Project Inspire 2014 Finalists: Esther Banda – Empower Women? One Young Zimbabwean says Yes, we can!
Esther Banda, from Zimbabwe, intends to realize – and one which has earned her a place as a finalist in Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard’s annual social enterprise competition, Project Inspire.
The project is an ambitious idea to start a food-processing plant in Bomba, Zimbabwe, which sources produce from local female growers. Then, use proceeds from the sale of the canned produce to fund a women’s refuge and training facility in Harare.
The idea was sparked by a conversation between co-workers at Young Zimbabwean’s Business Platform, where Esther has worked as a Gender Associate since January. The idea of canning the vegetables came when one day Esther noticed a lot of vegetables being thrown away at the end of each day.
Esther’s childhood ambition was to help people and to help people in their personal growth. Esther’s motive is to emotionally empower women.
Joyce Kyalema – Squashing the Poverty Cycle in Uganda
Joyce Kyalema, from Uganda along with her teammates; 32-year-old Shamim Mutesi, Maureen Ntegeka, 35, and Florence Nabugala, 33 was named as a finalist in Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard’s annual social business competition, Project Inspire.
Joyce Kyalema takes this robust vegetable on an entirely different meaning; in just shy of three years, it has enabled the 33-year-old to help as many as 50 Ugandan women start their own businesses, using pumpkin-derived products. Joyce hopes to empower an additional 50 single mothers in rural Uganda through training in pumpkin farming, business literacy and the sale of pumpkin products such as bread, seeds, and spice tea.
With a vision to create an “empowered and self-sustaining society”, in 2011, Joyce launched the Rural Women and Youth Development Organization (RWYDO) in her Ugandan homeland. “I had a passion to help vulnerable youth and women in rural areas find ways of increasing their household income, nutritional values and food security,” says Joyce, who is now the organization’s Executive Director.
Among RWYDO’s aims is to teach women with little or no formal education – particularly single mothers, and those affected by HIV and AIDS – business management skills, modern farming and production methods, basic bookkeeping, accounting, and branding and packaging techniques. RWYDO also works with local partners and the Ugandan government to support and recognize enterprises run by women.
This impressive goal is one that Joyce shares – “Educating women and girls helps them identify their strengths and address their concerns, with less dependence on others. It’s also the single most powerful way to lift people out of poverty.”
Watch the Esther Banda’s video entry here – Project inspire Empower Women.
Watch the RWYDO video entry here – Project inspire Poverty Cycle.
