Women Accelerator's Programme: Meet the mentees | Part II
Women in business are at the heart of FAO’s mandate to reduce rural poverty and achieve food security for all.
That’s why in October 2022, 50 women entrepreneurs working in the agrifood sector across Sub-Saharan Africa were chosen to participate in the first year of the FAO-IAFN Women’s Accelerator Mentorship Programme for Women-led SMEs in Africa.
Participants were selected from an open call for expressions of interest by a panel of experts from FAO and IAFN.
CONNECT Portal will be regularly featuring the stories of the hard-working women who took part in the programme. You can read the second in our series of articles on these women below.
Kudzai Sigauke
Kudzai Sigauke is an agripreneur and the owner of Janna Fresh Produce, a company that produces and supplies organic vegetables, herbs, and spices. As well as being a businesswoman, Kudzai has worked as a producer, singer, songwriter, screenwriter and filmmaker under the name Sisiyanti.
Kudzai started Janna Fresh Produce in April 2021 as a market gardening company selling produce to supermarkets and individual clients. Starting with oyster mushrooms, she has since added other vegetables and herbs such as spinach, coriander, and parsley. Her mission, she says, is to supply Africa with quality organic vegetables and herbs that nourish and heal the body.
Kudzai's vision for the brand is to grow and expand into the export business, focusing more on herbs and spices such as coriander, basil, parsley, and chili. With access to more than 45 hectares of fertile land, she believes that with some microfinancing and mentorship, Janna Fresh Produce can become a multi-million-dollar company within 12 months – and, in doing so, create decent-paying jobs for hundreds of women in her community.
“Being on this programme has been a huge eye opener. I understand more now the urgency and need for us farmers to take a stand and participate in restoring the land and to farm sustainably. This will make sure the next generation has land to grow food on. I really appreciate this opportunity to learn and be empowered like this. To the FAO Team and mentors l say ‘Thank you so much, l salute you. May you continue your great work of inspiring and transforming minds – Africa is definitely ready for greatness!”
Lilian Mpama
Although she has worked in the development sector for more than ten years as a trainer, programme evaluator and project manager, Lilian Mpama saw herself as the kind of person too risk-averse to invest. But as she grew more committed to wanting to create jobs for her community, she began to take her first steps in building her own enterprise. The company she built, Lilies Innovation, was set up to serve that community through the aggregation, value addition and distribution of dry cereals and legumes.
Lilies Innovation works with smallholder farmers by providing much-needed support in production, linking them to resources including training and technical expertise. The company trains the farmers in agribusiness and offers them a ready market for their produce. In some cases, they also offer inputs on loans to the farmers to ensure quality products.
“The programme has empowered me to look at my business potential differently. Targeting the base of the pyramid has been my goal, but I didn’t know how to. Through the tools and wisdom availed through the programme, I now realize that I don’t need a nutrition background to grow a business that is nutrition focused.”
Corlia van Dyk
Corlia van Dyk runs Taste Me Curry Fish, a business that produces and distributes pickled hake fish in three flavours. Corliais seasoned in logistics and transport, having served for years in middle management while raising two sons as a single mother. She became an entrepreneur during the 2000s as the owner of a British-American agency.
Taste Me Curry Fish started out as a home-made product with a much-loved family recipe. Corlia took over the company in August 2017 before receiving her certificate of acceptance from the National Regulator of Compliance Specifications, opening the door to having her products sold in chain stores. Corlia joined the programme to gain the mentorship and guidance that she believed would allow her company to flourish and employ at least 15 permanent women staff.
“I realized that I tended to underestimate the value of networking, especially with people not in the same field as me. My mentor, EileneBowland, as well as these workshops, expanded my vision and made me realize again that something very small today can be very big tomorrow.”
