A 24-year-old farmer, Benedicta Abena Kwabena has won the “3FM Choose to Challenge” ultimate prize. She won the award for her involvement in agriculture, promoting and encouraging young people into agriculture.
Benedicta beat five other women to claim the ultimate cash prize of GHC 10, 000. Aside the cash prize, she will also enjoy marketing support worth 10,000 Ghana cedis. Additionally, Mastercard Foundation will provide Benedicta with training opportunities, international networks and opportunities to scale and expand her market reach.
Benedicta Abena Kwabena owns 5 acres of land from which she operates her business. She is into livestock and pig farming and hails from Berekum in the Bono Region. Specifically, she supplies quantities of crates of eggs to over 100 customers on daily basis. Through her farming business, she has managed to care for her educational needs. She is currently pursuing a course in Graphic Design at the University of Education Winneba. Also, Benedicta takes cares of her mother and siblings.
Furthermore, Benedicta’s organization, Naodav Farms, provide supports to less privileged children in her community. She expressed her gratitude and charged young women to contribute to the agriculture value chain as well.
“Somebody saw me on the street and said I shouldn’t be selling fowls. I choose to challenge the stereotypes against women in Agriculture. I made it, and so can you.”
Benedicta Kwabena
The “Choose to Challenge” Programme
Mastercard Foundation partnered with a subsidiary company of the Media General Group for the Choose to Challenge programme. The programme seeks to celebrate women who have excelled in the agriculture value chain. Furthermore, this programme commemorates the International Women Day 2021.
Contributing to the discussions on the International Women’s Day, Dr. Freda E. Asem tasked women to set goals and be fearless in challenging the stereotypes in society. She acknowledged that there are stereotypes against women in agriculture. To clarify, Dr. Freda E. Asem is a senior lecturer at the Department of Agriculture, Economics and Agribusiness of the University of Ghana. According to her, women can learn from their mentor.
“We can deal with them. There are social and cultural norms that could create problems for women. We can do what we call gender smart then we can include women to overcome these challenges.
“Other women can also draw strength from these and learn how to survive. It is about women trying to mentor women”.
Dr. Freda E. Asem, Senior Lecturer
The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and to access dignified and fulfilling work. In addition, it is one of the largest, private foundations in the world. Its mission is to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world.
In Ghana, the Mastercard Foundation launched Young Africa Works. The 10-year strategy seeks to enable 3 million young Ghanaians, particularly women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030. Specifically, Young Africa Works in Ghana aims to enable the growth of women-owned enterprises through business development services. Furthermore, the Young Africa Works aims to improve access to finance, and access to markets.
