Popat sisters stamp their Signature on gift collections

If we introduce these women as Popats, you will attribute their success to their family: a vast empire which owns a cross section of businesses in Kenya including Simba Colt Motors, Imperial Bank, 20th Century, luxury hotel and tented camp properties, and most recently an auto subsidiary called Xylon Motors.

But Shelina and Shenaz are not following that line of family business. Instead, they have followed their passion as event organisers with their flagship company - Contact Network.

When you meet them, the sisters are not only stylish, confident and extremely business savvy but have the benefit of good contacts in Kenya’s affluent social and business circles.

Shelina is the beautiful linguist who modelled as a student for the renowned fashion house Christian Dior, worked briefly as Tourist Liaison Officer at the Kenyan Embassy in Paris, and was Marketing Manager at Pollman’s Tour Operators before starting a number of companies in travel, design and gambling.

Shenaz is the talented chef who discovered her love of food at an early age from her mother who handed down to her secret family recipes. She managed Exotica Restaurant in Rwanda for over 14 years, and her skills grew as she mastered international cuisine across the globe.

In 1994, the two sisters combined their talents and formed Contact Network, a company that handles corporate, social and state functions. They went on to build a list of enviable corporate clients including LG Electronics, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Imperial Bank, Hewlett Packard and Jubilee Insurance, in addition to owning the coveted Miss India-Kenya franchise.

They also arranged spectacular state events in Kenya and Dubai where they organised the Dubai Golf Classic in 2002.

Buoyed by the success of event organising, Shelina and Shenaz started a business five years later which sourced gift items from markets like Dubai, China, India, South Africa and Europe. Their ideas and exquisite presentations amassed a large following among Kenya’s corporate sector, and today, 13 years later, they supply 200 of Kenya’s top companies with over 10,000 gift items every year.

This year, the sisters have taken their business to the next level.

“I was the market leader,” said Shelina “I was the one who started packaging gifts, and everyone has caught up. So how do I move a notch higher? This is it.”

She continued: “I realised that I am seeing too much of China, Dubai and South Africa, and that we, as Kenyans, are not doing our own inspired gifts. So I went to Spinners Web, I went to Banana Box and I saw a lot of nice African made items but there was nothing corporate. And I thought we need to ‘corporate’ it.”

Shelina identified 11 artisan groups from Kibera, Machakos, and Zanzibar with whom she developed a collection of fully hand-made African inspired items. On September 20, with an initial investment of Sh2 million, the sisters launched Signature Kenya, a collection of uniquely African items targeting the corporate client.

“Everything is local,” said Shelina. “It’s all about Kenya. That’s why it’s called Signature Kenya. I am stuck on the success of being Kenyan and having a Kenyan and African spirit.”

The line, she boasts, is fully authentic from its design to materials used, and includes tea, bar and desk sets, condiment containers, wine holders, stationery boxes, blanket throw-overs, towel sets, metal trays and candle stands, all made from natural materials of bone, horn, shell, wood, leather, hide, banana fibre, fabric, soap stone, scrap metal and calabash.

Her first idea for the name was Buy Kenya, which she hoped would work both as Buy Kenya and By Kenya. It was, however, already registered and so she developed Signature Kenya.

What sets the collection apart is the corporate touch. “There are lots of people in Kenya who can prepare artisan formations whether it is Maasai beads, necklaces or earrings but we are hoping that companies will feel inspired when they put a stationery set that is locally made on their tables.”

The sisters intend to continue investing in the local creative industry. “By 2013, I want to get 10 to 12 artisans together and register a second company called “+254”, the Kenyan code,” said Shelina.

“Local artists, artisans, painters will be shareholders; they will buy into the company. Never has there been a business that launches a product in Kenya made by the Kenyan people for the corporate market.”

Shelina and Shenaz have also renovated their Peponi Road offices into a showroom where the items can be displayed to their greatest advantage. The design is strongly African, and boasts glass mosaic on the bar counter, black and white patterned floors and pillars, and modern African art.

“I wanted to go with earth colours which are the colours of Africa; reds, yellows and oranges,” said Shelina, “but I have a very colourful collection so in redecorating the showroom, I kept the colours light. If everything speaks loudly, you lose contact.”