NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Francesca Kennedy is founder and CEO of Ix Style. Ix Style (pronounced “eye ex”) started as a simple idea to help one woman and morphed into a for-profit, charitable fashion company that works with more than 600 women around Lake Atitlán to sell Huarache sandals, handbags and jewelry made in Guatemala, where Kennedy’s family is originally from. For every purchase, the company makes a donation to provide clean drinking water to children in Guatemala. Kennedy’s designs have been featured in a variety of publications, she’s appeared on “Project Runway: Fashion Startup,” and she recently became a finalist for the Tory Burch Fellowship as well as a Rent The Runway Entrepreneur finalist.