Kenyan sportswear brand Enda announced that it is the official sponsor of the national Olympic teams of three countries ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.
Enda has designed Olympic kits for Comoros, Djibouti, and Gabon.
“Exciting news! Enda is officially sponsoring the National Olympic Committees of Comoros, Gabon and the Judo Federation of Djibouti for Paris 2024! As Africa’s premier sportswear brand, we’re proud to bring the spirit of African excellence to the global stage,” read the statement in part.
Athletes from Comoros, Gabon, and Djibouti will wear Enda shoes, apparel, and gear in the Olympic Village during the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Comoros athletes will don green and white gear paired with blue sports shoes all designed by Enda sportswear.
The women’s outfits will feature a series of stars running down the skirt, an apparent ode to their national flag.
Enda will also dress the Gabon national team in all-white suits, with the Gabonese flag adorning the corners while Kenya on the other hand, will be dressed by Nike.
Kenyans Compares Kenya’s Olympic Kits with the 3 Counties
Team Kenya’s Olympic ceremony outfits faced criticism for their lack of style and innovation.
The apparel, which included branded t-shirts and Maasai shukas, was condemned for not thinking outside the box and failing to meet expectations for creativity and modern design.
Kenyans on X took this as talking point and felt there should be a bit more national pride in a Kenyan sports brand suggesting that the government had failed to support the Enda brand’s creativity and innovation, which was instead being utilized abroad.
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On her part, Peninah Njeri said, “Can you imagine that this is a Kenyan brand? Our athletes were given knockoff Nikes by this inpet government. Their corrupt tendencies couldn’t allow them to work with Endo for obvious reasons! Kenya is a shame!”
“This is a nice stuff Enda Sportswear. Its shame corruption and impunity deny talented individuals the opportunity to showcase Kenya in a similar manner,” Ngele Mjighes said.
About Enda Sportswear
Kenyan entrepreneur, Navalayo “Nava” Osembo and Weldon Kennedy met in 2015 with a shared goal of significantly boosting Kenya’s benefits from its renowned running legacy.
Given the popularity of running among many Kenyans, especially those from the Rift Valley, Osembo identified a gap in the domestic shoe market and aimed to fill it.
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By 2016, over 1,000 people worldwide supported Enda’s crowdfunding campaign to create Kenya’s first running shoe: the Iten, a lightweight trainer.
Their first shoe series, the Iten, launched in 2017, was named after the renowned town in Kenya’s Rift Valley, known for producing some of the world’s best runners.
By mid-2021, the company had partnered with a local beer manufacturer to create a running trainer brand that would resonate with the general populace, support local businesses, and celebrate Kenya’s athletes.
The second shoe was a daily trainer called the Lapatet – which means “run” in Kalenjin, the language spoken by many of Kenya’s great runners – and is ideal for longer, slower runs.
Navalaya said all their shoes are designed to support a mid-foot strike and maximize the runner’s natural metatarsal footprint, in line with the Kenyan running style.
The name “Enda” comes from the Swahili word meaning “Go,” inspired by the crowd’s chants during sports events in Kenya. At the height of a game or race, the entire crowd stands and shouts, “Enda! Enda! Enda!”
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