S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. in Kenya
In 2005 a six-person S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. team led by Cornell University initiated a BoP Protocol project in Kenya. The team worked in the Nairobi slums of Kibera, Mathare, and Mitumba and in the rural village of Nyota Township.
Per the BoP Protocol, the team entered without any pre-conceived business intentions; instead, they worked to build close relationships in each of the communities through home-stays and by participating in their hosts' daily lives. In the Nairobi slum of Kibera, the team cooked and sold "mandazi" (a Kenyan fried bread) by the roadside, collected trash and sorted recyclables with a youth group, and sold hand-stitched clothing from a small kiosk.
The three month effort resulted in the co-creation of a new business concept called "Community Cleaning Services" (CCS) that partnered S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. with self-help youth groups living in Nairobi's slums. CCS was initially conceptualized as a direct-to-home business that would provide a combination of home cleaning, sanitation, and pest control services.
Over the past two years, a full-time, 3-person S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. team in Nairobi has worked closely with some 20 committed members of the youth groups to bring the business to life. Today, CCS is up and running, and the service is being tested out and evolved in other slum areas of Nairobi.
Contact Us
Erik Simanis
Co-Director
BoP Protocol Project
ens25@cornell.edu
Duncan Duke
Co-Director
BoP Protocol Project
dod3@cornell.edu