In just six years, 33-year-old June Owdo Joseph Ojukwu, a determined entrepreneur from South Sudan, has transformed her honey business into a nationally recognised and internationally exporting enterprise. Success, however, has not come easily.
When Ojukwu launched her start-up in 2019, she was drawn by the promise of the lucrative apiculture sector. But despite her enthusiasm, her early efforts fell flat: she sold only 20 litres of honey and came close to giving up. "The failure was depressing," she said.
Her story reflects a common challenge faced by young African entrepreneurs. While many bring great ideas and ambition, they often lack access to finance, skills training, and opportunities--factors that can doom even the most promising ventures in their infancy.
Ojukwu didn't give up. A year later, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a surge in demand for honey-based remedies. At the same time, support from the African Development Bank helped her business gain traction. In 2023, she secured a USD 5,000 interest-free loan through the Bank's Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund under the Youth Enterprise Development and Capacity Building project. Implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the project provided not only financing but also business development training to accelerate growth.
With the new funds, Ojukwu invested in storage and transportation equipment, thereby increasing her production capacity and enabling her to hire four student employees. Today, her additive-free honey reaches customers worldwide.
"We are exporting to Uganda, Kenya, Dubai, and Australia. We also recently secured a bulk-order customer in China," said Ojukwu. "In addition, we have added new products like beeswax lotion, almonds, cashew nuts, and chia seeds."
Using platforms like Facebook and Instagram to widen her reach, Ojukwu has significantly grown her international clientele. Domestically, she also supplies honey to a major supermarket chain in South Sudan. Bank-supported investments have helped her navigate persistent challenges, including high transportation costs. She notes it costs around USD 370 to transport one tonne of unprocessed honey along a 975-kilometre route from rural beekeepers to her base in Juba--more than double the rate in neighbouring countries.
Ojukwu is also giving back. She works with the Women Empowerment Initiative and the South Sudan Women's Union to train young women and equip them with entrepreneurial skills. Her business has received several accolades, including an award presented by the East African Community.
"Pure Organic South Sudan Honey supports students by giving them job opportunities and training them in entrepreneurship. Most of our trainees are young women," said Ojukwu. She believes this engagement helps reduce school dropout rates and early pregnancies.
"Pure Organic South Sudan Honey supports students by giving them job opportunities and training them in entrepreneurship. The majority of these trainees are female students," said Ojukwu. This matters, she says, because her company's engagement with women students keeps them busy and learning: the result can be reduction early pregnancy as well as reduction in school drop outs rates amongst this demographic.
Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-donor Trust Fund investments in Africa's youth and women demographics are producing economic dynamism. Through the Youth Enterprise Development and Capacity Building project, the Bank has provided more than 550 youth-led enterprises in South Sudan with interest-free loans. Those businesses turned around and created 3,959 new jobs.
Jembi Emmanuel, an account manager at South Sudan's leading mobile money platform, mGurush, which disbursed the USD 5,000 loan to Ojukwu, said she was an ideal client who repaid her loan on time.
"Even after completing repayment, [Ojukwu] continues to use the mGurush for her payments and savings, proving that she has sustained her business," Emmanuel said.
"The Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund envisions the continent's rising population as an opportunity to realize the power of Africa's youth to drive economic growth. Ojukwu's success, like that of other young women in the Bank's youth-focused projects, shows that with access to finance and mentorship, they can formalise and scale their enterprises and actively participate in the economic development of the continent," said Dr. Martha Phiri, Director of Human Capital, Youth, and Skills Development at the Bank.
Since its inception in 2017, the Fund has supported 41 projects across 27 African countries. These investments have created more than 73,500 jobs, 28 percent of which were for young women. The Fund also celebrates equipping an additional 26,000 young people were with skills for employability and entrepreneurship through training programs across Africa.
