By Evalyne Ndirangu
Kigali, Rwanda – Kevine Kagirimpundu smiles as the scent of rubber hits her nose. Around her, sparks fly in tandem with the sharp sizzle of a blade cutting into an old tyre, the worn tread being reborn, destined to become the sole of a new shoe. In another corner, a worker polishes a freshly finished pair; sleek, modern and unmistakably African.
One might think Kevine would be accustomed to the smell, given that her days revolve around her shoe-making factory, Uzuri K&Y, but nostalgia still persists. The scent takes her back, reminding her of her grandfather, a farmer who wore almost similar rubber shoes as he worked the farm.
A Twitter critic once quipped that Kevine and her co-founder, Ysolde Shimwe, had “taken the crude design to Harvard.” It’s not far off. What began as a student project has evolved into a pan-African footwear brand that transforms discarded tyres into durable soles, elevated with locally sourced leather and fabric. Today, the stylish and sustainable shoes are sold throughout Africa, Europe and the United States.
But Uzuri K&Y is more than a fashion brand; it’s a blueprint for inclusive innovation. Since inception, over 1,800 youth have built their livelihoods following their training in entrepreneurial and technical skills, and more than 40,000 discarded car tyres now walk the streets as shoes, with the company averting over 200 tonnes of carbon emissions in the process. The company has also built a workforce that’s 83% women, and stands as a beacon of what circular innovation looks like in Africa; practical, profitable and proudly local.
How a pile of tyres became a dream factory
Uzuri K&Y began in 2013 as a university design project for Kevine and Ysolde, both design students driven by a desire to create sustainable African fashion that reflected local realities, but who also shared concerns about addressing their community’s challenges. They were keen to create “something bigger than just a fashion brand.”
“I come from a creative family, but I also studied science,” Kevine notes. “I wanted to figure out how to use my creativity to address the most pressing challenges in my community.”
Rwanda, rebuilding itself after 1994, faced unique challenges: a severe skills gap that left entire industries struggling to find qualified workers, high youth unemployment, and a mounting environmental crisis caused by insufficient waste management.
The inspiration behind Uzuri came from recognising an overlooked opportunity: used car tyres were accumulating in landfills across Rwanda, creating environmental hazards. Meanwhile, unemployment rates among young people, especially women, remained stubbornly high.
What emerged was a sophisticated circular economy model that simultaneously repurposes environmental waste into value, while addressing social challenges.
The circular economy innovation
Uzuri’s approach extends far beyond recycling. It’s where creation begins and where waste becomes the groundwork for economic opportunity.
The process begins with tyre collection from landfills and waste sites across Rwanda. What started as an informal collection has evolved into a network of registered cooperatives that Uzuri helped establish, and these cooperatives now serve as consistent suppliers, turning waste collection into dignified employment while ensuring a sustainable flow of raw materials.
Next comes the transformation: a meticulous process of preparing, cleaning, cutting, and integrating the processed tyres with other sustainable materials to create footwear that is African-inspired, eco-friendly and globally competitive.
Building through persistent challenges
Turning waste into value, however, was only half the battle, and building a company out of it proved far more taxing, especially during Uzuri’s formative years. Traditional financiers, for instance, showed little interest in supporting a young, female-led company with an unproven concept.
Perhaps the most significant challenge emerged from Rwanda’s unique post-1994 context, as the country faced a gap in skilled labour that affected nearly every industry. This shortage meant that Uzuri couldn’t simply hire qualified workers but had to train them. Turning this gap into a competitive advantage, Uzuri built its own talent pipeline, and training on technical and entrepreneurial skills became central to its business model.
Over twelve years, this programme has trained more than 1,800 young people and empowered trainees to kickstart their own ventures, creating a multiplier effect extending far beyond Uzuri K&Y’s direct employment.
A partnership rooted in trust
As Uzuri grew, so did its ambitions. That’s when M-Kyala Capital stepped in. Uzuri’s blend of circularity and inclusion aligned perfectly with M-Kyala’s purpose-driven investment thesis, sparking an immediate alliance.
“One thing I really like about Carol’s focus is that she believes in women and trusts you,” Kevine explains, referring to Carolyne Kirabo, M-Kyala’s founder. “That kind of trust is rare, and it pushed us to grow as a company and as founders. She’s already an advisor in terms of how we do business, and is a great sounding board as someone who understands what growth feels like from the inside,” Kevine notes about Carolyne’s relationship with the company.
This trust has manifested in various ways, including by M-Kyala providing flexible support that recognised Uzuri K&Y’s established trajectory while helping accelerate key growth initiatives. Perhaps most importantly, M-Kyala provided strategic guidance that helped Uzuri navigate scaling challenges; a partnership that saw revenue growth jump by 15% annually.
This alliance has enabled several critical expansions, such as Uzuri establishing its first retail presence outside Rwanda with a store in Nairobi, expanding their customer base and testing market demand in Kenya. Beyond existing export markets in Europe and the United States, they have also built additional e-commerce channels, reaching new customers.
In addition, the company has improved its operations by increasing production efficiency by 50%, reducing the manual labour required to meet demand while retaining employees through business growth rather than cutting jobs.
When a shoe company starts a policy conversation
Uzuri’s influence stretches far beyond its factory floors. What began with informal collection from neglected landfills has evolved into partnerships with organisations that now donate their used tyres rather than disposing of them as waste.
The brand’s evolution has also influenced broader policies around manufacturing, sustainability and economic development in Rwanda. Uzuri received recognition from the Rwanda Development Board for creating a “Made in Rwanda” brand and was certified by the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) for introducing circular economy technology in Rwanda, further solidifying its innovative contribution and paving the way for other manufacturers to follow suit.
This policy influence demonstrates how individual business success can create systemic change. By proving that Rwandan companies can compete in global markets and address local challenges, Uzuri K&Y has helped establish precedents that now benefit other Rwandan entrepreneurs.
The long road from Kigali
Today, every pair of shoes that leaves the Uzuri factory carries a story stitched into its sole, one of innovation and the power of flexible capital in yielding financial returns while addressing pressing social and environmental challenges.