Co-founded in 2018 by Peter Mwangi and Samuel Mwangi, the company’s vision was to address the shortage of contextually relevant educational materials while also tackling the growing environmental crisis driven by plastic waste. “We used to spend hours just sketching designs on our laptops, which we called ‘plotting,’. That love for creating is what inspired the name Plotus,” says Peter. Today, the business manufactures educational toys, employs dozens of young engineers, and has received recognition from institutions such as the Kenya Climate Innovation Centre (KCIC). Launched with a soft loan of Sh900,000, the business first ventured into poultry technology before shifting focus to educational tools—products that now feature prominently on supermarket shelves and in school classrooms countrywide.
Their debut product was the Incubrooder — an automated egg hatching and chick brooding system that helps improve survival rates for chicks in small farms. That alone was a win for rural agri-entrepreneurs. But they did not stop there. In 2022, they built a custom CNC milling machine to manufacture aluminium moulds for plastic injection, producing essential kits that support Kenya’s Competency-Based Curriculum. The real turning point came about when the team repurposed their existing machinery to craft wooden educational toys from plywood—handson learning tools designed to align with CBC standards. This led to the founding of KIY Toys Limited, a subsidiary of Plotus Innovation Company Limited. With the national shift from rote learning to hands-on, competency-based education, the CBC system created a demand for learning tools that promote creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving, yet most CBC-aligned educational materials in the market were either expensive imports or generic tools poorly suited to Kenyan cultural and linguistic contexts.
“We stepped into this gap to create toys that speak to children, literally and figuratively. Our toys are designed around Kenyan experiences,” he explains, adding that they use native languages, familiar animals, environments they recognise, and even the books referenced in class.
These toys range from alphabet and number blocks to story-based puzzles, miniature toolkits, and science kits, all handcrafted or machine-milled from recycled plastic and plywood.
Every toy is aligned with specific CBC outcomes, ensuring relevance in both urban and rural classrooms. By 2023, they had sold over 1,000 Kenyan-made toys nationwide through various channels including schools, supermarkets, bookshops, and direct orders, with notable stockists such as Ujumbe Bookshop, County and Magunas Supermarkets. “We wanted to create products that solve real problems, but also inspire creativity and learning,” says Mwangi. Kiy Toys is now reshaping playtime by turning CBC theory into tangible, interactive tools for learners. The toys are not just playthings but learning aids that help children grasp abstract concepts through touch, movement, and fun. Through community partner ships, the business sources plastic waste—either in raw form or pre-shredded—from recyclers. In their modest but efficient production facility, plastic is cleaned and melted using a custom-built machine developed in-house by the engineering team. Each toy starts as a concept sketched by engineers, tested in a pilot phase with educators, and refined based on feedback from teachers and parents. “We do not just guess what works, we go to the schools, we listen to teachers, we let kids interact with the prototypes,” he says.
Once refined, the toys are rolled out in limited batches, with the first feedback often gathered through platforms like Facebook, Jumia, and in-person exhibitions.
The feedback loop is continuous, feeding back into a system of rapid product improvement, an agile approach rarely seen in traditional educational publishing. Like many start-ups, the business has faced common hurdles— limited funding, regulatory red tape, and the challenge of scaling from a dorm room idea to a national enterprise. The company has navigated these challenges by building in-house solutions, adapting quickly, and maintaining a clear sense of purpose. “Most start-ups wait for perfect conditions. We started with what we had — a vision and a deep desire to create impact. We had the skills and the ideas, but getting funding was tough. Prototypes and Machines cost money. Even just registering a tech company requires fees and compliance with multiple regulatory bodies,” he notes. Despite these hurdles, the founders pressed on, bootstrapping with personal savings, applying for grants, and pitching relentlessly at innovation forums.
Their resilience eventually caught the attention of KCIC, which offered technical support, training, and seed capital.
“KCIC through the SWIFT Program helped us professionalize. We implemented CRM and HRM systems, built our website, and even brought in consultants from Egerton University to streamline our operations,” he says. Today, Kiy Toys sells 70 per cent of its products directly to consumers, mainly parents buying toys for home use, and the remaining 30 per cent to schools and NGOs. The company has sold over 4,000 units across Kenya and is now expanding into regional markets. Prices for the toys range from Sh550 to Sh1,900. The company’s presence on the online marketplace Jumia has earned it a 94 per cent customer satisfaction rating. Beyond sales, the company employs more than a dozen full-time staff, mostly young engineers, and supports over 20 additional staff members through indirect roles in distribution, sourcing, and sales. Many are recent graduates or youth from low-income areas, given a chance to grow their skills in a fast-moving start-up environment. “For us, employment is not just about salaries but purpose. We have seen interns become designers, and designers become project leads. That is the kind of transformation we believe in,” he says.
