We are finally back in Rwanda. We had a long, but very fruitful visit to the US and enjoyed seeing family, old friends and making lots of new ones. Our team has expanded greatly and our vision is clearer than ever.
One of the coolest events so far this year was Ilea’s television debut on QVC! It was a tremendous success and certainly adds a lot of credibility to the KEZA brand. We are very grateful to everyone that made the QVC show happen, especially Jack Comstock that pushed so hard for us to be on the show. Thank you!
My long time friend Justin Burns has joined the team as Vice President of KEZA. Justin is extremely skilled in business management and development and we’re excited to bring his wisdom (and friendship) into the KEZA Team.
We are also excited to welcome our new Director of Partner Relations, Karen Peltier. She is extremely accomplished in sales and merchandising and is a former procurement agent for SAMS Club, ShopNBC, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, and many others. Karen’s expertise adds the edge we need to get into some of these department stores.
As you know, we’re working hard to establish KEZA as a competitive fashion brand. In order to do this, we have recruited a new Fashion Director! Vanessa Gonzalez has just joined our team and brings with her some serious expertise in fashion. Vanessa will be joining us in Rwanda this spring and will then liaise between BURANGA and the fashion world in the West.
Our US team is solid and BURANGA Women’s Cooperative is souring. We made a big splash on QVC (sold out in four minutes!), we have a new (more user friendly) website going up in two weeks, and four new fashion lines coming out this year (including a men’s line)! We also plan to visit Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mombasa, Kenya to bring on new partners near the end of this year. So stay tuned for more adventures from Africa and more fashion news from the US.
Most sincerely,
Jared
