Photo and story by Ilana Berman of Our City Thoughts
Social entrepreneurs are the new philanthropists. They are individuals who, through innovative business practices, find solutions to the problems that vex our communities, states, and countries. Founder of CLOAK INC, Ebonie Mukasa, is a social entrepreneur committed to putting the mission before the money. Her journey has been one punctuated by challenges and change. But Mukasa’s faith in the transformative power of fashion has helped her overcome those roadblocks, to become one of Miami’s bright new stars of business.
“What I wanted to see, was in the fashion industry, clothing that represented more social responsibility,” says Mukasa, “I saw a lot of consumerism, images that represented brands were always discouraging to young women in the sense of acceptance, self-image.”
So she created CLOAK INC, a clothing brand driven by social initiative. CLOAK, by Mukasa’s definition, means to cover, or protect. In wearing the clothing, you are literally covering yourself, but also helping to cover those in need. With each purchase, CLOAK allocates 20% of the profit to a worthy cause.