In order to contribute to women’s economic empowerment and food security, Agrowomen will create (direct and indirect) jobs for 1000 women and youth by 2030.
2022 WE Empower Finalist, Sub-Saharan Africa
Fily Keita is the founder and CEO of Agrowomen, a Malian cereals and oilseeds processing social enterprise. Keita is passionate about women’s economic empowerment and development. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and is currently a graduate student at the University of Barnako. She has received multiple awards and training. In 2016, she was among 20 young peacebuilders in West Africa by The United Nations Alliance of Civilization (UNAOC) in Nigeria. In 2018, she was one of the 700 young leaders in Africa who took part in the Mandela Washington Fellowship.
Agrowomen supports the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – GOAL 2: Zero Hunger: GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being: GOAL 5: Gender Equality.
SDG 2: Zero Hunger
Agrowomen has partnerships with farmer cooperatives. It invests in local sesame seeds and rice in Mali and focuses on promoting and processing local foods. Agrowmen processes sesame seeds and rice and then sells their by-products such as sesame oil, seeds, and other snacks supporting SDG Goal 2: Zero Hunger.
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
Agrowomen produces natural high quality, and healthy foods, supporting SDG Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being. Their sesame oil is cold pressed and provides health benefits to its users.
SDG 5: Gender Equality
Agrowomen contributes to women’s economic empowerment, supporting SDG Goal 5: Gender Equality. Agrowomen’s team is 99% women and partners with 20 women farmers cooperatives (some cooperatives have more than 300 members) in Baroueli, Segou region in Mali.
I foster gender equality and support women into leadership roles by creating the cooperative Muso Ni Sènè for women entrepreneurs working in the field of agriculture in Kati and Bamako.
The WE Empower UN SDG Challenge is a first-of-its-kind global competition for women entrepreneurs who are pushing the UN Sustainable Development Goals and leading innovation in sustainability and climate change through their businesses. This Contributing Series highlights finalists of the Challenge whose work demonstrates how business models and social entrepreneurship can drive global impact.
by Fahima Ali