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Mawuse’s impression has garnered international recognition and acclaim. Notably, esteemed organizations such because the German Company for Enterprise and Financial Growth, Deutsche Welle, French Growth Company, and the US Vice President, Kamala Harris, have acknowledged her exceptional achievements. Her journey has earned her accolades, together with being acknowledged as one of many prime 3 youth ecopreneurs by the Worldwide Commerce Heart and securing a spot among the many prime 50 Africa’s Enterprise Heroes by the Jack Ma Basis. In June 2023, Mawuse was honoured by the celebrated Bayer Basis for her pivotal position in empowering rural ladies, solidifying her standing as a real trailblazer.
Being mission-driven, Mawuse has set her sights on an audacious purpose: to create impactful options for 1 million ladies farmers throughout West Africa by 2030 whereas concurrently producing significant employment alternatives for youth inside their communities. Together with her unyielding dedication to empower rural ladies, Mawuse Christina Gyisun stands as a real drive of inspiration and a catalyst for transformative change within the Agritech panorama.
Lioness Weekender spoke to the inspirational, impact-driven Mawuse Christina Gyisun about her imaginative and prescient to empower rural ladies farmers and unlock financial alternatives for youth of their native communities.
What does your organization do?
Sommalife is a social enterprise that makes use of cutting-edge software program know-how to create transparency and traceability within the shea worth chain whereas growing the earnings of ladies shea producers in West Africa by way of modern financing, market entry, and agroforestry.
What impressed you to begin your organization?
I grew up in Ghana’s poorest area, the Higher West Area, the place my household and I skilled poverty. I took on jobs that introduced me nearer to smallholder ladies farmers, each throughout and after college. I questioned why these ladies continued to stay in poverty after the arduous work and energy they put into their manufacturing and gross sales. Much more perplexing was my remark that the quite a few Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and support initiatives had no long-term impression on the residing situations of those ladies. To create a greater and extra sustainable answer for these ladies, I based Sommalife in 2020.
The inspiration behind beginning my firm, Sommalife, stems from my private upbringing. I witnessed first-hand the cycle of poverty that affected my household and the smallholder ladies farmers locally, which ignited a deep sense of goal inside me. All through my main instructional journey, I bought on the WA market, which introduced me nearer to ladies farmers and allowed me to grasp their challenges and aspirations.
It grew to become more and more clear to me that regardless of the tireless efforts these ladies put into their agricultural manufacturing and gross sales, they remained trapped in a state of persistent poverty. Motivated by the will to create an enduring and transformative answer for these ladies, I based Sommalife in 2020.
Why ought to anybody use your service or product?
Sommalife is made up of a bunch of younger people from the assorted native communities we function in, with deep native engagement. We actively contain native communities in decision-making processes, equipping them to develop into brokers of change inside their very own contexts. This participatory strategy permits us to create sustainable options that resonate with the communities we serve.
Inform us a bit about your staff
Now we have a proficient staff of 52 sensible younger individuals who carry numerous experience from the agricultural and know-how sectors. Usually, the staff is pushed by a shared ardour for empowering rural communities and creating sustainable impression.
Now we have a community of 33 brokers and managers who ship all our last-mile operations. We even have specialised groups comparable to finance, procurement and logistics, enterprise growth, human assets, conservation, and administrative workers, all working in unison in direction of our collective targets.
We take nice satisfaction in our dedication to fostering range and gender equality inside our staff. Presently, 33% of our staff members are feminine, and we stay steadfast in our dedication to selling inclusivity. We consider in sustaining a mix of native and worldwide expertise by harnessing the motivation and fervour of people who’re deeply related to our mission. We embody the spirit of innovation and dedication required to make a significant distinction within the lives of smallholder farmers.
Share a bit about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
The place I come from, youngsters often need to promote one thing to assist their households, and I used to be no exception. Rising up within the Higher West of Ghana, I noticed the challenges confronted by ladies smallholder farmers who, regardless of their tireless efforts, remained trapped in poverty. My circle of relatives struggled, and I needed to contribute by promoting water and garments within the regional market. It was throughout this time that I realized gross sales and a few negotiation abilities in my very own small means.
Whereas at college, I took on jobs in radio and the hospitality area, which constructed up my confidence and expertise in regarding individuals. After college, I took on an internship at an impression group and was provided a full time position. I used to be confronted with an important choice: to decide on the protection of a gradual job and a safe wage, or to embark on a journey to sort out a better drawback, hoping to make a significant impression for a lot of. Ultimately, I selected to comply with my coronary heart and dare to unravel the urgent difficulty at hand. My ardour to uplift these ladies out of poverty grew to become the driving drive behind founding Sommalife. It’s a private mission that fuels my dedication to create lasting change, not just for myself however for the numerous lives we contact alongside the way in which.
Collectively, we are able to break the cycle of poverty and useful resource these exceptional ladies to construct affluent and sustainable futures. Be part of us on this journey of transformation and impression.
What are your future plans and aspirations on your firm?
Our imaginative and prescient for the way forward for Sommalife is rooted in scaling our impression. Over the subsequent few years, we’re decided to deepen our impression in Ghana whereas increasing our operations to different West African international locations. We are going to construct upon the success of our market linkage and innovation financing packages, we intention to copy and amplify our achievements.
To date, we’ve efficiently related over 7,000 ladies to international purchasers, paying them a formidable 22.7% above the native market common. Within the coming years, our purpose is to succeed in even better heights by connecting over 100,000 ladies to international markets and guaranteeing they’re paid considerably above native market costs.
In our dedication to sustainability, conservation has develop into an integral a part of our enterprise mannequin. We actively assist native communities in planting and managing early maturing shea bushes and empower them to develop into brokers of conservation. Concurrently, we incentivize tree planting efforts, encourage companions to put money into conservation initiatives, and supply them with correct and well timed stories by way of our software program, TreeSyt.
For organizations or people all for partnering with us to make an enduring impression, I encourage you to succeed in out to us. Collectively, we are able to construct a extra sustainable future, create alternatives for rural communities, and drive optimistic change all through the agricultural sector.
What offers you essentially the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
As an entrepreneur, my biggest satisfaction stems from the tangible impression we create within the lives of the ladies farmers we work with. Seeing their earnings develop and their journey in direction of financial empowerment fuels my drive to make a significant distinction. The enjoyment and pleasure with which the ladies we work with meet us each time we go on neighborhood visits is a transparent signal we’re doing one thing proper. I’m continually inspired by their reactions and suggestions. It’s immensely rewarding to witness their progress, figuring out that our efforts contribute to their success and the general growth of their communities. We are going to proceed to attempt for excellence and modern options that result in lasting optimistic change within the lives of those exceptional ladies entrepreneurs.
What is the greatest piece of recommendation you can provide to different ladies trying to start-up?
Nicely, one piece of recommendation to different younger ladies and nonetheless to myself is to all the time do not forget that we’re able to making a major impression, and the world wants our distinctive abilities and contributions.
To search out out extra concerning the impression work being finished at Sommalife, contact Mawuse Christina Gyisun through e-mail: mawuse@sommalife.com and go to the corporate’s web site and social media platforms:
https://sommalife.com/
https://internet.fb.com/Sommalife
https://www.linkedin.com/firm/sommalife/
https://instagram.com/sommalife
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