Reddendi: Helping you support African education, and look good doing it
At Movemeback HQ, we have often pondered the question: “how as a man, can you support African education and look good doing it?” We think we have found the answer! Reddendi is a new startup founded by two London Business School students, Neeraj Dalmia and Stefan Humphries. Reddendi is a premium menswear brand that was created with a core vision of giving back to education. They have started with luxury neckties – for each tie purchased from their African range, they will donate enough money from the proceeds to help to educate a child in Africa for a year.
We asked the founders to tell us more. To support, do check out their Kickstarter campaign, and pledge to receive one of their many rewards.
Tell us about your company and your journey to date
We started working on the Reddendi concept at the beginning of our MBAs at London Business School. After a year of research, constant changes to the business model, speaking to a number of charity partners and various versions of the design, we were ready to get going. We started executing in January this year, visiting various factories and selecting the best one to ensure we were producing the best quality silk printed ties. It has been a very exciting journey. There have been many challenges on the road to the launch, but we are really excited to be up and running.
Tell us more about how are you contributing to Africa’s social and/or economic development
Every Reddendi Africa tie purchased supports a child’s education in Africa, specifically across four countries initially: South Sudan, Somalia, Uganda and Kenya. Our charity partner for our Africa range is the African Education Trust (AET). The AET is an amazing charity that has been helping with the education of children in Africa since 1958.
We believe that to create a sustainable change from both a social and an economical point of view, education is key. Hence our endeavour at Reddendi is to focus on the education systems of under developed and developing countries. We would love to expand our reach and impact in Africa, by supporting education in more countries and through further ranges and products.
What is your vision for Reddendi?
Our vision for Reddendi is clear: to continue to make the highest quality products that give back to education. We want to expand our geographic reach and work with more countries and charity partners. Additionally we want to design and manufacture further ranges and type of products to do the same. In the medium term we’d also really love to move into women’s accessories.
If and when we expand, our core ethos of helping a child gain access to education per product is key.
What are your top tips for starting an African focused business?
Africa provides tremendous opportunities both from business and social point of view. At this stage the only tip that we can give is to do things in Africa with pure passion and belief. Do things because you really believe it is the right thing to do. If that’s the case the African community will support you.
How can the Movemeback community get involved with Reddendi?
Movemeback is a fantastic network of influential and inspiring people. We would love to hear from people who have ideas of other potential collaboration options with amazing grass root charities focused on education. In time we would also consider manufacturing certain product lines in Africa and would love to tie up with any other entrepreneurs or business owners who might be interested.
If the Movemeback community likes the Reddendi products and also the ethos behind the Africa range it would be amazing if they could share amongst their networks, or even go ahead and purchase a luxury handmade silk tie from our African range (https://www.reddendi.com/collections/all).