An innovative startup

A second collection is launched in June. The Tanzanian team grows and Endelea moves to the spaces of Naledi Dream Center, starting a scholarship program for the students.

Endelea becomes a registered company and gains recognition as an innovative startup by the Chamber of Commerce of Milan, Monza, Brianza, and Lodi.

A sudden growth

Despite the pandemic, Endelea achieves significant growth in 2020.

• Two new collections are launched, featuring a Fall-Winter for the first time.
• In March, Bocconi University selects Endelea for the first edition of the B4i Acceleration Program.
• Endelea becomes a Benefit Corporation in June and wins the Gaetano Marzotto Social Impact 2030 award in October.

The bridge takes shape

• Frizzo Company Limited is born as the Tanzanian sister company of Endelea, and the team moves to a new workshop in the Magomeni area in Dar es Salaam.
• New fabrics are introduced: the Kikoi and Maasai collections are launched.
• The Endelea Supports Black Art project is born, featuring t-shirts in organic cotton designed by Tanzanian artist Valerie Asiimwe Amani.
• A 5-year partnership with the University of Dar es Salaam is signed and the inaugural course in Fashion Design starts in November with Professor Sinibaldi.
• A capsule collection designed by Upendo Elirehema Minja showcases on the runway at Swahili Fashion Week.

Showing that another way of doing fashion is possible

• Endelea Supports Black Art continues with the launch of the Tingatinga collection and a collaboration with Ethical Fashion Initiative in Kenya.
• Fashion Design lessons progress at the University of Dar es Salaam, while Endelea launches an accelerator program for 12 Tanzanian emerging designers in collaboration with CDEA and Naledi.
• The transparent pricing section is published on the e-commerce for every product.
• Endelea is invited to showcase the FW22 Collection at Milan Fashion Week as one of the Designers for the Planet, winning two awards as best emerging sustainable designer.
• Endelea is one of the recipients of the Women's Enterprise Fund grant from the Italian Ministry of Enterprises.

Another step forward

• Endelea continues its acceleration program in Dar es Salaam, providing mentoring sessions for the designer and a free pop-up shop at the end of the program.
• The brand returns to Milan Fashion Week as a Designer for the Planet in February, while the first collection in organic cotton is presented at Fashion Weeks in Milan and Paris in September.
• Endelea participates in Milan Design Week with a special edition of the Home Decor collection.
• Endelea Supports Black Art continues with the tie-dye collection in collaboration with Sifa Threads.
• In June, the first Endelea flagship store opens in Milano Porta Venezia.
• In October, Endelea becomes a certified B Corp and introduces the Digital Product Passport for all products.

Continuing to dream bold

• In March, Endelea launches the Spring Summer collection, featuring organic cotton and custom prints for the first time, reducing its environmental impact by introducing the pre-order mode.
• In May, a new mentoring program for emerging designers starts in Dar es Salaam.
• In June, Endelea is chosen by Fondazione Symbola as one of the 35 Designers Under 35 who are re-shaping the future of our planet.
• In July, Endelea announces the closure of the Italian company, due to the increasingly complex economic situation. Thousands of messages of support from customers, designers and entrepreneurs from all over the world prove that the impact generated was real, and that we shall always continue to dream bold.