Lamu, is the oldest island in East Africa with a long tradition of oceanic travel. Since the 1300s, the local community has conducted trans-oceanic travel on the back of the ever-dependable dhow. Whilst providing charming adventures for tourists.

In the past few years, Covid-19 followed by a global economic downturn condemned thousands of sailors to a life of poverty as tourist traffic disappeared.

Sails of Change is the backend salesforce powering the priceless return of East Africa’s Island travel by offering the sailors an opportunity to rehabilitate, maintain, profit from and finally own the dhow.

The simple act of branding a sail means:

1. Commissioning local craftsmen to produce & design the sails.

2. An always-on marketing campaign pushed the initiative, creating demand.

3. Business training for sailors to help cope with this demand.

4. Sailors also enjoyed income from advertising revenue every month

Data:

Over 80% of Kenyan sailors were left with no income, during the COVID pandemic rendering over 200,000 families without daily means.

The Target audience:

Coastal Communities along the Kenyan Coastline

Relevance:

Coastal towns operates on Tourist Travel and Masteracard is there enable priceless travel moments.

Approach.

The simple act of branding a sail means:

1. Commissioning local craftsmen to produce & design the sails.

2. An always-on marketing campaign pushed the initiative, creating demand.

3. Business training for sailors to help cope with this demand.

4. Sailors also enjoyed income from advertising revenue every month

Implementation:

The simple act of branding a sail means:

1. Commissioning local craftsmen to produce & design the sails.

2. An always-on marketing campaign pushed the initiative, creating demand.

3. Business training for sailors to help cope with this demand.

4. Sailors also enjoyed income from advertising revenue every month

Timeline:

12 Month Program

Placement:

Branded dhow sails

Scale;

5 Islands in Kenya

1. 40 sailors in total participated in the program, bringing in over 20,000+ travellers.

2. Engaged $250K in sales revenue

3. 5 islands impacted: Lamu, mombasa malindi, diani, kilifi