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NAIROBI, Kenya — A major step forward for Kenya’s creative economy and inclusive economic empowerment took place on September 17th, 2026, with the official launch of the KUANA Fashion Innovation Lab in Kilimani, Nairobi.
At CISP, we view fashion and creative craftsmanship as powerful engines for sustainable human development, economic dignity, and self-reliance and this Lab perfectly showcases our philosophy.
Born within the actions of the WINGS project, the KUANA Lab bridges a crucial structural gap by offering emerging artisans and designers access to high-end equipment, digital design and 3D tools, photography facilities, business software, and a dedicated showroom. By enabling local creators to elevate their production standards from sample to market, the space unlocks genuine economic opportunities.
The establishment of the Lab reflects years of research by project partner KikoRomeo Fashion House into designers' needs and benchmarks against co-working and maker spaces across Nigeria, The Gambia, and Kenya. As Ann McCreath, Founder and Designer of KikoRomeo, highlighted:
Africa is full of amazing creative talent, but too often that talent is let down as manufacturers need samples to copy and designers don’t have the necessary equipment for a polished finished sample. This Lab closes that gap. It gives designers the tools, so the ambition they have on paper can actually reach global runways and shop floors — whether that's a boutique in Nairobi or a buyer at an international fair.
The inauguration event was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony, plaque unveiling, and a guided tour of the facilities. The occasion was graced by key institutional representatives and partners, including Regina Ombam, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry); Matteo Rongione, Economic Development and Inclusive Finance Expert at the AICS Nairobi Office; Michele Stella, CISP Country Representative; Federico Tosca, Fondazione L'Albero della Vita; and Alice Mundia, representing the United Disabled Persons of Kenya - UDPK.
This initiative seamlessly echoes CISP’s broader vision of placing sustainable, ethical creation at the center of community development—a commitment recently highlighted in our feature from Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Nature and ecology on the runway: fashion driving sustainable development".
The establishment of the KUANA Fashion Innovation Lab is a key milestone under WINGS - Work, INclusion, Growth and Sustainability for women, youth and people with disabilities in Kenya. WINGS is a 36-month initiative funded by the Italian Cooperation. Led by Fondazione L'Albero della Vita E.T.S. and implemented by CISP in partnership with UDPK and KikoRomeo.
WINGS focuses on the school-to-work transition and aims to improve access to productive and decent work for vulnerable individuals, particularly women, youth, and persons with disabilities, in five counties: Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, and Uasin Gishu.
The project addresses the issues of informality and unemployment by focusing on two specific sectors: domestic work and support staff, and ethical and sustainable fashion.
WINGS focuses on promoting employment development in the ethical and sustainable fashion sector in Kenya and encouraging the growth of fashion businesses. The project intends to offer a structured and comprehensive program encompassing online fashion business training, specialised technical training for designers and artisans in Mombasa, Nairobi and Kisumu, access to an advanced fashion innovation lab with a showroom in Nairobi, and support for entrepreneurship, while fostering sustainable development and decent job creation.
