I think people are really embracing art; they are really embracing things they can be able to put in to their houses.”
Watch Karangi’s story here:
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