May is Startup Grind Female Leaders Month where we will host over 150 women on stages globally. In Lusaka we are proud to host Honorable Edith Nawakwi.

Edith Nawakwi, a Zambian politician and economist is also the founder and CEO of Legana Meat Processing. Legana sales some of the finest meats and is also known for its famous Hungarian sausages. The company is fast-growing with eight stores in Lusaka and recently contracted to Pick n Pay and Food Lovers supermarkets.

While a student at University of Zambia (Unza), Nawakwi started trading in okra at the Northmead Market as a means to an end. After graduating she got a job while still trading at the market, adding Pamodzi hotel to her list of customers. Born and raised from emerging farmers in Nakonde, little did she know that the skill set she had acquired from assisting her parents at the farm would one day lead her to run a successful vegetable farm. She produced a remarkable yield of 200 tons per hectare of tomatoes, with technical support from Amiran that was spearheaded by a South African company. Under her leadership as Minister of Agriculture, the annual export of paprika increased twenty-fold to USD 6 million following a scheme she implemented of investing in women farmers across the country.

As a business owner in Zambia she has experienced the different stages of building an agricultural enterprise into a recognized household brand. Join us at Startup Grind Lusaka as Honorable Nawakwi shares her entrepreneurship journey.

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