What are the Female Entrepreneur Awards?
The Provincial Female Entrepreneur of the Year Awards recognises and honours women making a difference in the agricultural sector. The Provincial Female Entrepreneur of the Year Awards have taken place every year in August for the past 16 years.
The competition is a partnership between the national Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the 9 provincial departments of agriculture.
The Western Cape provincial winners were congratulated by Economic Opportunities Minister, Alan Winde who said “it’s fitting that in Women’s Month, we are able celebrate the women who are making a significant impact in our agricultural sector. All of the entrants are making a valuable contribution to food security, job creation and economic growth”.
2015 Western Cape winners
The winners of the provincial leg of the awards were announced on Wednesday, 19 August 2015. They were:
Best Female Worker – Maria Persens – De Fynne Nursery, Klapmuts Maria has worked in a range of areas at the nursery for the past 8 years. Her key role is working with the research plant material that De Fynne grows for research institutions. De Fynne Nursery is a wholesale plant growing nursery and plum production farm. |
|
Best Subsistence Producer – Moyo We Khaya Community Garden, Khayelitsha Moyo We Khaya, led by Tenjiwe Kaba, is a community garden in Khayelitsha tended by women farming with vegetables. This group stood out for the excellent service they deliver to the community and for the inspiration they provide for other residents. |
|
Top Entrepreneur Smallholder – Eugene Simons, Algina Wholesale nursery, Firgrove Eugene started a small business in 2009, producing seedlings for family and friends. Currently she produces nearly 7 million seedlings per year and has secured contracts with farmers. |
|
Top Entrepreneur Processing – Jessica Bonin, Lady Bonin’s Tea, Cape Town Jessica started the business in 2011 with a mobile tea caravan selling take-away tea. Today Lady Bonin’s is an international brand. The teas are hand blended with organic ingredients, using in-house recipes developed by Jessica. She specialises in wild grown, biodynamic and organic Rooibos, Honeybush and Buchu tea. |
|
Top Entrepreneur Commercial (Provincial Nominee) – Ingrid de Waal, Canette Vallei, Stellenbosch Ingrid is the only female lavender producer in the Western Cape. She produces lavender essential oil, lavender cut flowers, dried flowers and handmade soap. Ingrid is also the only person in South Africa to produce raw lavender honey. Ingrid also cooks and sells traditional “Kaapse Moskonfyt”. |
|
Ministerial Award (Youth) – Geraldine Theunissen – Wildekrans Wine Estate, Bot River Valley Geraldine is one of a few female tractor drivers in the Western Cape. She heads an all-male team on Wildekrans Wine Estate in the Bot River Valley. The farm has various production activities such as vine, deciduous fruit, olives, pome fruit and sheep. |
2015 National Female Entrepreneur Awards
The national competition for 2015 took place in Durban on Thursday 27 August. In this round, all the Female of the Year Award winners from all provinces competed for the national awards, including the coveted National Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Tenjiwe Kaba, who won the subsistence producer category in the Western Cape leg of the awards, was selected as one of the country’s top agri-entrepreneurs at the ceremony in Durban. She leads Moyo We Khaya, a community garden in Khayelitsha tended by women farming with vegetables.
This group stood out for the excellent service they deliver to the community and for the inspiration they provide for other residents. “Tenjiwe is a role model for residents and an excellent ambassador for the agricultural sector. She is playing an important role in food security and we need to celebrate her achievements. I am so pleased that Moyo We Khaya has received national recognition for the good work they are doing,” said Minister Winde.