![Besides this recognition in the Forbes' 50 over 50: Global 2025 list, Wandia Gichuru has been featured in many other notable initiatives, magazines, and awards. She is the founder & CEO of Vivo Fashion Group [Photo Credit: WG]](/media/k2/items/cache/9f9f79e544fb8eb705d18df3c18b9f0a_L.jpg)
Kenyan Fashion Businesswoman Wandia Gichuru among the Forbes' 50 over 50: Global 2025 list
"Woke up to the incredible news that I've been included in Forbes' 50 over 50: Global 2025 list - where they list 50 women over the age of 50 that they consider to be doing important work. Thank you, Forbes," announced Wandia Gichuru.
She continued, "It is a HUGE honour - and I am also very much aware that the only reason for this recognition is the important work that Vivo and Shop Zetu are doing and the impact we are having in the African fashion industry and beyond."
According to Wandia Gichuru, this impact is only possible because of everyone in their wider ecosystem. "All of YOU," Wandia says.
Wandia Gichuru is known as a woman at the forefront of promoting and selling made-in-Kenya and East African products in fashion under the Vivo fashion group. Currently, she is the founder and chief executive of the Vivo Fashion Group.
Vivo Fashion Group's brands
Historically, Gichuru and her business partner discovered an available space in a Nairobi mall and nervously signed a lease to open their first retail store. It was immediately a hit. Drawn by Vivo's leisure wear line at affordable prices, women in Nairobi suddenly had a place to go for clothing previously unavailable locally. The original Vivo store soon expanded from one to two, then four, and eventually seven stores. Today, Vivo has 25 stores across Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.
ALSO READ: Wandia Gichuru on Building a Fashion Business in Kenya and Beyond
The success was unlikely for several reasons, including that nobody before Gichuru had made women's clothes in Kenya widely accessible to Kenyan women. Originally an import business, Vivo gradually transformed into a full-on fashion brand that designs and manufactures all of its own clothing.
Inside the Vivo Women shop, in Atlanta, US [Photo Credit: Vivo]
Showing her happiness at being among the Forbes' 50 over 50: Global 2025 list, Wandia Gichuru spoke about her team and staff members who made it possible: "Our team of almost 500 staff. Our customer base of over 100,000 customers. Our suppliers. Our partners. Our friends. Our advisers. Our investors. Our worthy rivals. Our cheerleaders. And yes - even our haters! Every single one of you plays a critical part of our growth and our learning, and for that we are deeply grateful."
Wandia Gichuru greeting H.E William Ruto the president of the Republic of Kenya after the official opening of the Vivo Women US in 2024 [Photo Credit: Vivo]
Besides this recognition in the Forbes' 50 over 50: Global 2025 list, Wandia Gichuru has been featured in many other notable initiatives, magazines, and awards. This includes the BOF 500, where she was highlighted as the Kenyan entrepreneur behind the high-street fashion giant Vivo, which has expanded her retail empire to other African markets and the US.
"There are many days when it is hard to see the impact we are having. But today isn't going to be one of those days!" Gichuru said. "Today we are going to let ourselves be both proud of and grateful for whatever strides we are making, even as we aim to keep learning and keep improving. So from the bottom of our hearts, I thank you for being part of our journey. You make it all possible and you make it all worthwhile."
[4th from the right] Wandia Gichuru is among the top African women who support many other women in the fashion sector (Photo Credit; Vivo)
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