Klockar Maria Johansson: The face behind Re:wake Design

In 2010, Klockar Maria Johansson quit her job in Sweden to follow her dream of volunteering in Africa. In 2012, she founded re:wake design and is linking upcoming female designers in Kenya with the Swedish market and providing them with entrepreneurship training.

What inspired you to start re:wake design?

I had a successful career in Stockholm where I worked with Human Resources in an investment bank. I started to ask myself what true difference I actually made in my job. I knew deep inside that I could have a larger impact in society and I resigned. I decided to follow my dream of working as a volunteer in Africa. Destiny brought me to Kenya where I trained youth in the slum in entrepreneurship. I noticed that very few women applied to the entrepreneurship programme and at the same time they were the ones working very hard to bring in money to ensure that the children went to school. I also noticed that many women were very talented in jewellery design and created unique pieces from recycled material. But they were facing many challenges and one was access to market. That's when the idea for my social business re:wake design was born. By giving female jewellery designers access to the international market and coaching them in their business, we aim to empower women through entrepreneurship that contributes to a sustainable community.