Our story

The Mifuko Story

What is Mifuko?

Mifuko is a Finnish design company founded in 2009. We design baskets, bags and home accessories and produce them in collaboration with local artisan groups and workshops in Kenya and Ghana.

In Swahili, mifuko means pocket. The name reflects the purpose of our work: creating opportunities to earn an income through handcrafted products.

Every Mifuko product is a unique, handcrafted piece that combines modern Nordic design with craftsmanship preserved in Kenya and Ghana. Natural variations in shape and detail are part of handmade products. Each product carries the name of its maker.

Mifuko is a certified member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and a Certified B Corporation.

Mission – Vision – Values

Mifuko’s mission is to bring joy to our customers while supporting the well-being of women and their communities in rural Africa.

Our vision is to increase the number of artisans working with Mifuko by building long-term partnerships in Kenya and Ghana, creating income opportunities based on local craftsmanship, and combining this expertise with products designed for long-term use.

Our work is to combine Nordic design with the expertise of our artisan partners to create products that bring joy to our customers and income opportunities to the people who make them.

Our work is guided by uniqueness, joy and responsibility. In practice, we aim to put our commitment to responsibility into action through transparency: we communicate about the makers of our products, their materials and origins, as well as the social and environmental impacts of our operations, as concretely and accurately as possible.

Concrete examples include the fact that every product carries the name of the artisan who made it, we provide material-specific information about the origins and properties of the materials we use, we measure our greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the GHG Protocol, and we have commissioned an independent qualitative impact assessment of artisans’ experiences. Our business model is also verified by the WFTO, and Mifuko is a Certified B Corporation.

The story of two friends

Mifuko was founded in 2009 by two friends, Mari Martikainen and Minna Impiö. They had become friends while studying textile art and design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki.

The idea for Mifuko was born amid the colourful bustle of a market in Nairobi, Kenya. Minna was living in Kenya at the time, and Mari was visiting her. They were impressed by the skills of the artisans selling their products at the market and wanted to bring their craftsmanship to a wider audience.

When founding Mifuko, Minna and Mari had a clear goal: to combine Nordic design with the traditional craftsmanship of Kenyan artisans to create products for international markets, while providing income opportunities for the people who make them.

Handcrafted

Mifuko baskets are woven by hand using local craftsmanship and traditional weaving techniques. In Kenya, our collaboration is built around local self-help groups. In August 2026, Mifuko’s artisan network in Kenya consisted of 35 groups and 993 artisans. Of these, 866 worked on Mifuko orders regularly, while 127 were available for orders occasionally. Mifuko also works with artisans and workshops in Ghana.

The self-help groups in Kenya meet weekly and may also run their own savings and lending activities. The groups manage these activities independently, and Mifuko does not provide their internal loans. Within the groups, artisans can share their skills and produce Mifuko orders according to jointly agreed designs and quality requirements.

In Kenya, artisan payments are based on agreed purchase prices for the products they make. Prices are determined through product-specific cost calculations and take into account local material and production costs, the WFTO Fair Payment principles and Living Wage Ladder reference data for Kenya. Prices and payment terms are agreed through Mifuko’s subsidiary Punonta Ltd together with representatives of the artisan groups or other suppliers.

Under Punonta Ltd’s current supplier agreements, 50% of the agreed purchase price is paid in advance and the remainder after delivery in accordance with the agreed terms. Self-help groups in Kenya may also receive advance financing for the purchase of local materials before production begins.

Meet our artisans and explore the 2025 independent impact assessment, in which Kenyan artisans describe in their own words what craftsmanship, group activities and the income earned from Mifuko orders have meant in their everyday lives.

Responsibility in practice

Mifuko’s business model is based on long-term relationships with artisans and on understanding the makers, materials and origins of our products. We aim to communicate the social and environmental impacts of our operations as concretely and transparently as possible.

Mifuko is a WFTO Guaranteed Fair Trade Enterprise. The WFTO Guarantee System assesses Mifuko’s practices and supply chain against the requirements of the WFTO Fair Trade Standard. The verification applies to Mifuko as a company and to its business model, not as a product certification for individual products.

Mifuko is also a Certified B Corporation. B Corp certification assesses a company’s social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability according to B Lab’s standards. This certification also applies to Mifuko Oy as a company, not to individual products.

Mifuko calculates its greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the GHG Protocol. In the 2024 company-level calculation, reported emissions totalled 73.94 t CO₂e. The calculation covered Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, as well as the Scope 3 categories identified as relevant to Mifuko through a relevance assessment. The results are used to identify the most significant emission sources and to plan measures related to emissions. latest Sustainability report.

Where possible, we provide product-specific information about materials, their origins and manufacturing based on available supplier and traceability data.

Teams in Finland and Kenya

Mifuko is a Finnish company, but our roots are also strongly connected to Kenya, where a large share of our products are made. We are proud to bring together different cultures, skills and perspectives through our work.

Mifuko’s team in Finland currently consists of 4 people working across customer service, marketing, sales, design and business operations. In Kenya, operations are coordinated by Mifuko’s subsidiary Punonta Ltd., whose team consists of 12 people (August 2026). The Kenyan team is responsible for areas including production coordination, logistics and quality management.

Mifuko products are made by artisan partners in Kenya and Ghana. In Kenya, we work with local self-help groups and workshops. Products and production are developed in close collaboration with artisans and local teams.

Mifuko Trust

Mifuko established the non-profit Mifuko Trust in 2012. Mifuko Trust is an organisation separate from Mifuko Oy and carries out projects together with local communities and partners, particularly in Kenya.

The Trust’s projects focus on areas including sanitation and hygiene, training in climate-smart agriculture and forest gardening, as well as gender equality and social inclusion. Ongoing projects in Kenya include WASH and Grow! II and Sowing Equality. A key local partner in Kenya is Mifuko Women Development CBO, which works with women’s self-help groups and local communities. Mifuko Trust monitors the implementation and results of its projects using both quantitative and qualitative indicators.

Learn more about Mifuko Trust and its projects.

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