By Editor
Kenyan innovators captured top honors at the 2025 Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA) in Dakar on Tuesday, as the event spotlighted a powerful wave of female-led agricultural transformation sweeping across Africa.
The awards, a flagship initiative of AGRA’s VALUE4HER program, recognized nearly a dozen entrepreneurs from across the continent.
From nearly 2,000 applicants, two Kenyans claimed major prizes for their work in building sustainable and equitable food systems.
Mathildah Amollo, founder of Greatlakes Feeds Ltd, won the ceremony’s top honor, the Grand Prize. Her Siaya County-based company produces high-quality fingerlings and eco-friendly fish feed.
It sources 70% of its raw materials from women farmers and provides them with credit-based access to fish cages, directly combating the “sex for fish” exploitation around Lake Victoria while improving local nutrition and income.
“These founders have turned constraints into thriving enterprises,” said AGRA President Alice Ruhweza during the ceremony. “Their businesses prove that innovation and resilience are alive across Africa’s food systems.”
Fellow Kenyan Joyce Waithira Rugano, founder of Ecorich Solutions, won the Female Ag-Tech Innovator of the Year award. Her company tackles urban waste and soil health with a solar-powered “WasteBot Decomposer” that converts organic waste into fertilizer within 24 hours.
The initiative partners with over 400 women waste collectors in Nairobi and supplies affordable, eco-friendly fertilizer to farmers.
The awards also celebrated winners from across Africa, highlighting a diverse range of solutions.
Uganda’s Juliet Kakwerre N Tumusiime (Women Empowerment Champion) creates biodegradable hair extensions from banana fibre, generating income for over 2,000 rural women.
Benin’s Julienne Olawolé Agossadou (Resilient & Inspirational Leader) cultivates mushrooms on beds of rice husks, enabling women to earn an income with minimal resources.
Nigeria’s Roberta Edu-Oyedokun (Outstanding Value-Adding Enterprise) produces biofortified cereals and spreads, including the world’s first fruit-infused peanut spread, to combat child malnutrition.
South Africa’s Onicca Sibanyona (Rising Star) runs Jwale Farms, providing climate-smart agribusiness training and nutritious food for youth and young mothers.
Regional Rising Star awards further honored innovators from Burundi, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Malawi for their work in fish farming, soilless agriculture, natural seasonings, and beekeeping.
Nana Yaa Boakyewaa Amoah, AGRA’s Director for Gender, Youth & Inclusiveness, emphasized the growing strength of this sector.
“The pipeline of women agripreneurs is deep and growing,” she said. “We are seeing more technology-driven models, more regional trade links, and real evidence of job creation.”
The WAYA awards, launched at the 2021 AGRF Summit, have become a cornerstone of efforts to strengthen women-led agribusinesses, which are vital to building a more inclusive and sustainable food future for Africa.
