mwingiLet’s connect

Everyday goods.
Closer to home.

Conceptual illustration of a woman serving a customer at an orange-and-blue shop, with another customer approaching. Not an actual Mwingi site.
Shop illustration.
A person holds a mobile phone behind a shop counter, with packaged goods and people on the other side.

Goods. Shops. Communities.

Everyday goods matter because of the lives around them: a household to care for, a shop to run, a community striving for a better future. We make these opportunities happen.

Mwingi is building the future of rural retail in Kenya, empowering local female entrepreneurs to build successful businesses through solar-powered franchise shops, technology, reliable stock supply and ongoing support – while bringing everyday essentials closer to underserved communities.

Flour. Cooking oil. Soap.

A shelf is the last stop in a longer journey. Mwingi coordinates sourcing, distribution and stock management so everyday goods can reach the shop.

For franchise shops, Mwingi owns the stock and finances it in advance.

For a household facing a choice between eating in the morning and eating in the evening, access to food is urgent. Getting essentials to local shops is one practical part of responding.

Conceptual illustration of flour, cooking oil, soap and packaged essentials on a blue counter.
Everyday essentials illustration.
Packets of household goods stacked on shelves, with cooking oil above.

Across seven counties in Kenya.

More than eighty-five percent of franchisees are women from the communities they serve.

One network.Two ways to reach further.

Our shared purchasing and distribution network brings essential goods within reach of rural entrepreneurs and communities.

Photorealistic conceptual scene of a Kenyan shop operator serving a customer beside stocked distribution shelves and a worker handling goods. This is an imagined scene, not an actual Mwingi site.
Supply illustration.
  1. Sourcing

    Goods are purchased from manufacturers and suppliers.

  2. Distribution

    Stock is held and managed before delivery.

  3. Delivery

    Goods reach franchise shops and wholesale customers.

Solar-powered shops. Locally run.

Local operators run solar-powered shops with stock owned and financed in advance by Mwingi, alongside training and operational support.

How the shops work

Wholesale distribution.

Mwingi supplies independent rural retailers, who run their own businesses, and bulk buyers.

Discuss wholesale supply
A person in a Mwingi polo shirt holds a bag of goods beside stocked shelves.

The people
make the shop.

Goods move through a network. A shop works through people. The 2025 study records franchisees’ accounts of shop income helping with household expenses, and greater confidence in their financial goals after training. Read the reported experiences and study limits

Essential goods. Local opportunity. The ambition is to put practical support behind people’s own work and plans for the future.

Mwingi provides
A solar-powered shop, pre-financed inventory, supply, training and operational guidance.
The operator manages
Customer service, goods in the shop and sales records.

Everyday life, across the counter.

People stand at an orange shop counter with packaged goods on shelves behind it.
At the shop counter.
People gather at an orange shop counter beneath a corrugated roof, with packages in the foreground.
People and goods at the counter.

What sells informs
what comes next.

Lollipops and a mobile phone lie on a shop counter, with people gathered on the other side.

Sales and stock records help the team plan supply. Mwingi’s connected systems bring those records together.

How the records connect

Mwingi’s proprietary cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) and point-of-sale system connects sales and inventory with purchasing, logistics and reporting across rural operations.

  1. The sale

    The item and quantity become a sales record.

  2. The stock record

    The sale is reflected in the stock record.

  3. Supply planning

    The team uses sales and stock information to plan supply.

Seven counties. Local counters.

Mwingi works in rural Kenyan communities, including places beyond reliable grid electricity and paved roads.

Mwingi’s own shop stories describe its work in Maasai Mara and Magadi, including a shop at Olkiramatian’s market, where people gather to trade.

People stand near an orange-and-blue Mwingi shop beside an open sandy forecourt.

Solar-powered.
Locally run.

People gather outside an orange Mwingi shop, with a solar panel on its roof.
Watch the company film

From the supply chain to the shop counter

In this two-minute film, Brenda describes the challenges of supplying remote communities, and the stocked shops and technology behind Mwingi.

This July 2024 film reflects the shop count and Brenda’s job title at that time.

Watch on YouTube

Mwingi Kenya Ltd.
Serving remote rural areas

What franchisees reported.

In July to August 2025, 60 Decibels interviewed 105 active Mwingi franchisees.

These are their reported experiences, not audited outcomes or evidence of causation.

  • 88%

    Shop income covered all or most household expenses in the preceding 12 months.

  • 96%

    Rated training very useful.

  • 97%

    Reported greater confidence in achieving financial goals after training.

About the study

Who was interviewed

105 active and 12 former franchisees were interviewed by phone in Swahili and English in July to August 2025. The three findings above refer only to active franchisees; former franchisees were a separate group.

How to read the findings

The study does not establish causation, measured earnings growth or outcomes for all Mwingi customers and retailers.

Source

60 Decibels @ Mwingi Impact Performance Report 2025, September 2025. Household expenses: p. 13. Training: p. 22. Financial-goal confidence: p. 18. Reported challenges: p. 25. Methodology: p. 30. The Gates Foundation sponsored the impact study.

30% of active franchisees interviewed reported challenges. These included product quality or pricing, pay and working conditions, and shop infrastructure or location. Individual outcomes are not guaranteed.

The people
behind the work.

Portrait of Brenda Mideva

Co-Founder & CEO

Brenda Mideva

Brenda leads Kenyan operations and expansion, with experience in people management and first-hand knowledge of rural communities.

Portrait of Brian Wasike

Chief Technology Officer

Brian Wasike

Portrait of Manuela Raith

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Manuela Raith

Manuela brings executive and last-mile distribution experience and a PhD in mathematics.

Portraits: Mwingi.

Partners

  • Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation

    Investment

    Investor support, with funding beginning in 2025.

  • 60 Decibels

    Independent impact measurement

    Conducted the 2025 study of franchisees’ reported experiences.

  • Gates Foundation

    Program and study support

    Supported Mwingi’s program for women franchisees and sponsored its impact study.

  • Microsoft Azure

    Cloud technology support

    Cloud credits through Microsoft for Startups and BFA Global support Mwingi’s technology infrastructure.

  • Jobtech Alliance

    Venture and accelerator support

    Supports the development of Mwingi’s hybrid franchise and wholesale model.

Three people lean on a shop counter with stocked shelves behind them.

A wider network.
A familiar counter.

Closer starts with a conversation.