Graça Machel Trusts' AWAB South Africa launches with women agripreneurs at the centre
"You don't stand here as one, but you have your sisters in different parts of the continent who say, we are ready. We are ready to participate," said Shiphra Chisha, Director of Programmes at the Graça Machel Trust, as the African Women in Agribusiness Network officially launched its South Africa Chapter.
Held on 15 December 2025 in Johannesburg, the launch brought women entrepreneurs from across the country together to showcase their products and connect with partners shaping the sector. The room included Oxfam South Africa and the European Union, provincial government stakeholders from the Northwest and the Eastern Cape, and market and finance institutions working to expand access and opportunity for women-led enterprises.
From the first walk-through of the exhibition tables, the message was clear. These were not small conversations about "potential". This was a room full of women already doing the work. Women who are growing, processing, packaging, trading, and building businesses that feed families and strengthen local economies.
Women entrepreneurs showcased a vibrant range of products across farming, agro-processing, and trade, speaking with pride about their craft and customers. They also shared the real barriers to growth, including cash flow, transport costs, certification, and access to finance. Most powerful was their confidence and collaboration as they exchanged solutions, contacts, and market insights, turning the showcase into a moment of community-building.
"This is a game-changing network that will transform the place of the women in the agricultural sector of South Africa," Chisha said, congratulating women leaders and members for "rising to the occasion" to build a platform that matches the scale of women's contribution.
For Thuto Maepa, Chairperson of the African Women in Agribusiness Network South Africa, the day marked more than a launch. "Today we gather not simply to launch a network, but to witness the birth of a revolution," she said. "For generations, women planted in silence. They harvested in silence... But today, that silence ends with us."
Maepa described the network's ambition in plain terms: women must not remain at the bottom of the value chain while others hold wealth, markets, and decision-making power. "We are not here to help women make ends meet," she said. "We are here to help women break ceilings, build wealth, and lead value chains." She outlined a bold vision for an agricultural ecosystem in which women agripreneurs can access finance, markets, and skills, and influence the policies and systems that shape South Africa's agricultural sector.
Women are central to Africa's food systems. Yet many women-led agribusinesses still face barriers to access for land, finance, technology, and access to high-value markets. The African Women in Agribusiness Network South Africa is being created to change this by connecting women across the value chain, strengthening their leadership and voice, and opening doors to markets and partnerships. After the launch, the priority is to grow the network across provinces and to drive practical support that helps women-owned businesses and cooperatives trade and thrive, guided by what entrepreneurs know and need. When women come together, they share solutions, build confidence, and create new opportunities for one another.
