Startup Story
Flacia Wanjiru Nyamu is the founder and ceo of Woven Link Africa, with 19 years of combined experience in youth capacity building programs. Her greatest accomplishments are in setting up systems and structures for design, delivery and management of vocational education, entrepreneurship, and employability programs. She has worked with various organizations in Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, and UK.
Flacia believes in the boundless potential of young people. Her purpose is driven by the impact of cultivating hope and providing a platform to access knowledge, skills, and opportunities for creating social and economic wealth. In Woven Link Africa, Flacia brings her core areas of expertise to the business. This includes product and business development; development and delivery of market-oriented and learner based programs formal and informal learning; Quality improvement of training, learning and assessment tools; Quality improvement for work-Based Learning strategies; Training trainers of trainers; Delivery of track and trace for project impact the monitoring; Leveraging on policies to advance youth access to employment, job creation and wealth creation opportunities; Leveraging on technology and Mentorship programs amongst others. Flacia has an MBA degree (Governance and Management of Micro and Small Enterprises), a BA degree (Honours) in Design Practice, and a Diploma in Clothing Technology. Professional training in helping learners to think, training skills, and working in development, SME (export trade, entrepreneurship, online marketing); Skills for All-Education for employment, entrepreneurship and empowerment. She is also a Commonwealth Fellow in Management.
LoA chatted to the passion-driven impact entrepreneur, Flacia Wanjiru Nyamu, this month to find out more about her journey and her vision for the future.
“Woven Link Africa believes in elevating young people’s talents and nurturing youth programs that re-connect vocational education, entrepreneurship, and employability.”
What does your company do?
Woven Link Africa is a Kenyan registered training and consulting business whose key focus is to elevate young people’s talents and the integration of technology into youth programs that create entrepreneurship and employment opportunities. Woven Link Africa believes in elevating young people’s talents and nurturing youth programs that re-connect vocational education, entrepreneurship, and employability. Also, provide all youth with greater opportunities for entrepreneurship employment and uptake of technology solutions. The Woven Link Africa business model is 80% for profit and 20% social enterprise that focuses on five actors. The model enables the business to fund the social enterprise activities through profits which is key for sustainability for social impact.
(a) Youth led enterprises or organizations
(b) Enterprises or organizations with a larger percentage of youth staff
(c) Organizations that provide products and services for youth
(d) Regulatory institutions
(e) Financial institutions and Sacco/credit unions
What inspired you to start your company?
After working as a creative technologist, hybrid freelance professional for 18 years with a key focus on integration innovation and strategy in my combined expertise of Skills Development Expert, Educator, Entrepreneur, Project, and Programs Management, it was time to achieve my goal of institutionalizing my experience, knowledge, and skills.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
We elevate the product and service offering capacity for institutions, private sector and individuals that provide solutions to create employment and self-employment opportunities. Woven Link Africa draws its inspiration from quality woven cloth that is able to withstand considerable wash and wear from interlocking quality yarn. We believe the interlocking linkage of quality vocational; entrepreneurship, employability and integration of technology provides youth human capital that is innovative, resilient self-motivated and agents for change.
Tell us a little about your team
I have a virtual team of trainers and consultants who I collaborate with on assignments on a needs basis. I am currently the only full-time staff member. However, the beauty of the virtual team is they also contribute to product development and are my think tank in reviewing our offerings and in the development of strategy.
“The Woven Link Africa model enables the business to fund the social enterprise activities through profits which is key for sustainability for social impact.”
“We believe the interlocking linkage of quality vocational; entrepreneurship, employability and integration of technology provides youth human capital that is innovative, resilient, self-motivated and agents for change.”
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I registered and started my business in January 2020 and it has been both good and tough. It has been a great learning opportunity, and at the same time tough due to the COVID-19 pandemic that brought my sector to a close from the lockdowns and restrictions. As a business we were able to grow our network and identified innovative ways for growing the social enterprise during the lockdown. I am happy that experience has further refined our service. Yes I have an entrepreneurial background and we were encouraged to identify opportunities for self-employment.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
Build on the company’s portfolio and provide services that align to the labour market, organisation needs and the need for innovation during disruptive times to create impact in youth employment within Africa.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
I have the ability to use my hybrid professional knowledge, skills, and experience to achieve my goal of institutionalizing my knowledge, skills, and experience as part of professional growth. Secondly, I have learnt so much and gained extra skills through the entrepreneurial journey.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Believe in yourself, follow your instincts, and learn from the start-up process.
Contact or follow Woven Link Africa
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL info@wovenlink,co.ke
Why LoA loves it…
Passion driven women entrepreneurs tend to create impact because they are hard-wired to want to make a difference in the world, and see business as a way of making that impact happen. Flacia Wanjiru Nyamu believes in the boundless potential of youth, and therefore has created her social enterprise to positively impact the lives of young people who can be the change in their communities. Flacia is bringing her vision to life, and as a result, changing lives and creating opportunities for the youth to thrive. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa