Thanks to Sseko Designs, an ethical fashion brand founded in 2010 and dedicated to empowering young women, women in Uganda are becoming educated and financially stable, ultimately reducing the poverty cycle and diminishing the sex industry in East Africa.
According to the brand’s website, Sseko designs is dedicated to providing a source of income for underprivileged women in Uganda who are extremely talented and possess great potential to excel in high school and college but doesn’t have the financial means to do so.
Utilizing a financially self-sustaining model, Sseko elevates depreciated East African women from all walks of life to by allowing them to work for their company during the gap between high school and college, while ensuring that 50% of their salary is set aside for college tuition. They discovered that women were entitled to give away 90% of their money to their families, prolonging the poverty cycle.
Agnes Netunze, the manager of sourcing and ordering local materials for the eco-friendly line, states her message to these women is “I don’t need a husband to survive”.
New York Daily News reports the founder, Liz Bohannon, went from selling shoes to other accessories. She currently has a team of 50 women including her husband, who quit his tech job to help run the brand. Sold in the U.S and online, Sseko’s ribbon-laced leather sandals are $60, colorful scarves are $50, and hobo bags made in Ethiopia are $190.
Photo Courtesy of SSeko Designs
Photo Courtesy of SSeko Designs
Photo Courtesy of SSeko Designs