From Prison Walls to Global Stages: How Teresa Njoroge Built an Enterprise of Second Chances
- Lush Angela
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Her journey from wrongful conviction to global change-maker reveals the true blueprint for building a legacy and it's a lesson for every founder.
When we speak of "scaling a business," we often talk about numbers: revenue, market share, user growth. But what about scaling hope? What about scaling dignity? What about scaling justice?
This is the story of Teresa Njoroge, a woman who didn't just build an organisation but she built a movement from the ground up, after her world had been torn down. Her journey from a wrongful conviction and a 10-month sentence in Lang’ata Women’s Prison to the global stages of sharing her story through platforms such as Ted Talk is more than inspirational. It is a masterclass in entrepreneurial resilience, systemic innovation, and the power of a founder’s mindset to turn profound personal trauma into transformative social impact.
In 2011, Teresa’s life took a drastic turn. Wrongfully convicted, she experienced firsthand the crushing hopelessness and injustice within the prison system. But the greater prison, she discovered, awaited her outside. The stigma of a "former inmate" slammed shut every door to employment and dignity. Faced with a system designed to keep her down, she made a choice that defines all great founders: she decided to build a new one.
In 2016, Clean Start Africa was born. It began not with a pitch deck, but with a profound mission: to empower formerly incarcerated women and their children, breaking the brutal cycles of poverty and recidivism. Clean Start is not a charity; it is a social enterprise ecosystem. It provides:
Psychosocial Support & Life Skills: Healing the trauma.
Vocational Training: In hairdressing, tailoring, and catering, arming women with tangible trades.
Entrepreneurship Programs: Transforming them from job-seekers into job-creators.
Advocacy for Policy Reform: Attacking the root causes, fighting for alternatives to imprisonment and fairer systems.
Her recognition as a BBC 100 Woman and a Ford Foundation Global Fellow amongst others is a testament not just to her story, but to her execution. She scaled a vision into an institution that has impacted thousands.
The Founder’s Mindset: Beyond the Hustle
Teresa’s philosophy cuts to the core of what we believe at SESA Academy. She reframes her narrative not as one of a "fallen woman," but a "found woman." Her driving principle: "No one is beyond redemption, and everyone deserves a second chance and the opportunity to rebuild their life with dignity"—is, at its heart, a powerful founder’s mindset.
This mindset is what we cultivate at SESA. It’s the shift from seeing barriers as stop signs to seeing them as systems to be redesigned. For Teresa, the barrier was a biased justice system. For the women in our academy, it might be the "Funding Ceiling," the "Operational Maze," or the "Network Gap." The principle is identical: identify the systemic barrier, and build the ladder to overcome it.
Your Business, Your Legacy
Teresa Njoroge’s story teaches us that the most powerful businesses are born from a mission to solve a profound problem. Whether you are building a tech startup, a fashion brand, or a consulting firm, the foundational journey is the same. It requires clarity of purpose, resilience in the face of rejection, strategic systems-building, and the unwavering belief that you can build something that outlives and outgrows the initial struggle.
This is the spirit of the SESA Academy. We are not just teaching business skills; we are forging legacy builders. We provide the blueprint, the tools, and the sisterhood of support to help women founders architect businesses that are profitable, scalable, and purposeful.
Inspired by Teresa’s journey to build a legacy from the ground up?Your venture, your vision, deserves the same strategic foundation. The SESA Academy 7-Week Masterclass is designed to give you the framework to build something that lasts.
👉 Learn more and apply for the SESA Academy Masterclass here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfa712SlER1ibxxRah1hxOmHgPaCQRDcjHN0vufS43EeamGow/viewform
Let us help you build not just a business, but a testament to what is possible.
PS: Be inspired some more with the OVAReact Podcast interview with Teresa:
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