Responsible Business: with E-Lab Founder Alex Mativo

Responsible Business with E-lab co-founder Alex Mativo

Who is Alex? (How would you describe yourself?)

I'm a creative at my core, working at the intersection of technology and design to craft meaningful ideas that endure.

Tell us more about your background. What was your childhood like? Did you enjoy it? Who were your role models? I grew up in the late 90’s and early 2000’s era. There was some sort of global Renaissance and a lot of things that we use today were just being invented. It was amazing time to grow up as I got to be part of the process , watching the internet boom and the creative industry evolve into the complex behemoth it is today.

I always looked upto great minds like Alexander McQueenand Sean combs because of how they were able to heavilyinfluence culture and create fashion labels that transcendedtime.

Looking back were there any personality traits in your earlylife that signalled an inclination towards entrepreneurship?Looking back, I enjoyed thinking about different thingsin society and figuring out how i can make them better.Entrepreneurship is all about creatively solving problems andImproving a way of life.

Tell us about your Education background i.e. primary, highschooland college (Were you a model student?)I was fortunate enough to go to good schools. I didn't regardmyself as a smart kid but as someone who hard a certainwork ethic that kept me at the top of my class.

I attended Lenana school and later on the African LeadershipUniversity, a pan African institution thatseeks to create the next generation ofglobal leaders.

Do you feel education adequately equipped you for life,work and business?Not necessarily what i learnt in class but the meaningfulconnections I made out of class have tremendously shapedthe person I am today.

When did it hit you that entrepreneurship was an option?It was during my 3rd year of highschool when everyonewas meant to figure out what career they wanted to pursue.We had just successfully liquidated a company that westarted with my peers. The company was part of a high school Entrepreneurship club and it had turned out to be a huge success and it saw us win numerous accolades after competing with great minds across Africa. That experience was an awakening for me. It was the path i wanted to pursue especially since society had set a linear path that I always wanted to defy.

Is there a process to how you innovate? If so, elaborate?My process is basically falling in love with a problem and using that obsession to come up with a solution according to how i see the world.

What was E-lab? What was the motivation behind setting up E lab?E-lab started out as a project to help eradicate electronic waste that was rampant in the community that I grew up in. I identified communities that had lots of electronic waste and With the help of the locals, we turned it into art. It then evolved into a business after I saw the opportunity to make it bigger and sustainable.

How did you measure impact? (please also talk about amount recycled against the amount of e-waste present)My metric was the amount of electronic waste we recycled and the number of people we impacted. In two years we

Entrepreneurship is all about creatively solving problems and Improving a way of life.

eradicated 4000tons of the 17000 tons in Kenya.

It still remains a huge problem but we're working hard every day to mitigate the problem and come up with Innovative ways of doing so.

What was the business model? Who were your clients? My clients were retailers in the fashion industry. We made products like wearable accessories from the waste and numerous Global retailers

embraced because of how it defied the norm.

What is Ethnic brand? What is Bit Couture? The Ethnic brand is a bigger and better version of e-lab. I took all the lessons I learnt from running e-lab and founded it. After working with a lot of communities and artisans with e-lab. I realized that the biggest problem they faced was getting access to a sustainable source of income. The artisan industry is Africa's biggest

employer but unfortunately, majority of them are still trapped in poverty. Ethnic brand platform connects such Artisans living in emerging markets to fashion Brands all over the world.

The bit couture is my creative outlet. It's my own line of products made from electronic waste. My goal is to collaborate with Designers in every dimension in the fashion industry and incorporate the e-waste aesthetics in apparel and accessories that we use every day. From eyewear to sneakers.

Alex Mativo

It [E-Waste] still remains a huge problem but we're working hard every day to mitigate the problem and come up with Innovative ways of doing so.