When Kenyan Jennifer Mulli lost her husband 20 years ago she quickly realised it was not going to be easy as a single parent to raise and support her four children.

So it came as a welcome blessing when five years ago, her 16-year-old son Anthony began selling Kenyan crafts to help put his two sisters through school.

At the time Mrs Mulli had no idea that her son’s attempt to help the family would result in her becoming director of a thriving family business, ‘Katchy Kollections’.

“It started more as a hobby and became a business two years ago. We didn’t take it seriously until we realised it was getting popular and people were beginning to like the products and we were getting more enquiries,” said Ms Mulli.

Today Katchy Kollections has grown its market share from a couple of friends to hundreds of clients, some as far as in the USA and Holland, and three outlets in Kenya.

Thanks to the business Ms Mulli’s two daughters were able to complete their education and she has now turned her attention to helping other disadvantaged women in Kenya.

“We work with girls and women from the slums. We started with one girl five years ago and now we have 20. There is so much demand for work but we can’t employ all of them,” she said.

As one of the businesswomen exhibiting at Spring Fair International, Ms Mulli hopes to boost her international trade so she can employ more disadvantaged girls.

“This programme has helped me greatly in giving me the information I need to prepare for the fair, to be able to understand the market I am coming to and to be able to tap into that market,” she explained.

“It will leverage my understanding of where my products stand in relation to others.”

Ms Mulli stressed that market access and greater support is needed for her and other women to compete in the global arena.

“This business can bring so much revenue to the country if women are supported,” she said