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Focus on some African women earning a living through farming
Agribusiness has immense benefit for the economy and for those who take up the challenge to explore the opportunities in the sector. The focus in this edition is on some industrious women in Africa who started small and continue to make progress in the agroindustry in their respective countries or localities.
Here are the names and stories of some of the top five ‘Agripreneurs’.
Ms. Sandra Nabasirye
She is a tomato farmer and Founder of Santex Farm located in Nabbingo, Uganda. ‘Slay Farmer,’ as she is popularly known, is a teacher who obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Makerere University but swapped the chalk for a hoe just less than a year into her profession.
“I decided to quit my job after just six months to pursue my passion. I sought the knowledge and started and that is the wisest decision I have ever made. The money I make out of my farm produce is way above the salary earned by a teacher.
“Agriculture is a hub of wealth, we need to embrace it. The young people need to change their mindset, knowing that one can actually ‘slay’ while earning a living through farming,” she says.
Ms. Bupe Chipili Mulapesi
The Zambian born farmer is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ‘Farm23 Strawberry Zambia’, producers and suppliers of fresh strawberry fruit, pure strawberry jam and ready to plant strawberry seedlings.
She started her own strawberry farm after being inspired and mentored by another female strawberry farmer in Australia and she has proven to be a force to reckon with in the fruit farming industry in Zambia. Mulapesi started with only 20 plants and had since grown to a large plantation of 40,000 strawberry plants, with prospects of increasing to a maximum of 300,000 plants within the next two years.
She says the company aims to supply “high quality strawberry fruit which is affordable and easily accessible to the market” as imported strawberry fruit came at a high cost.
According to her, the goal is to “satisfy both the local and international markets with the best quality of strawberry fruit in terms of taste and a long shelf life.”
Ms. Sne Ngubane
This inspirational poultry farmer is the Founder and CEO of Sne Poultry Farm located in Manguzi, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
She supplies chickens and eggs to businesses, vendors, communities and schools. The poultry farm started in 2017 after she saw a gap in the market and she has never looked back. She advises aspiring farmers “not do it only for the money but do it for the love,” stressing that they need to start regardless of their circumstances.
Ms. Kgomotso Ramatlo
As founder of PKR Farming & Services in Brakpan, South Africa, her farm produce include tomatoes, sweet potatoes, chillies, spinach, cabbage, beetroot, green beans and onions.
She has five permanent employees and ploughs a five-hectare farm. In December 2020, severe hailstorms damaged her infrastructure and farm produce. This could have easily made her to give up on farming but, against all odds, she never gave up and continued to make her way to the top.
“Chilies are like one of my beautiful things at the moment and I need to explore other kinds. I see myself as a fully-fledged commercial chillies farmer where I would be able to get enough structures to be able to produce all year round,” she says.
Ms. Maanda Elizabeth Sianga
She is the Founder of Agro Queens Trading, a mixed farming entity of aquaculture, poultry, livestock, crops and fresh vegetables.
She holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Agriculture from Mulungushi University, Zambia.
She said her main interest while in high school was to study Medicine but a school trip changed her perception of agriculture. Subsequently, she decided to put more effort in knowing more about farming on holidays. The ‘Young Farmer’ as she is popularly known has trained over 1,000 people in various agricultural skills such as project management.
By Spectator Reporter
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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Intercity STC Coaches Limited has interdicted a driver captured in a viral video allegedly hitting a Sprinter bus during an overtaking manoeuvre at Pokuase before driving away from the scene.
In a public notice, the company described the driver’s conduct as unacceptable, stressing that it did not reflect the safety standards and professionalism it upholds.
Management said it had commenced an immediate investigation into the incident and identified the driver, who has been interdicted pending the outcome of the disciplinary process.
The company added that it was awaiting an official report from the Pokuase Police Command to help establish the facts surrounding the incident.
STC reaffirmed its commitment to passenger safety and responsible road use, while thanking members of the public for bringing the incident to its attention.
Management assured the public that appropriate action would be taken following the investigation.
By: Jacob Aggrey
