Indigenous African ingredients and food traditions are underrepresented on the local and international markets. Black Umbrellas Global Entrepreneur Week 2018 overall winner Sipamandla Manqele founded her unique agribusiness to help bridge this gap.
Local Village, based in Bryanston, Johannesburg, produces breakfast cereal and packages indigenous African superfoods that are grown sustainably.
According to its founder and owner, Sipamandla Manqele, the agribusiness was founded on a vision of a network of vibrant, local agripreneurs across the continent supplying equitably sourced and sustainably grown indigenous African ingredients.
She says her passion for Africa and the development of its people is expressed in one of her business’s founding principles: to source ingredients from mainly small-scale and local farmers.
The food company makes granola and also sells grains, legumes, flour and the African superfoods teff, roselle and plantain flour.
“I’m committed to contributing to the development of our beloved continent,” she says.
A BORN ENTREPRENEUR
Manqele grew up in rural Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape. She says she has always been interested in starting her own business and developing her community. While in Grade 11, she registered her first business manufacturing toilet paper. But this company never took off.
“The equipment was available but the demands of school became too difficult for me to continue the venture. I had to let go of the idea,” she says.
In 2010, she went to the University of KwaZulu-Natal to study for a degree in social sciences, majoring in community development and entrepreneurship.
After graduating in 2014, she moved to Johannesburg, where she landed her first job at an asset management company. She worked there for 18 months, but her desire to start her own business soon re-emerged. She decided to explore the food industry, as she had grown up in an area where people’s income came mainly from agricultural products.
She quit her job, and started selling free-range chicken around the Sandton area.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Syngenta Seedcare celebrates a decade of innovation
Syngenta's ambition is to enable their customers' investments to grow in healthy soil from treated seeds to young plants through innovation and collaboration, writes Magda du Toit.
Agri workers shine at Western Cape awards
Lindie-Alet van Staden, a garden and olive orchard manager at L’Ormarins Wine Estate in Franschhoek, was crowned as the Western Cape Prestige Agri-Worker of 2024 at a gala event recently held near Paarl.
Small and large farmers recognised at grain awards
The annual Grain SA/Syngenta awards ceremony bears testimony to the quality of farmers in the grain industry.
Growing partnerships: Fedgroup's flexible and innovative approach
Janine Ryan spoke to Warren Winchester, general manager of impact investing at Fedgroup, about why the company became involved in agriculture, and what it offers farmers and their immediate communities.
Why fish farms fail, and how to avoid becoming a statistic
The popularity of launching fish farms is not matched by their success. Leslie Ter Morshuizen, owner of Aquaculture Solutions, explores the factors that cause most of these businesses to go under.
Where history and modernity meet in a luxurious setting
Brian Berkman kept his eyes peeled for ghosts in the oldest continuously run hotel in South Africa, but all he found was a fabulous two-night stay.
THE HITCHING POST
I'm a stylish elderly lady with a radiant glow and a good sense of humour that keeps me young at heart.
Cutworms: check the weeds on your fields!
Zunel van Eeden explains why understanding the ecological interplay between cutworms and weeds is crucial for effective pest management. Producers should disrupt the life cycle of cutworms to minimise crop damage.
Does high-density grazing mimic grazing patterns of game?
In their paper on high-density grazing in Southern Africa, professors Angelinus Franke and Elmarie Kotzé from the Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences at the University of the Free State say high-density grazing systems may not accurately reflect natural ecosystems. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.
Global grain outlook: 2024/25 marketing season
In its latest summer crops report, the Crop Estimates Committee says South African farmers intend to plant 4,47 million hectares of summer grains and oilseeds in the 2024/25 season, up 1% from the previous season. As South Africa exports maize and soya bean, Annelie Coleman reports on the latest trends in the international grain and oilseed markets, amid fluctuations in weather conditions and ongoing armed conflicts.
