Navalayo Osembo - Creating the Kenyan Running Shoe (Enda)

New York Marathon...Boston Marathon...London Marathon...Tokyo Marathon...you name it!  It seems every year, no matter the city, it’s a Kenyan runner bringing home first place. And that’s because, well…Kenyans are really, really good long distance runners.  And as we’ll hear in this episode, it’s because…yes…the high altitudes, but also because running is such a big part of the Kenyan social fabric. Running means something to do, it means employment, and it means, for some...an escape. And because of all this, we've seen some of the best runners on the planet come from Kenya…but the running shoes on their feet? Nike…Adidas…New Balance...? From Kenya?  Not so much. Which begs the question: If the world’s greatest runners come from Kenya…shouldn’t the world’s greatest running shoes come from Kenya, too? Well, to answer succinctly, there hasn’t really ever been a Kenyan running shoe to compete with the big names… Until now. Meet Enda, which launched on Kickstarter in 2016 as a 'Made in Kenya' running shoe. Enda, in Swahili?  It means 'go'…and in the past 3 years? Oh...it’s been 'go' all right...no better, it's been 'run' for Founder Navalayo Osembo-Ombati and Enda, seeing three digit growth and massive headlines ever since 2019. But to get here…to a point where Nava and Enda aren’t just making an awesome running shoe, but instead making Kenya proud? It hasn't been easy... It’s been, for lack of a better phrase: A grueling, and ever-impressive marathon.