When I started out, my shea butter business was small. Being informal, we were missing out on opportunities, but through perseverance and patience I am formalizing my business and plan to trade on the international market. What’s driving me is my desire to support less privileged women in my community. My motivation to help others comes from the lack of support I experienced during my childhood.
When I was little, I lived with my auntie. She was constantly moving from place to place. I missed a lot of schooling and fell behind with my studies. At home I worked as her housekeeper and lacked basic things such as a decent shelter, clothing and most of all, parental love. I was lucky to pull through and get to where I am today.
"Women have less access to resources and power. By undertaking this shea butter processing business, we seek to minimize the vulnerability of women, particularly single mothers."
Zakaria Adama Lacera CEO, Yumzaa Enterprises
I eventually was sent back to live with my mother and was able to complete my schooling. I decided to pursue vocational training and studied at the Institute of Fashion in Kumasi, Ghana. I then set up a small business making dresses for individual customers.
I also trained as a teacher at Tamale Training College and eventually obtained a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Cape Coast.
It was always difficult to pay my fees and for other basic needs. My dress-making business wasn’t making enough to cover my costs. I had noticed that it was difficult to obtain soap in Tamale. This inspired me to expand my business into making soap.
I still teach today. Running a business has always been my core interest but teaching has helped me meet some of my financial needs. It’s not easy but I need to do both teaching and the business to achieve my goals.
Initially, the soap business was profitable, but the price of imported vegetable oil – the main ingredient in soap – became too expensive and I had to look for an alternative. I decided to try using locally produced shea butter and it worked!
This started my transition to shea butter production. Traditionally, it’s women who produce shea butter for household consumption, and women who pick the shea nuts on the farms. I began to mobilize the women and registered them as the Yumzaa Women’s Cooperative. This also helped maintain the quality of the shea butter.
Yumzaa employs a lot of women, and this has gone a long way in addressing unemployment in the community. Women have less access to resources and power. By undertaking this business, we seek to minimize the vulnerability of women, particularly single mothers.
When I started the shea butter production, our output was small. As demand increased, I became concerned about ownership of the land we were using, which was acquired through the traditional leader who had passed away. I also realised that clients preferred dealing with registered shea butter production companies rather than informal businesses like mine.
We lacked certification and because we were using inappropriate equipment, including household utensils, we couldn’t get our production processes certified. These challenges made me take more seriously the idea of formalizing my business.