Women's SME Accelerator Programme: Meet the mentees | Part XI
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 eleventh in our series of articles on these women below.
Rahel Heruy
Rahel Heruy is the founder and managing director of Damascene Essential Oil. Rahel is a senior pharmacist, an Agribusiness Entrepreneur and an advocate for Sustainable Agricultural business for social and personal development with over 12 years' experience in coordinating and leading different Natural Resource Conservation projects.
Inspired by the history of the use of aromatic plants in Ethiopian culture, Damascene Essential Oil Processing PLC produces and supplies essential oils, herbs, spices and other body care products. As part of its efforts to bridge the gender gap and to ensure that raw materials are readily available to feed the product needs, Damascene supports ten women cooperatives with 3,000 women farmers to plant more than 15 types of spices including green cardamom, lemon verbena, rue, lavender and turmeric over an area of up to 2,000 hectares.
Rose Kennedy
Rose Kennedy is the founder of Foods from Farms and a smallholder farmer by background. Seeing an opportunity to help women smallholder farmers to be agri-preneurs and reduce dependency on imports from Botswana’s neighbouring countries, the enterprise acquired a ten-hectare field as a showcase to start producing jugo beans.
Jugo beans are a low-cost crop that do well in hot climates with poor soil, making it well-suited to Botswana’s harsh climate. Foods from Farms has since started engaging with women smallholder farmers in the country to form cooperatives for the mass production of jugo beans, ground nuts and other types of beans to feed the nation. Rose wants her country to be self-reliant in terms of food, recognising food security as one the main UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially for low-income households who can’t afford expensive imported products.
Vanessa Aisha Limann
Vanessa Aisha Limann, CEO of Vanelim Enterprise, is a remarkable young woman who embarked on her entrepreneurial journey at the age of 19, right after senior high school in 2017. Her visionary spirit and passion for healthy living led her to establish Vanelim Enterprise, a thriving company specializing in the production of nutritious breakfast cereals using locally sourced grains such as maize, millet, and wheat for value addition.
Under her dynamic leadership, Vanelim Enterprise has achieved significant milestones, with its products now available in 35 supermarkets across the country. By utilizing locally sourced grains, Vanessa not only promotes the consumption of healthy breakfast options but also supports local farmers, contributing to the sustainable development of the agricultural sector.
Vanessa’s dedication to creating wholesome and delicious breakfast cereals has not only earned her widespread recognition within the food industry but has also positively impacted the lives of many consumers seeking nutritious alternatives. Her commitment to quality, innovation, and community empowerment sets Vanelim Enterprise apart as a shining example of social entrepreneurship. As an inspiring young CEO, her journey serves as an inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly in the food and agriculture sector.
Yolande Nankeng
Yolande Nankeng is the founder of Extrait Végétal Sarl, a company specializing in processing of fruits and vegetables into products of high nutritional value such as juices and smoothies for people wanting to put their health first.
Raised in a single-parent household, Yolande had to learn to work quickly in life to support her then-unemployed mother. She ranks honesty, integrity, simplicity, and the love of her neighbours as just a few of the values that her mother instilled in her to help face life’s difficulties. Fascinated by vital hygiene, Yolande accomplishes her life mission by organizing seminars, workshops, and nutritional support to enable people to find well-being through food. Extrait Végétal Sarl’s ambition is to be the first natural juice production industry in Cameroon and is the promoter of the APON natural fruit juice brand.
Yolande was born in Bafoussam in the high hills of west Cameroon and now lives in Douala, Cameroon with her husband Patrice and their five children.
