AGRA has officially launched its women-focused initiative, VALUE4HER, in Dakar, Senegal. The event, themed Powering Senegal’s Food Future through Women-Led Agribusinesses, represents a strategic opportunity to enhance efforts in empowering women agripreneurs throughout the country. The initiative comes at a crucial time as Senegal is set to host Africa’s largest agricultural convening, the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF), from 31st August to 5th September 2025.
The launch event convened a diverse array of stakeholders, including founders of women-led agribusinesses and cooperatives, officials from the Ministries of Agriculture, Women, and Trade, as well as representatives from commercial banks, micro-finance institutions, impact investors, and development partners. This gathering highlighted the collective commitment to enhancing the crucial role of women within Senegal’s agri-food system.
The launch provided AGRA’s VALUE4HER Secretariat with an opportunity to present the initiative’s comprehensive service offerings, including its flagship awards program, the Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA) to a wider audience. This initiative enabled Value4Her to expand its network for women, particularly young women, in the agribusiness sector in Senegal and spotlight key initiatives that will be given an opportunity to showcase their businesses to Investors, policy makers and potential markets at the Africa Food Systems Summit.
Women are undeniably the backbone of Senegal’s food and agriculture sector, comprising nearly 70% of the rural agricultural workforce and contributing approximately 80% of the national food supply. They play a dominant role in off-farm activities, with 98% of food processing workers in the Niayes horticultural zone being women. Despite this substantial contribution, women often find themselves operating within vulnerable segments of the value chain. They face significant challenges, including limited access to bank financing, with only 3.5% of women entrepreneurs benefiting from such resources.
Recognising this critical disparity, the Senegalese government, in collaboration with its partners, has integrated gender priorities into national strategies such as the Plan Sénégal Émergent (PSE 2014–2035), the National Strategy for Women’s Economic Empowerment (SNAEF), and the revised National Strategy for Equity and Gender Equality (2016). The second phase of the government’s Project to Support and Promote Women’s and Youth’s Entrepreneurial Initiatives (PAVIE II) launched with a €163 million investment, aiming to create over 92,000 jobs, with 58% of new businesses led by women.
“Empowering women agripreneurs transcends the principle of equity; it represents a strategic economic approach to catalyze growth and ensuring food security in Senegal,” stated Nana Yaa Amoah, Director of Youth and Inclusiveness at AGRA, during the launch. “When women are granted equal access to essential resources such as finance, land, training, and markets, the livelihood impacts resonate throughout families and communities, enhancing productivity, increasing rural incomes, and generating employment opportunities.”
During her remarks at the launch event, Siny Samba, Co-Founder and CEO of Le Lionceau, and the Grand Prize Winner of the 2023 WAYA edition, stated, “Winning WAYA was a moment of profound pride, not just for me, but for every woman farmer, mother, and nutrition advocate in Senegal. This recognition reaffirmed our vision of transforming local crops into nutritious baby food, empowering over 5,000 smallholder farmers, and addressing the gap in infant nutrition. It served as a constant reminder that innovation grounded in community can reshape food systems across Africa.”
VALUE4HER aims to catalyse partnerships and highlight success stories, positioning Senegal’s women agribusiness leaders at the forefront of solutions for food security and economic recovery.
The initiative emphasizes opportunities for Senegalese women, especially young women, to engage in, speak at, and benefit from the upcoming AFSF 2025. A carefully curated selection of Senegalese women and youth-led enterprises has been chosen for participation in this significant event.
