Laura Estrada
Esteban Gutierrez
JUAN DIEGO GONZALEZ MOLANO
Federico Gartner
Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración
adela velez
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"We are proudly Colombian, we are Maconbe"
MACONBE was born as a social entrepreneurship in 2018, when one of its founders Daniel Marcucci, a CESA student, had the desire to create an enterprise that would capture the ability of the Colombian company to do great things in the national market. Maconbe seeks to highlight the culture and roots that make Colombia a beautiful, diverse, and authentic country through garments and accessories for everyday use. High-quality products that evoke crafts from different regions of the country, offering something truly unique, with a high traditional, artisanal, and cultural value.
As an initial idea, it was defined to start with the production of caps for everyday use, as it is an easy product to produce and market, testing designs launched in the market and determining which designs were most liked by target consumers.
Over time, the specific idea of the company has changed to focus on everyday garments and accessories that carry a handcrafted piece, once again promoting its initial idea of inspiration to show the opportunity to consume nationally, making known handicrafts carried out by indigenous cultures of the country, including the Wayú community and the GunaDule community; resulting in a Colombian company that seeks to expand little by little, generating high-quality products that differ from the competition, being unique, with a high artisanal, traditional and cultural value.
As mentioned above, his portfolio is divided into two: caps with a fabric made by indigenous people of the Wayú community on the back with the Maconbe logo on the front and T-shirts with a mola made by indigenous people of the GunaDule community as a pocket on the back. Each product or each independent unit, whether they are caps or t-shirts, is unique, that is, each fabric or mola is different, making each unit special so that the client and that he feels close, values more the brand and the work of the communities behind each piece. Both products come in different colors such as gray, white, green, yellow, orange, blue among others. The products are named after representative places and with Colombian culture such as Tayrona, Barú, Bacatá, Farallones among others that deserve to be valued and made known by all Colombians to remember how important it is to know and appreciate every corner of Colombia.
The idea of the company is to demonstrate that the possibility of generating a high-quality product with highly traditional and artisanal values is a reality; preserving modern characteristics, in terms of the use of technology in clothing and demonstrating it in every detail of its products.
They are products made for all types of people, without discriminating their age, and that maintain a relationship between the modern and the traditional, focusing on continuing with their initial idea of showing what Colombia is and how all that culture can become an ideal. The products made by Maconbe are made by Colombians for Colombians, this brand wants to create Colombian value, demonstrate how important it is to support the local market and the great talent that exists in Colombia that many choose to ignore. For this, it emphasizes the different Colombian cultures that many times can be valued more by foreigners than by Colombians themselves, Maconbe wants to change that situation by giving voice and work to the indigenous people of Colombian communities, to give visibility to the culture and also by naming different places that represent the culture of Colombia. This makes Maconbe a social and change agent.
In their latest launch lines, they have included a new differentiating factor in their products, and it is a bracelet made by the indigenous people of the Wayú and Gunadule communities to give even more value to their workforce and culture, to represent Colombian talent in something so simple as a bracelet. These are made with the remaining material of their shirts and caps, which also has a high sustainable factor, since they seek the full use of their resources, integrating not only qualified labor, but all possible raw materials, reducing the maximum material waste.
These bracelets mentioned above, bring an information card about the symbols in terms of colors and techniques used for its elaboration, in addition to the information of the person in charge of making it by hand. This differentiating factor makes each cap or shirt unique and unrepeatable, since, although they may be the same color, each one will have a unique handle, which will make the purchase an experience of knowledge about the culture and their customs. On the other hand, working with the unworthy communities gives a deeper value to the brand, enriches the creative economy, fosters the development of the community, and promotes the creation of employment and the same tourism in Colombia, so it is a win/win situation. For all those involved with the process, it also creates social value that is fundamental to start creating an integrated system within the enterprise, that when a product is bought, the value of a culture is also bought, the hands of indigenous Colombians are valued.
In addition, another idea that they have been developing and innovating is using organic coriander labels that come with the shirts. These tags come with some coriander seeds, or they are biodegradable so they can simply be planted in the ground to grow a coriander plant. This is a clear example of innovation in sustainability, Maconbe seeks to be up to date on trends such as new sustainability strategies and the entire issue of renewable and biodegradable packaging and materials. Finally, it is important to mention that another of its samples of innovation has been its launches since they show places in Colombia that may not be recognized by most of the population but thanks to the company's advertising when launching its products, little by little they have been recognized by their clients.
MACONBE arose on a common morning for Daniel Marcucci when he was going to his university, and he had an idea to undertake with a purpose, he wanted to show people not only foreigners but also Colombians themselves that in Colombia you can to achieve excellent products, of good quality and that there is great talent in the Colombian workforce; that people stopped buying abroad and began to value Colombian companies and buy local. At that time, he contacted his best friend from school to support him with his idea. His first idea was to start with caps since it was an easy product that did not require so many inputs and processes, then from there, he expanded his portfolio to new markets such as t-shirts. However, when they already had the products ready to sell, both thought that they did not really have great value, so they decided to innovate and implement the indigenous workforce of the Wayú and GunaDule and the artisan products to give it a symbolism, a history and a value behind every product.
As previously said, they seek to maintain the idea that great things can be done in Colombia due to the ease of obtaining raw materials and highly qualified labor; promoting the development of a consumer culture that buys nationally. With this culture, they seek to focus the attention of Colombians and foreigners on the possibilities that Colombia offers, in terms of tourism, natural beauty and always showing the positive face of the country.
Regarding social value, they have worked with indigenous cultures, until now have worked with the Wayú, an indigenous population located in the department of La Guajira, known for generating income through tourism and their hand-woven products which are known all over the world. They are the most numerous indigenous people in Venezuela and Colombia, and apart from dedicating themselves to the weaving known as "kanas", a weaving of stylized geometric figures, representing elements of the natural environment that surround the daily life of the wuayúu, they are dedicated to raising sheep and goats, to plant corn, manufacture of instruments such as drums, apargatas, and hammocks. On the other hand, GunaDule is an indigenous population that lives between Colombia and Panama, also known for its handmade weavings known as molas. Guna Yala (Panama) called themselves "guna," and the Colombians "dule"; Gunadule means “the people who live on the surface of the earth,” and it is one of the 108 transboundary peoples that exist in Latin America. In Colombia, there are 2,610 inhabitants of the Gunadule people who are dedicated to the trade of their handicrafts, especially the molas. The participation of these cultures basically occurs in the design, which is born from inspirations from their beliefs and gods, which are reflected in their woven designs and the production of the fabrics that the company's shirts and caps wear. Giving them the visibility they so badly need and financial support, providing the opportunity to work, embodying their cultures in these pieces that the company sells, it must be emphasized that Maconbe communicates through them by telephone, specifically via WhatsApp. Regarding the environmental value, it seeks to generate the least impact on the environment, assuming extra costs in exchange for reducing the unnecessary expenditure of resources, whether they are raw materials and manufacturing; It is important to mention that the company, despite being a company in its early stages, has decided to assume these extra expenses, because it considers that social responsibility should be embodied in all participating actors or not in an economy, and if they do so plasmas in their processes and products, they are seen as an example for their competition and consumers to do as well.
Another main factor that the company has in its environmental care policy is to reduce the percentage of waste generation, which is why its bags have been 0% plastic since the company began operating, and they are made of cotton, to guarantee its reuse and provide the customer not only caps or t-shirts but also a bag that will allow them to carry their objects wherever they want, without the need to constantly buy plastic bags that leave a major mark on the environment. The company seeks that what comes in its bag is not disposable, but that everything is reusable, such as its 0% plastic bag, its caps that are for everyday use, and a new factor in its latest release, which is a label germinable, basically a seed accompanied by instructions to plant it, which seeks to encourage users to care for the environment and participate in this type of initiative.
What they are looking for in the future is that their products be made from 100% reused materials, and at this moment they are looking for options to achieve it.
The company achieved the total recovery of the initial investment in the first year of operation, in addition to this it has sold more than 20 million pesos since its start of operations, and currently sells more than 25 units per month.
An undoubted social result is the generation of the idea that a huge company is not necessary to generate a culture and a clear message in the consumer. In this case, the essence of the company has been transmitted, which is to promote the national product, traditions, and customs, giving job opportunities to populations that are often forgotten over time; all this with responsible processes with the communities and with the environment. They have created many jobs for the communities and reduced the impact of waste and the use of plastic in the environment.
An undoubted social result is the generation of the idea that a huge company is not necessary to generate a culture and a clear message in the consumer. In this case, the essence of the company has been transmitted, which is to promote the national product, traditions, and customs, giving job opportunities to populations that are often forgotten over time; all this with responsible processes with the communities and with the environment. They have created many jobs for the communities and reduced the impact of waste and the use of plastic in the environment.
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At MACONBE they highlight the roots of Colombia, its culture, diversity, and authenticity through garments and accessories for the day to day, with the highest quality, which in turn evoke the traditions of the different regions of our land.