Working with the entrepreneurs honed my passion for entrepreneurship.Īnd that’s when you got your idea for ReelFruit?Īfter four years of working, I started to pursue the idea of starting a business. Supporting them really catalyzes job creation, especially in developing countries.

The organization supports high-impact entrepreneurs who they consider the “missing middle”. In that time, I finished college and got a job working with Endeavor - a U.S.-based, entrepreneurship catalyst and support organization. I’m originally from Nigeria, but I left the country when I was 11 years old and eventually settled with my mom in South Africa for about 14 years. Williams is excited to be one of the two Prize winners, and she sat down with us to share her story. Williams also helps boost gender equality across society, which is key to driving sustainable and inclusive growth.

The Prize includes a package of acceleration services for two women-owned, Africa-based companies to expand their businesses so that they can continue contributing to job creation and economic growth in their countries and region. Now, just three years later, she won the Feed the Future Accelerating Women Entrepreneurs Prize.

Williams was included in Forbes list of the Africa’s 30 Under 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs. In 2016, with the support of IDH Sustainable Trade, ReelFruit began a pilot mango farm on 14 Acres that employs and trains 55 women on high-value mango farming. Between 20, the company’s revenues increased by 750 percent, and it now employs 40 full-time workers, more than half of whom are women. Williams started by taking the bold step of starting ReelFruit - a fruit and nut processing, packaging, and distribution company - with her own savings and some help from her family. She believed it was time to change the narrative and create jobs and opportunities for Nigerians. Williams to start a company that produces high-quality, well-branded and packaged fruit. Affiong Williams, a business entrepreneur from Nigeria, wanted to contribute to her country’s economic growth by creating jobs and opportunities.

Reel fruit