Peace and security worsens for women as violent conflict increases, new UN report shows

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Sithembele Malgas – African Farming

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VEGETABLES

Sithembele Malgas, Idutywa, Eastern Cape

I farm cabbage, spinach and butternut on rotation on a 3.5ha plot that I have subdivided into five sections. This means I can stagger production to continually supply my market, which consists mainly of chain stores in towns such as Idutywa and Butterworth, as well as the informal market in the same towns and surrounding villages. We also run a stall just outside the farm on the busy N2, and we market for resale to people who collect produce from the farm.

Cabbage is our dominant crop because it is the most profitable and always in high demand. I use three sections of land to grow and produce about 40 000 head of cabbage. One section holds about 14 000 – 15 000 cabbages when we use intra-row spacing of 600mm, and inter-row spacing of 900mm. We source seedlings from Rainbow Seedlings in East London. We have to order at least six weeks before planting.

The market here demands large cabbage heads so we use Megaton and Menzania cultivars. These varieties can grow a head of up to 13,9kg, which we can sell for between R15 and R20 each.

We use kraal manure and apply fertilisers like LAN as a top dressing for our vegetables. We also practise minimum-till, which saves on mechanisation costs and conserves the soil. I only till the land every four years.

I collect kraal manure from sheep farmers in the area and apply about four tons of manure to every section once every four years.



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Bright future with ingenious veld goats – African Farming

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Vhutolo Khangale believes farming is the best way to fight poverty. He says easy-care, hardy and adaptable indigenous veld goats have tremendous economic value to offer, especially to Africa’s poorly resourced smallholder farmers. Vhutolo talks to Peter Mashala about the benefits of farming the Indigenous Veld Goat breed.

In his early years Vhutolo Khangale spent time looking after his dad’s livestock on a small plot near Thohoyandou in Venda, Limpopo. His father, Moses Khangale, is the chief of the Ha-Makhuvha village under the Rambuda Traditional Council just outside Thohoyandou.

His farming background gave Vhutolo a longing to have his own animals and when he started working as a traffic officer in 2016 he bought five goats with his first salary. He says young people feel farming is just hard labour and is a backward activity that does not pay well. “This is not true.” Vhutolo adds. “Farming is a rewarding career that can solve the problems of poverty and unemployment.”

STARTING WITH VILLAGE GOATS

The first goats Vhutolo bought were mixed breed animals from various local farmers. “I’ve always been surrounded by mixed-breed village goats and knew nothing about different breeds. I was just buying goats in the village and practicing terminal crossbreeding. I had no idea that genetics were so critical to livestock farming,” he explains.

He had no formal training in agriculture and all his knowledge and experience came from working with his dad. A natural entrepreneur, he sold animals using Facebook as a marketing tool. This created a connection between Vhutolo and Emmanuel Mudau, chairman of Limpopo’s Indigenous Veld Goat (IVG) Club, who wanted to buy goats from him.

“He called me and we arranged a time for him to come and see the goats. During his visit we had a long conversation about farming goats, and he motivated me to farm indigenous veld goats,” says Vhutolo.

“The rest is history. I haven’t looked back since then.” There were difficulties in the beginning. The aspiring veld goat farmer was inundated with negative comments from other goat farmers. When Vhutolo told them of his plans to sell all his goats and start over with IVG they said he was making a big mistake.

“People said I should get a good Boer Goat ram to improve my flock,” he recalls. Vhutolo says there is a popular misconception in Venda that IVG are smelly goats, don’t grow out well and are not productive or profitable. “They have even given them the derogatory name ‘zwikemba’, which means ‘I’m sorry’.”

Despite the negative feedback, he sold all his goats, bought a few IVG ewes and a ram and went ahead with his plan to breed veld goats. He also started on a course of intensive reading and research so that he could better understand the IVG ecotypes. “Through this study and by visiting some breeders, I realised that much of what my fellow villagers were saying was based on ignorance,” he explains.

Since switching to the IVG breed, Vhutolo has seen a higher kidding rate with many twins or triplets born into the flock. PHOTOS: PETER MASHALA
The goats always graze separately from the village flocks and are constantly watched by a herdsman. This is to avoid Vhutolo’s IVG flock being genetically contaminated by other goats in the communal grazing land.

PERFORMANCE AND PROFIT WITH IVG

Vhutolo says switching to IVG was the best decision he could have made. His kidding and weaning rates have improved significantly, and twins and triplets are becoming the norm. The kid mortality rate of his flock has dropped to less than 5%. He points out that there is very little intervention in terms of supple­ mentary feeding or vaccinations. “I do not vaccinate my goats and I only treat them when they are sick,” he says.

Vhutolo is a founder member of the Limpopo IVG Club and says he has come to appreciate the enormous potential of these naturally functionally efficient goats. Hardy and adaptable animals, they are parasite tolerant and more disease­ and drought­ resistant than other breeds. They forage by grazing and browsing on a variety of shrubs, trees and grasses and can move easily and walk long distances.

Indigenous Veld Goats are known for their high fertility even under difficult conditions and are excellent mothers. The IVG has been criticised for its smaller body frame by farmers who do terminal crossbreeding in the villages with breeds like the Boer goat or the Kalahari Red. But some of the IVG types are larger framed and Vhutolo says farmers can also select to produce larger framed animals.

“The key to any breeder’s success is selection. Don’t expect too much from your herd if you fail in selection. You must know the history of the animals you bring into your herd, otherwise you will be working backwards,” he says.

His personal preference, because of his farming environment, is for medium­frame animals. He also thinks breeders who focus strongly on selecting for a larger body frame, and more carcass weight, could lose functional traits like hardiness.

“I have limited grazing as I’m in the middle of the village. My medium­frame animals are easier to maintain and need less feed. They stay fertile even in very dry months,” he says. Veld goats are not selective grazers or browsers and will eat whatever forage is available, he explains. In the often extremely hot climate of subtropical Venda the thick and pigmented hide of the IVG breed protects them from the sun.

BREEDING ON COMMUNAL LANDS

Vhutolo selects his goats the natural way, so the toughest animals are kept and the weaker ones are culled. “We don’t vaccinate against heartwater although we live in a heartwater area. If an animal can’t survive heartwater, then it shouldn’t be in the flock,” he explains. He does however treat kids that contract the disease and most of these kids survive.

The goats always have some ticks on their hides to help build resistance to tick-borne diseases. Vhutolo doses animals for worms and other internal parasites only when it is absolutely necessary. Vhutolo says the communal land setup presents its own challenges, which can make it difficult to operate. His biggest concern is to avoid contamination of the IVG bloodline. This needs careful hands-on management.

His flock is always watched by a herdsman and grazes separately from the village flocks. The goats go out from 11 am to 2.30 pm when they are taken to water. They go out again at 3 pm after drinking and come back in for the night at about 5.30 pm.

“Every morning we check to see where most of the village flock has been driven. At 11 am when we let our animals out the herdsman drives them to the opposite side of the pasture,” says Vhutolo. He feeds a supplementary ration, of goat pellets and lucerne, in the morning and again in the afternoon. The amount of ration fed depends on the body condition of the animals.

“When they have a low body condition score (BCS) I feed them every day but if the BCS is good we give them supplements every other day.” As Vhutolo does not have the land to separate the animals into different camps, he manages the breeding intensively.

“We monitor the goats at breeding to make sure we are using the right rams for the ewes. We must be careful to avoid inbreeding, so we take cycling ewes out [of the ewe flock] to make sure they are put to the right rams,” says Vhutolo.

His house is not far from the kraals so he also checks his animals and does not leave everything to his herdsman. “When the rams make funny sounds, I can tell they are following ewes on heat. That’s when I check to see if the ram is following an ewe from the right bloodline and if necessary I separate him,” he says.

Vhutolo and his mentor, Emmanuel Mudau, who introduced Vhutolo to indigenous veld goats. Emmanuel is the Limpopo IVG Club’s chairman.
Indigenous veld goats (IVG) were officially registered as a breed in 2006. IVG is a hardy, functionally efficient breed. These goats are highly fertile and breed throughout the year.

A HEALTHY MARKET

Vhutolo says indigenous veld goats fetch better prices at live markets than they do at carcass markets. There is a huge market for veld goats, particularly in the informal sector. “Besides selling breeding material to other farmers, I also sell goats for meat, especially for traditional ceremonies that require a specific colour of goat,” he explains.

Veld goats perform better in the traditional ceremony market than the uniform colour breeds because the market has specific colour demands. Formal markets, particularly breeders’ sales, are also valuable platforms, says Vhutolo. “I’ve sold a few rams to breeders for good prices.”

Vhutolo is to take part in the Limpopo IVG Club’s upcoming breeders’ sale at the Polokwane Vleissentraal saleyard. “Emmanuel has helped me choose some young rams for this auction. I would love to participate in national auctions and have also applied to become a registered IVG Breeders’ Association stud breeder,” Vhutolo says.

Contact: Emmanuel Mudau at 079 277 5823 or emmuofhe@gmail.com



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Up close and personal with Vhutolo Khangale – African Farming

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WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER BEEN GIVEN?

The best advice was to stop terminal crossbreeding and stick to the Indigenous Veld Goat breed. To buy only quality and stay the course.

IF THERE IS ONE THING YOU COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY, WHAT WOULD IT HAVE BEEN?

I would have started earlier focusing on one breed rather than wasting time with terminal crossbreeding.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR SINGLE BIGGEST SUCCESS TO DATE?

Participating in the first Limpopo IVG Club production sale with some of my animals.

WHO HAS MADE THE BIGGEST CONTRIBUTION TO YOUR SUCCESS?

Emmanuel Mudau is the person who made what I have achieved possible.

WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP DO YOU HAVE WITH YOUR NEIGHBOURING FARMERS AND

WHAT ROLE HAVE THEY PLAYED IN YOUR SUCCESS?

Most of the farmers around me are communal farmers like myself and I generally have a good relationship with them.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ANYONE LOOKING FOR MONEY?

My business has not been funded in any way. I had to build what I have on my own. I would advise other aspiring farmers to start with what they have. Don’t wait for funding before you start pursuing your dreams.

WHAT ROLE HAVE INPUT SUPPLIERS, SUCH AS SEED AND CHEMICAL COMPANIES, PLAYED IN YOUR BUSINESS?

I don’t give my goats much medication or extra feed, so not a big role.

IF THERE WAS A SINGLE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU COULD GIVE THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

To pay attention to the youth and come up with programmes to uplift young people and encourage them to start farming and to stick with it.



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Mojalefa Tlou – African Farming

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CATTLE

Mojalefa Tlou, Waterval, North West Province

We have not had any rain and are expecting our summer calves in the next few weeks. Our biggest challenge is the lack of grass because of the veld fires we have had in the past few weeks. We will need to supplement heavily and provide extra feed for our animals while we wait for the first rains to boost the grass flush.

We really have a problem with people deliberately burning the veld; it causes major problems and adds unnecessary costs to our operation. We feed a supplementary protein lick to our pregnant cows. Once they have started calving we will provide them with licks that are high in energy. This should help the cows raise their calves and maintain good body condition.

We have just vaccinated our cattle against lumpy skin disease using MSD’s Lumpyvax®. We have also vaccinated against the major clostridial diseases. [Farmers can use available multivalent vaccines like Afrivet’s Prondivax multiclostridial 8 or MSD’s Covexin® 10].

We are hoping that the rains are not delayed as this may force us to creep feed our young calves so that they don’t depend entirely on their mothers’ milk as the cows may be struggling if there is not enough grazing.



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Playing a hand in more productive land – African Farming

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The HandPicked agricultural skills development programme from Mr Price Foundation is using vertical crop production to create entrepreneurial opportunities for agricultural students and home growers. The foundation is seeing valuable early results from this corporate social investment programme, including growing more food, closer to markets. African Farming’s Robyn Joubert visited the project.

In October 2020, when South Africa was in the grip of the covid­19 pandemic, Mr Price Foundation launched an agri­ cultural training programme in Hammars­ dale, KwaZulu­Natal. Dubbed “Hand­ Picked”, the programme specialises in vertical crop production, with a vision to stimulate youth and community farmers to become more productive and enterprising. HandPicked is showing encouraging early results.

Twenty­four home growers have completed training and set up 30 growing tunnels at households and community centres; and 10 youth from agricultural tertiary institutions have bolstered their theoretical knowledge with valuable practical and business skills.

Two micro agribusinesses and two seedling nurseries have also spun­off from the programme. This marks the first time that Mr Price Foundation has invested in skills training in the agricultural sector. It is funded primarily by Mr Price Group, with VeldskoenTM and CHEP coming onboard as partners to scale the programme for greater impact.

“Mr Price Foundation historically develops the skills of youth for formal employment in the retail value chain. Given the lack of formal job opportunities, we created HandPicked in partnership with FreshLife Produce to connect youth with economic opportunities in agri­ culture,” explained Karen Wells, head of Mr Price Foundation.

The first phase of HandPicked is a 12­month skills development programme, where participants learn life skills, business training and modern growing techniques. They also gain practical experience, including seedling production and growing crops hydroponically under greenhouse, in vertical towers of growing pods.

“We believe that with effective agricultural skills development, youth and communities can find innovative ways to generate a sustainable income through farming, with the added benefit of providing more food, closer to markets, using less scarce resources.”

HandPicked sources participants from agricultural tertiary institutions and from engagements within the Hammarsdale community. Located 50km west of Durban, Hammarsdale is the site of Mr Price Group’s main distribution centre.

“Candidates with a positive attitude to farming and a flair for entrepreneurship are selected. After training, growers can go on to create vertical growing hubs in communities or home gardens. They shift from consumers to producers – and stimulate local economies and community food production,” said Karen.

The HandPicked programme is implemented by Freshlife Produce, utilising the African Grower vertical growing system, and is supported by Thandeka Zulu, CEO of Niya Consulting.

“What sets HandPicked apart from many other farming projects is that candidates learn how to grow crops hydroponically in vertical towers, using water-saving coconut coir as the growing medium. By planting vertically, we can dodge common issues of limited access to space and water, and poor soil health. At the same time, you can plant more densely when you plant vertically,” said Thandeka.

The system has shorter lead times than traditional field farming and growers are seeing healthy yield improvements, Thandeka said.

HandPicked graduates from left are Esethu Gogo, Senamile Gumede, Noluthando Lubede, Hlengiwe Mdlolo, Nokubonga Shange and Boniswa Mahlanyana. PHOTO: © MR PRICE FOUNDATION/PIERRE TOSTEE
Crops are grown hydroponically in water- wise coconut coir. PHOTO: © MR PRICE FOUNDATION/TIM LUBBE

GROWTH POINTS

The second phase of HandPicked is the establishment of sustainable growing hubs and microbusinesses. Of the 10 tertiary students trained, three have set up two agribusiness; and four others have erected growing tunnels at their homes.

The first agribusiness is a 0.2ha growing hub at Mr Price Group’s support centre in Durban. They plan their crops according to the demand of their onsite market, which is a bustling canteen and market days. The second micro-business is Amagalelo Agribusiness, on 0.5ha in Hammarsdale. Amagalelo is a dual model utilising both soil and vertical farming, as well as a seedling nursery. Market forces are key to HandPicked and it pays close attention to matching supply and demand.

“We want our agripreneurs to be self- sufficient. They need to create economic opportunities and run profitable growing hubs. Amagalelo is positioned directly inside the Hammarsdale community and grows crops according to community needs. Farmers have learned which crops are higher margin crops with a shorter turnaround time,” said Thandeka.

HARNESSING HOME GROWERS

HandPicked has already upskilled 24 home growers with agricultural know-how, of whom 10 are people with disabilities. These growers have established 30 tunnels at their households and centres at Vukuzame, Mophela, Gugulethu crèche and Ward 5, and are improving the wellbeing and nutrition of 104 dependants.

The intent is for home growers to also become food producers, although those that cannot take it forward can still take care of their needs by growing for the table and selling or exchanging any surplus.

“HandPicked promotes localisation and is capacitating and promoting agripreneurs in the community. Consumers can purchase directly from farmers and they are not carrying the deadweight of logistics and cold chain management,” said Thandeka.

WHERE TO FROM HERE?

By the end of the 2023 financial year, HandPicked aims to have established four more growing hubs, with four agripreneurs and 10 home growers upskilled per hub.

It is also investigating value-adding through food processing, for example producing chilli sauce for local outlets, such as community centres, households, markets and crèches. It has identified the need for remote technological business support for agripreneurs, to trouble shoot and provide quicker support and aftercare to its emerging farmers.

“HandPicked is operating in niche markets and is still quite new, so the impact is not fully tested. However, it is yielding positive results and indicates that the programme can scale well and is cost-effective. Agripreneurs are evolving towards their own financial sustainability and food security,” said Karen.

Mandisa Mathenjwa, one of the young agripreneurs behind the growing hub at Mr Price Group’s support centre.

CASE STUDY 1

THE MAKING OF MANDISA

The 0.2ha growing hub at Mr Price Group’s support centre in Durban is operated by two young agripreneurs: Mandisa Mathenjwa and Phumelele Godlo. Their site holds seven greenhouses, each equipped with vertical towers and growing pods.

The agripreneurs have formed a microbusiness, MP Agribusiness, and a seedling nursery, and produce crops such as tomatoes, peppers, spring onions, lettuce, thyme, coriander, baby spinach and chillies.

Originally from Empangeni, 21-year-old Mandisa holds a B.Agriculture majoring in crop production and management from the University of Free State. After graduating in 2020, she was selected for the HandPicked programme, and was then placed as an intern at the Durban hub.

“I have been working here for one year. As an intern, I learnt about planting, irrigating and researching pests and disease. My farming skills have really improved. I only had theoretical knowledge from university. We learnt from pictures. But when we got to HandPicked, we could find out for ourselves how plants behave, how to harvest, how to package, as well as the business side.

“Farming is not just about planting and selling. You have to consider market demand and margins,” said Mandisa. Mandisa believes that her experience will equip her to be a successful agri-business owner.

“My passion is farming and with the experience from Mr Price Foundation I am now more than fit to run my own business. At times like this, it does not make sense to wait for someone to hire you,” she said.

HandPicked grower and microbusiness owner Vusi Mkhize at the Amagalelo growing hub in Hammarsdale.

CASE STUDY 2

VUSI’S VISION

Once you’ve had a taste for an easier and more productive way of farming, it’s hard to go back to old ways. That’s why Amagalelo Agribusiness in Hammarsdale is pursuing their goal to convert their whole farm from field farming to tunnel farming.

This venture is run by five family members: sisters Nosipho Mkhize and Mbali Nyawuza, brothers Vusi Mkhize and Russell Mkhize, and their mother, Nikeziwe Nyawuza.

Staple crops like sweet potato, butternut, peppers, carrot, spinach, onions and iceberg lettuce are planted in fields, while peppers, tomatoes and frilly lettuce are among the crops grown under greenhouses in vertical towers.

Vusi, 35, entered the HandPicked programme in December 2021. After his training, HandPicked set up four greenhouses on the Mkhize farm, each kitted with 24 towers and 96 growing pods. Since then, Amagalelo has seen yields increase by 71%. It opened their eyes to the benefits of vertical tunnel farming.

“Growing vertically and in tunnels is much better than soil farming. We can harvest Mba 90% of our expected crop whereas with soil we get less than 60%. Plus, it is easier to manage and control pests. You have to work longer and harder with soil. There are so many pests and diseases to control.”

When Hammarsdale came under heavy rains in April, flooding caused severe crop damage and soil erosion in the fields. Yet the tunnels were unharmed. “It is very clear to me which system is passing and which one is failing. If this whole farm could be run under tunnel, things would be much easier.”

Vusi says vertical farming also allows them to plant more densely, over a smaller footprint. “We can grow so much more in tunnels. I can harvest six to eight crates of tomatoes in one tunnel. We can’t compare this harvest to soil. We want to grow 100% under cover.”

The family is in the process of applying for government funding to erect tunnels and to build storage, packing and training facilities. “My main calling is to teach younger ones for their agriculture career. Farming is key to fighting against starvation,” Vusi said.

You can watch a video of the HandPicked project here: youtu.be/4_MKBdo6MEI

For more information visit mrpricefoundation.org/ handpicked/



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Call for Applications: AfDB’s Fashionomics Africa Online Incubator and Accelerator Programs

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a) Third party cookies for advertising. Many of our websites carry advertising. A certain amount of this advertising is tailored to the individual user, as practice known as “Online Behavioral Advertising” which uses cookies to discover general information about the pages you visit. This keeps many of our websites and services you use free of charge. The tracking system is anonymised and therefore it does not know who you are; it simply uses the limited information available to it to serve adverts to you, which it believes are relevant. It does not collect personal information such as your name, email address postal address or telephone number.

From time to time, New African Woman Magazine may share this anonymised behavioural data with our advertising partners. This could mean that when you are on other websites you are served advertising based on your behaviour across oour titles or you may be served advertising based on your behaviour on other sites.

Behavioural retargeting is another form of Online Behavioural Advertising that enables us and some of our advertising partners to show you adverts based on browsing patterns and interactions with the site away from our sites. For example, if you have visited the website of Car Dealership you may start seeing adverts from that same Dealership site displaying special offers or showing you the products that you were browsing. This allows companies to advertise to website visitors who leave their website without making a purchase.

If you want to opt out of receiving Online Behavioural Advertising this does not mean that you will no longer receive advertising when you are using our sites. It just means that the advertising you see will not be customised for you. If you would like more information about Onsite behavioural targeting and how to opt out of it, please visit www.youronlinechoices.com or you can also visit http://www.networkadvertising.org/

Our websites uses JavaScript to detect the use of ad blocking extensions for web browsers, we do not store any information on users’ devices and process no personal data. 

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New African Woman Magazine Marketing Cookies 

These are normally supplied by our approved partners or adverts delivered from New African Woman Magazine own systems and allow us to serve you adverts that you might be more interested in. This tracking system will log what adverts you see and will cap the number of times you see an advertisement. The data collected is anonymised and therefore the cookies do not know who you are. 

WHAT TO DO IF YOU WANT TO CONTROL THE USE OF COOKIES?

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For more information about third party cookies generated by advertisers please visit www.youronlinechoices.com and for general information about cookies and their use, please visit All About Cookies.

Please be aware that these are 3rd party websites and as such &HER MEDIA GROUP accept no liability for the instructions given on these sites.

If you have any questions about New African Woman Magazine  policy, please contact contact@nawmagazine.com or for further legal information about privacy issues you may find The Information Commissioner’s Office          useful. 

Updated October 2022 



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It takes courage to be yourself — Lionesses of Africa

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by Kathy Mann

I’ve been thinking about how we become so conditioned by other people’s expectations of who we are and who we ought to be. I attended university in Cape Town and I had to wait a year because my father didn’t want me to leave home. I wonder what the cost of that year of earnings equates to, compounded over my career? Anyway, in my wisdom, it was worth the wait and I found a good career path, nice and respectable. I’m learning now that I have other talents that could be used to make a more fulfilling career path for me in future.

Friends ridiculed me for my hip-swinging dancing style from the city. I had to adjust to the more alternative, grungy dance moves in order to fit it. Although I do like a lot of the music, it wasn’t really me and I’ve never seen a convincing blonde Goth.

I’ve been wondering lately, with being a people-pleaser, how much of the real me has been lost along the way in order to fit in or gain approval. How often I bite my tongue for the sake of harmony and good manners. How often do I fail to speak up for my own needs and simply go along with what’s best for everyone else. When you do that, you never really end up doing what you want to do. And over time that can create a great deal of resentment, which is entirely your own fault. You can’t expect the world around you to read your mind and to know what you want. I’m guilty of this and I need to learn to speak my truth.

There are a lot of extroverts in my extended family. They have very strong opinions and they all shout each other down. Among them, I find myself just listening and making my own internal judgements. I’m afraid of retribution if I disagree and I’m afraid to be contradictory, which goes against my need for harmony. But this has stood in my way because they don’t really know me. If you had to ask them about what drives me and the things that I love doing, they would all struggle. But that’s not really their fault. Sure, it’s important to listen to those around you and to give people a chance to contribute to the conversation. But I should have fought for my own right to speak.

Speaking up for your beliefs, especially in the face of conflicting views, takes courage and strength. You must be prepared for people to judge you, to disagree with you and even to shun you. Some family members have been ex-communicated so possibility does exist. But I’ve learned through my struggles lately, that it does you more harm to keep your truth inside.

I have failed to speak up when people hurt me in the past. I’ve failed to fight for my rights to speak; to be treated fairly and to be loved and accepted for who I am. I think it’s a common problem for introverts and for people who like to keep the peace. But where are all those bottled up emotions and ideas going? Keeping it all inside is really not good for you. I’m exploring ways to express myself better, this blog being one of them.

For me, my health depends on me being able to be free to be me. It takes courage and strength, which are currently in short supply. But I’m taking small steps and hopefully in future, I’ll not be anyone’s doormat. Because the price I’ve paid already is too high.

I’m also conscious of not laying down expectations onto my kids. “Art is for hippies” or “you can’t make a living out of that”, will not be phrases that come from me as a parent. I want my children to follow their passions and the money will come. Loving what you do is far too important.

No-one becomes famous or achieves greatness from trying to fit in. it’s in celebrating your own uniqueness, that your true genius emerges. It’s imperative that we all learn to be comfortable with who we are and to speak our truth, no matter the consequences.



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Mara Zhanet Michelo, a Zambian social entrepreneur developing young people to fulfill their potential — Lionesses of Africa

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Tell us a little about your team

To work for Jacaranda Hub, one has to be passionate, agile, multifaceted, ambitious, and dynamic. We work in a very fast-paced environment and hence the levels of stress can be really high. The Jacaranda Hub team are very youthful and this makes it very conducive to the work we do and the community we serve. One thing you can find among the team is fun. We laugh as much as we work.

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

I have always had an entrepreneurial streak in me and what made it even more apparent that I would end up becoming one was my ability to always see opportunities around me when everyone only saw problems, coupled with my personality, tenacity, and die-hard attitude. If you asked someone about me, the things people would consistently say would be, “she is strong, courageous, hardworking”, but most commonly said is I never give up. I could say I come from an entrepreneurial background because my mother was one, for as long as I could remember my mom was always trading. Before her passing in 1992 when I was only nine years old, my mom owned 3 hardware stores in Lusaka city’s busiest markets town centers market and Kamwala market. She travelled frequently to Congo DRC, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Even at a young age, I found that intriguing and it left a significant mark on who I am today. I want to change lives and I believe I am in the right position to do that as an entrepreneur.

What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

My ambitious goal and aspirations for Jacaranda Hub are to establish the Start-Up Village of 10 innovation Hubs across the country. Jacaranda Hub will build a startup ecosystem that facilitates the entire entrepreneurial journey from idea to funding, scaling, commercialization and going global. I envision we will be able to build unicorn and exit ventures in the next 5 years.



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Alexina Phiri, a global women’s rights change-maker in Africa and the world — Lionesses of Africa

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What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

Adona Foundation is due to release its first book on the 30th September.  
Product description – I Am Adona is an inspiring collection of stories by African women about what they view to be their countries greatest achievement in advancing women’s rights and empowerment. Edited by Alexina Phiri, CEO of Adona Foundation, the book is the perfect gift for people of all ages to celebrate the accomplishments of women empowerment in these countries and challenge themselves to think of what more can be done to sustain these efforts to strengthen women’s rights and empowerment. Topics range from reproductive health rights, period poverty, the aviation industry, the legal system and many more. This book encourages readers to think about women’s rights and empowerment in their own country and what more can be done to uplift women using examples from the stories. 

The collection includes writings from an array of women who are trailblazers in their field including 2020 recipient of the BBC World News Komla Dumor Award, Victoria Rubadiri; best-selling author Aiwanose Odafen; Botswana’s first TED fellow and LGBT Activist, Katlego K Kolanyane-Kesupile; and many more. I Am Adona features powerful stories from: Hilina Degefa, Faith Kaoma, Mwanahamisi Singano, Victoria Rubadiri, Katlego K Kolanyane-Kesupile, Faten. Aggad, Aiwanose Odafen, Ynis Isimbi, Ulemu Hannah Kanyongolo, Mbalenhle Matandela, Madia Thiam, Albertina Palalane Namburete, Carolyne Madubuike, Henda Chennaoui.

What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?

Being able to help others realize their potential and achieve their dreams.

What’s the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?

The most important thing is to start. Believe in yourself always and make sure whatever you are doing you are passionate about it! Don’t be afraid to ask for help… more times than none someone has come across your problem and there is a solution for it. It goes without saying, but carry on. There will be times where things are looking difficult and you feel like giving up but always remember what made you want to start your journey and be committed to seeing it through no matter how long it takes.

Contact or follow Adona Foundation

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL alexinaphiri@hotmail.co.uk





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