When I first met him, he was seated just outside our classroom with his eyebrows furrowed, trying to listen to case being taught in class that day. He had missed the registration deadline for Business Decision Making with Cases but upon learning about the course, had decided to do his attend – in whatever capacity he could. Because of his demonstrated commitment, we decided to make an exception and allow him to attend the course from then on. Despite missing the first week of class (and all the foundation knowledge that comes with it), he was one of the strongest contributors in the class, displaying his own creative approach to problem solving.
When I asked him what motivated him to sit outside that day, he told me it was because he wanted to learn how to grow his business. Cornel shared his story with me and I’m sharing it here today as a means of highlighting a small subset of the creativity and perseverance that we can only hope to foster among the students through the Africa Service Learning program – both at JKUAT and beyond. The following are Cornel’s own words about the inception and goals of Hemi:
“Hemi came to fruition in January 2016. It was on one bright Friday morning that I happen to vividly remember! Being one of the hottest month in Kenya, I was having a cool drink with my friend Wanjiku in a cosy restaurant in Nairobi when a certain individual walked inside and, after he ordered his take away from the counter, one of his straps snapped! Needless to say all heads turned to his direction. We all felt sorry for the guy. What if it were me! How would I feel about that? I took this as a sign, if I don’t do something about it, probably no one would address this menace!
I was privileged to know a 59 year old chap who used to deal in bags. He had extensive knowledge in the field and constantly shares stories with me of how he started doing bags at an early age. Yes, I was lucky to be a first-hand beneficiary of all his experience and insights. With eyes closed, I can narrate to you all that makes and breaks a bag! I can tell you from a distance what type of material has been used in a certain random bag around – it’s merits and demerits, if any. He taught me all I know, and being the person that I am, I went far as modernizing it.
Most of my friends and the people around me wanted quality as opposed to quantity items. Come to think of it, who doesn’t want to own high quality items? Most of my friends had countless frustrations concerning a number of products that they used. Bags were one of the main products! My friends constantly complained about how bags did not have strong enough straps to hold the ever escalating weight of the items they carry – laptops and books, just to name a few. The problem is that most of my friends, just as I then did, settled for the type of cheap mainstream bags that were available.
Hemi makes bags that feed the soul! Hemi does not want to dwell on ordinary; she wants to defy the norm and arguably, is very much on course! She wants to create bags that will last for a good number of years without losing their appeal – without losing their major properties. Hemi wants to make timeless bags that can be passed from one person to another, people who will inherit and get to know each bag’s intricate story.”
Each bag is unique and handcrafted from locally sourced materials. Leather is purchased from Limuru Town and canvas materials vary depending on what is locally available.
Cornel has recently introduced additional products such as pencil cases and makeup bags that are made using excess pieces of fabric in order to reduce waste and maximize profitability.
In a bid to attract more female customers, he even had my fellow instructors model his most recent line (I also made my modeling debut with Hemi but you’ll have to follow him on Instagram if you want access to those pictures).
Cornel was a great student but remains an even greater entrepreneur. I’m happy to have had a chance to be apart of his story and look forward to seeing students around the world wearing his brand to class in the years to come. If you have any questions, or are interested in learning more about Cornel and the Hemi brand, please contact Akhayatian.hba2017@Ivey.ca