Doreen Jean Nsasiirwe, a Ugandan entrepreneur, won the WOMED Award South 2022 earlier this month. With this award, the organizations Trias and Markant want to stimulate female entrepreneurship. Sandra Ejang and Joy Mary Lwanga were the two other finalists.
The day after International Women’s Day, the digital presentation of the WOMED Award Zuid, an award that is presented every two years by Belgian ngo Markant to an entrepreneur from a country where Trias is active, took place. This year was Uganda’s turn, and Gudrun Verschuere, chairwoman of Markant, and a jury of Belgian and Ugandan members traveled early to the capital Kampala earlier this year, where Doreen Nsasiirwe was elected.
With her company Westlink Delicacy Api Group Limited, which she has been running since 2009, Doreen markets honey from the Kisoro region. The company buys honey from local beekeepers and beekeeping cooperatives, where it pays a fair price. By doing so, it helps the people of this remote region and creates employment for a lot of people in the value chain of honey, such as production and sales.
“I know Kisoro well and saw the potential of the delicious honey made there,” says a happy Doreen, who dreams of opening a ‘wellness’ supermarket in Kampala. “A place where you can only find healthy and organic products, because nothing like that exists here right now.”
Doreen also hopes to further professionalize her company’s warehouse and packaging center to ensure a smoother production process. “This will hopefully bring me closer to my dream of a world-class company that simultaneously moves local communities.”
In Uganda, Trias works with Tunado, the national membership organization of Ugandan beekeepers, to provide training, information on new trends in the sector and an extensive network for local entrepreneurs. “Many Ugandans often lack the knowledge and resources to start their own business. They have the drive, but not the opportunities, and that is where Tunado and Trias come in” Doreen says.
Click here to meet Doreen
Sandra Ejang, of Western Silk Road Limited, is also working with honey. She works with families in rural Uganda who sell their honey to her company. She then resells that honey in stores across the country. “Thanks to my business, these honey producers are seeing a huge increase in their income. In addition, I make sure that through us they can take training courses or easily get an interest-free loan to buy new equipment.”
Joy Mary Lwanga started her ecological farm, Shalom Organic Farm Limited, in 2007 after she was widowed. She grows organic vegetables and fruits and her farm also produces eggs, all while respecting the land and its biodiversity. She, too, buys produce from nearby farmers. “I support a lot of women this way by paying a fair price for their produce. In addition, I help them learn new techniques that also improve their yield.”
Trias is a Flemish development cooperation NGO created and run from national organizations in Belgium. This agri-agency is active in twelve countries in Africa, South America and Asia where it tries to support entrepreneurs. The goal of Trias, which is part of the Farmers Fighting Poverty network, is to increase the livelihood security of small-scale entrepreneurs and family farmers.
Source: article Trias (in Dutch)
Pictures: Martin Jjumba
