FASHION CONSULTING
Type-A Wanderer, conversation seeker, champion of the underdog. Jessica Ramey is the founder and boots on the ground for Mercantilia Consulting. With more than a decade of experience, she and her team collaborate with some of the most exciting and adventurous global fashion brands working in Africa. Founded in 2014, Mercantilia provides a hands-on approach to helping brands source and develop healthy and ethical partnerships with the continent’s most remote and marginalized communities. After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2008 with a BFA in Fashion Design, Jessica worked for Edun, Bono and Ali Hewson’s prioneering brand. Cutting her teeth in product development and production directed her journey to Nairobi, where Mercantilia was born. Splitting her time between Nairobi, Kenya, and Charleston, SC, Jessica continues to expand awareness about the opportunities in Africa. Mercantilia is committed to building partnerships between brands and artisans that are meaningful, uplifting and beautiful.
FOUNDER | Jessica Ramey
COMPANY
Welcome to Mercantilia! We are a premier apparel, accessories and home-décor sourcing, product development, and production management company based in Nairobi, Kenya. We offer our clients, a unique and personalized hands-on approach to working in Africa. With over 15 years of experience our team has extensive knowledge in sourcing fabrics, trims and one of a kind raw-materials, as well working closely with artisans, factories and vendors in the region. Leveraging this expertise, Mercantilia has developed beautiful high-quality products for some of the most exciting high-end fashion, home and accessories wholesalers and retailers around the globe. Our mission is to help brands turn their creative design goals into responsible, ethical and long-lasting realities by introducing them to all opportunities Africa has to offer.
Who We Work With:
- Wholesalers- looking to develop custom collections
- Retailers- looking to create custom collections or source unique products
- Interior designers, Hotels, Restaurants, Individuals- looking for specific products for their space and individual markets.
Our services:
- Factory, artisan and vendor sourcing and vetting
- Risk analysis studies
- Sourcing raw materials, inspiration ideas, reference samples
- Price negotiations
- Order quantity negotiations
- Product development management and quality control
- Raw material ordering and management
- Purchase Order management
- Payment management with factories, artisan groups and vendors
- Production management, in-line quality control, final inspection and quality control
- Packing, shipping, documentation and exporting management
- Sourcing trip planning and oversight
Service fees are based on individual projects and order size. Our goal is to make working in Africa realistic and sustainable, so we work closely with each company to ensure pricing is competitive. Please feel free to reach out and we can provide a quote for your individual needs. We are excited to be working with you!
