Meet the Founder

Hi, I’m Karenhappuch.

I believe that a dream is only as strong as the system built to support it.My story starts with the steady, rhythmic hum of my mother’s sewing machine. She was a seamstress with a brilliant creative dream—one she set aside to focus on the heart-work of raising her children. By the time I was seven, I was at that machine, learning to sew and absorbing her resilience. Today, I carry her dream forward. I’ve journeyed from my village roots in Kapelebyong to the London School of Styling and the Cambridge School of Arts. I didn’t get here by luck; I got here because I promised to turn her sacrifices into a global reality. I am a "finisher" because she taught me that every stitch matters. I offer career mentorship in the Art, Cosmetology and Fashion industry because I know what it’s like to have a dream that needs a champion, mentorship is the heartbeat of my work. I am deeply committed to guiding young women as they navigate the fashion industry. To me, being a leader means opening doors and sharing the technical "secrets" to success. To honor my mother’s hard work and her love for young people, I founded the Adeke Foundation. We focus on skilling teenage mothers, widows, and vulnerable women in Kapelebyong, giving them the tools to weave their own stories of independence. My mission is to ensure that no young woman's potential is limited by her circumstances.

 

What I’ve Been Up To

I’ve spent the last decade at the intersection of high fashion and humanitarian heart, building the technical frameworks that help communities thrive.

I spent over three years in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, working with bbw international (funded by sequa and the German Cooperation). I provided capacity building to trainers at the Bosco Children’s Center (Jemo) and Selam Children’s Village, creating systems that help youth find their path.

In Morocco, I was contracted to train and equip women from over 200 cooperatives. Working alongside the Marrakech-Safi Ministry of Arts on projects backed by the Kingdom of Morocco showed me that technical mastery is the ultimate key to economic freedom.

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Whether as a guest lecturer at Next Fashion Design College or through one-on-one mentorship, I’m dedicated to prepping the next generation of women for the global market. I teach them that branding and quality control are the wings that let their creativity fly.

Most recently, I served as the Lead Runway Stylist for Hub of Africa Fashion Week, ensuring every creative vision was backed by technical perfection.

I am currently in a strategic transition—a planned sabbatical to explore the U.S. fashion landscape and connect with new visionaries.I’m a firm believer that the future of fashion belongs to those who master the structure behind the style. I’m here to research, to connect, and to see how we can use the transformative power of fashion to build sustainable futures together. Let’s make fashion do some good, shall we?

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