Edgar Mungufeni turns childhood talent into an interior design business

A tuition shortfall kept Edgar Mungufeni out of his final pharmacy examinations. It also prompted a career rethink that took him from painting hostel rooms to founding Aurren Design.

Four years into his entrepreneurial journey, Mungufeni is building an interior design business that draws on a talent he developed long before he considered it a profession.

As a child, he enjoyed drawing and painting. His ability earned recognition at school, where some teachers kept his artwork in their personal collections.

But when he chose a career, he pursued pharmacy for the stability it appeared to offer.

That path stalled shortly before his final examinations. Financial difficulties left him unable to clear his tuition balance, so he could not sit the papers.

The setback pushed him to reconsider his direction. He chose interior design and enrolled for a Diploma in Interior Architecture, taking responsibility for financing his studies.

To earn money, Mungufeni joined his friend Pius in a house-painting venture called Interior Flippers. They painted individual rooms, hostels and homes.

Those assignments helped him pay for his education while learning how to work with clients and deliver projects.

The venture later became Interior Creations as its work expanded beyond painting into interior design.

After completing his diploma, Mungufeni began shaping a larger business. He wanted a luxury design brand centred on quality, lasting appeal and attention to detail.

That ambition led to Aurren Design.

The firm now undertakes residential and commercial projects tailored to clients’ needs. It also works with contractors and other industry partners.

Mungufeni sees the business as an expression of the creative ability he once set aside. He believes people have individual gifts and that overlooking them can make life harder. His career change, he says, taught him to recognise and pursue his own.

He now wants to build a brand that contributes to the growth of African interior design.

For the former pharmacy student, the work has changed from drawings on paper to the rooms and buildings people use each day.