Chris Page has some pretty good cards up his sleeve

I recently interviewed a guy whose vision has become a thriving and inspirational company. In 2004, Chris Page set up Cards fromAfrica (CfA), which provides employment to people in Rwanda and makes beautiful handmade, Fairtrade cards. Chris tells Liberti how he set up the business and about the exciting road ahead.

Liberti: What drew you specifically to Rwanda?

Chris Page: I visited Rwanda for three days in 2001 during a ‘scouting the land’ trip.  I knew God was calling me to work overseas and sensed the time was right to start looking in 2000, so I started researching about countries and visiting a few in my holiday leave. Whilst I was in Rwanda I heard the word ‘dignity’ from the Lord and I strongly felt He was saying He wanted to restore dignity to vulnerable youth.

Liberti: Why did you think the card business was a good way to support orphans there?

Chris Page: I started to think about what it was that gave me dignity in my life.  I realised that apart from my identity in Christ, it was the ability to choose what I studied, what clothes I wore, having decent healthcare, what sports to play, etc. And the thing that really enabled all these choices fundamentally seemed to be money! 

So perhaps the Lord wanted me to help people earn money… How, I thought? Through job creation? The more I thought about it, the more it sat right with me, and I was filled with excitement. He wanted me to go and help start up businesses and become a business missionary.

Cards from Africa was the first business I started. I was looking for a product that could be exported, [and was] lightweight (Rwanda is landlocked), high-value, labour-intensive, and relatively unskilled. Handmade cards seemed to tick all the boxes, so we teamed up with a Rwandan artist, made our own handmade paper, and it seemed to take off. We haven’t looked back (much) since! We’re now employing over 90 people full time to make the cards. Almost all our employees are orphaned youth responsible for their younger siblings. They are all aged 18 years+, which is one of the requirements of a Fairtrade organisation.

Liberti: Did you have previous experience in the creative/business sphere?

Chris Page: No, but I have started a few small enterprises since then, including Cards from Africa in the UK as a distribution business.

Liberti: What is your vision for the company?

Chris Page: Our initial vision is to capture 0.01% of the UK greeting card market!  That would enable us to employ around 300 orphaned youth in Rwanda, which is about the capacity of the building they currently rent in Kigali, Rwanda.

Liberti: How does your Christian faith affect the way you do business?

Chris Page: Jesus is central. He’s the best business partner you could ever have! He guides, gives reassurance, whispers words of encouragement and affirmation, and His glory is CfA’s ultimate aim. When we lose track of what CfA is all about, He gently puts us back on track. He is exceedingly patient, gracious, loving and generous, and has never, ever disappointed or failed us, and he never will (even if CfA fails).

The cards take 30 minutes to make, on average, and are exceptionally beautiful. And according to Chris, Cards from Africa now has the largest range of Fairtrade greetings cards on the planet. “We don’t kill any kittens to make our cards, we only use recycled office waste paper,” he jokes. Of course, the main point is that the money goes to those who need it rather than the big American greeting cards companies many of us buy from.

In addition to buying the cards, you can become a Cards from Africa representative, selling the cards and earning some money for yourself (or for a cause you love). You can also contact Chris (chris@cardsfromafrica.com) if you know a retailer that might want to stock CfA cards or if you have any design ideas. Find out more about the company at www.cardsfromafrica.co.uk.