Young Entrepreneur Wins African Award, Pays Tribut...

Young Entrepreneur Wins African Award, Pays Tribute To Late Mom For Inspiration

Audrey Galawu

Her love for food and innovation landed her the first prize in Africa as the best Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) woman of the year in Agri-Business.

The award ceremony was held in Accra, Ghana, on October 29, 2022.

Tracy Mapfumo is a seasoned business woman and founder of Enny’s Treats, changing the tale on healthy living through seed bars.

Her late mother Eniya Dengu who passed on when she was 22 was her strongest influence who taught her the importance of hard work from a young age.

“My mother continues to be my biggest influence. She was a primary teacher and an entrepreneur who raised my siblings and me to be our own leaders.

“She is the reason for my tenacity and resilience in chasing my dreams and creating my own company,” Mapfumo said.

From making food snacks from home in 2018 with the help of her two siblings, Mapfumo has become an international award-winning business woman in food innovation. Her award in Ghana is the most recent achievement but she has won several others that have helped to boost her food manufacturing business.

In 2018, Mapfumo participated in the Youth Connect Program where she was the first runner-up for Mashonaland Province and in the same-year she won US$800 when she was judged the best star-up winner for the (CBZ) youth entrepreneur program.

She used the funding to establish her business from home to an industrial site in Ashbrittle where she currently conducts her business from.

In 2021, she again won the ‘Ndine Thaza’ Season 6, an entrepreneurship competition for upcoming business start-ups, at the time focusing on food manufacturing and technology.

“In 2021 I participated in the Eagles Nest program run by ZimTrade which really helped me in understanding export marketing and packaging.

“This year I participated in the Circular Economy program run by Impact Hub Harare which also helped my knowledge in terms of sustainability and recycling,” she added.

In addition, Mapfumo won the Under-30 Social Entrepreneur award hosted by Macydo Lead after she was contracted by the Zimbabwe Lands Building Funding in partnership with the Lutheran Development Services to train women in Mberengwa to develop a new product using the wild-nut marula nuts.

She is currently attending a Professional Fellowship program in the United States of America in partnership with the Alliance for African Partnership which aims to advance young women in Agricultural business and innovation.

“I have had the opportunity to learn from other professionals in the industry things that I can implement back home.

“There is something in you that you do or something you learnt that you can make use of. We cannot cry over missed opportunities but we can build on the existing foundations,” said the entrepreneur.