Khadija Mohamed-Churchill

In Nairobi’s industrial area, motorcycles piled high with bright yellow plastic tubs zip through the early morning traffic to deliver food staples like flour, cooking oil, and pulses to women who have set up makeshift stalls to cook meals for low-income workers. The street food vendors place their orders the day before via an app and pay for their purchases with mobile payment system M-Pesa. 

This tech-enabled business-to-business food distribution service was the brainchild of Khadija Mohamed-Churchill, who founded Kwanza Tukule (which means “first, let’s eat” in Swahili) to address the lack of affordable and nutritious food for people living in Kenya’s growing informal settlements. 

Mohamed-Churchill says building a social enterprise requires both a big heart and a clear strategic focus. In an in-depth discussion with Jean-Francois Manzoni, she reveals what motivates her and offers advice for other impact entrepreneurs on how to build a committed team and attract investors.