Java House ↗
Coffee house chain founded 1999 by Kevin Ashley and Jon Wagner, headquartered at ABC Place Nairobi, now with 73 East Africa locations serving export-quality Kenyan coffee and meals
Nairobi · food and beveragea working guide to nairobi through design, food, music, art and the people shaping east africa’s creative capital.
Useful places, chosen from the growing Dear city record. Each list evolves as local editors add and verify what matters.
Coffee house chain founded 1999 by Kevin Ashley and Jon Wagner, headquartered at ABC Place Nairobi, now with 73 East Africa locations serving export-quality Kenyan coffee and meals
Nairobi · food and beverageKenyan retail coffee business established 2015 with a mission to increase local consumption of Kenyan-grown coffee through cafes and freshly roasted beans
Nairobi · coffee retailNairobi coffee roastery specializing in freshly roasted beans blending Kenyan and Ethiopian coffee flavors
Nairobi · coffee retailEstablished 2003 in a former car-repair warehouse in Nairobi's Industrial Area; provides artist studios exhibition/performance space and runs the East Africa Arts summit and Creative Entrepreneurship and Copyright courses
Nairobi · visual and performing artsAnnual fashion week (2026 edition themed Decarbonize, held Jan 28-31 2026) featuring designer masterclasses, a pop-up market connecting designers to buyers/retailers/investors, and sustainability-focused runway shows
Nairobi · fashion and designAfrican luxury accessories brand founded 2008 in Nairobi by Adele Dejak, handcrafting jewelry and bags from reclaimed materials; has collaborated with Samsung and Salvatore Ferragamo
Nairobi · luxury accessories and jewelryKenyan fashion label exploring identity, culture and history through design; featured on the BoF 500 list and stocked at Selfridges
Nairobi · contemporary fashion designAssociation representing Kenya's homegrown 'Riverwood' film industry (named for River Road), which produces 20-50 low-budget films weekly and distributes via a Riverwood Channel on Bamba TV plus Iflix Showmax and AfricaXP
Nairobi · film productionNairobi program targeting emerging musicians, combining financial support with practical training and access to industry professionals amid growing private investment in Kenyan music
Nairobi · music industry mentorshipThis list is being built with local editors.
Rotating open-air bazaar (weekly at various Nairobi sites, e.g. Court of Appeal parking lot on Saturdays) for beaded jewelry, African-fabric clothing and handmade crafts
Nairobi · artisan crafts and textilesOpen-air market on the edge of Kibera known for affordable secondhand clothing bags and accessories, smaller and less crowded than Gikomba
Nairobi · secondhand goods and craftsNairobi's largest open-air market, dating to the 1950s, and East Africa's major hub for secondhand clothing (mitumba) trade
Nairobi · secondhand clothing (mitumba) and textilesEstablished 2003 in a former car-repair warehouse in Nairobi's Industrial Area; provides artist studios exhibition/performance space and runs the East Africa Arts summit and Creative Entrepreneurship and Copyright courses
Nairobi · visual and performing artsAnnual fashion week (2026 edition themed Decarbonize, held Jan 28-31 2026) featuring designer masterclasses, a pop-up market connecting designers to buyers/retailers/investors, and sustainability-focused runway shows
Nairobi · fashion and designRotating open-air bazaar (weekly at various Nairobi sites, e.g. Court of Appeal parking lot on Saturdays) for beaded jewelry, African-fabric clothing and handmade crafts
Nairobi · artisan crafts and textilesOpen-air market on the edge of Kibera known for affordable secondhand clothing bags and accessories, smaller and less crowded than Gikomba
Nairobi · secondhand goods and craftsNairobi's largest open-air market, dating to the 1950s, and East Africa's major hub for secondhand clothing (mitumba) trade
Nairobi · secondhand clothing (mitumba) and textilesAfrican luxury accessories brand founded 2008 in Nairobi by Adele Dejak, handcrafting jewelry and bags from reclaimed materials; has collaborated with Samsung and Salvatore Ferragamo
Nairobi · luxury accessories and jewelryKenyan fashion label exploring identity, culture and history through design; featured on the BoF 500 list and stocked at Selfridges
Nairobi · contemporary fashion designHyperlocal social commerce platform founded by Maureen Amakabane Njoki Mwangi and Martha Owuor, launched 2019, using WhatsApp/Facebook to let women in Nyayo Estate trade goods on trust-based 'social collateral'; over 5500 users
Nairobi · women-led hyperlocal e-commerce