KIGALI, RWANDA — In a major continental triumph for Nigerian agribusiness, Ifeoma Mary Okonkwo, Co-Founder and Group Managing Director of IFGREEN Industries, has been named the Women Empowerment Champion at the prestigious 2026 Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA), held on the sidelines of the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) 2026 in Kigali.
Okonkwo emerged from an intensely competitive field of more than 1,000 applicants drawn from 35 African countries, standing out among 17 elite finalists who took the stage across five categories celebrating innovation, technology, climate resilience, and enterprise scale.
Convened under AGRA’s flagship VALUE4HER initiative, the 2026 WAYA gala coincided with AGRA’s 20th anniversary and the United Nations International Year of the Woman Farmer, creating a high-profile platform that firmly shifted the narrative from subsistence farming to women-led agro-industrialization.
Through IFGREEN Industries, Okonkwo has built an integrated, climate-smart cassava processing enterprise that serves as an economic anchor across rural farming communities in Nigeria. Operating at the intersection of agro-processing and import substitution, the company directly employs 77 people, creates more than 200 indirect jobs, and guarantees structured commercial off-take for 2,060 smallholder farmers.
By turning locally grown cassava roots into industrial-grade derivatives, IFGREEN provides direct import substitution for domestic manufacturers, proving that women-led enterprises can build resilient processing hubs that simultaneously conserve foreign exchange and guarantee stable farmgate incomes.
“When a woman is empowered, it is a success for the family, society, and the nation,” said Dr. Florence Uwamahoro, Director General of the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), while welcoming international delegates and urging young people to approach agriculture not as an option of last resort, but as a prestigious, viable business enterprise.
Speaking on behalf of the AGRA President, AGRA Board Member Binta Touré Ndoye noted that women are not peripheral players but the foundational architects of Africa’s food systems. Her remarks were reinforced by Ana Maria Loboguerrero of the Gates Foundation, who challenged the finalists to maintain confidence in the commercial scale of their solutions.
“You are here because you have the power to deliver. You are all winners,” Loboguerrero told the finalists. “Your innovations have been tested and endorsed; believe in yourselves and keep standing by your ideas.
They are big.” Loboguerrero also delivered a sharp challenge to the financiers in the room: “Don’t go home saying you heard many great stories. Do something to support what these women are building.”
Maurizio Martina, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), also commended AGRA and VALUE4HER, stressing that the continental momentum must reach farm gates directly: “The movement to support women must go beyond the scenes, beyond these stages, and reach women at the grassroots.”
Okonkwo was honoured alongside other leading women changemakers across the continent:
Outstanding Value-Adding Enterprise Award: Perseverance Muzeya (Zimbabwe, Founder of Alzanel Ltd), whose solar-powered enterprise converts surplus harvests into preservative-free food products, supporting over 15,000 smallholders.
Young Female Agripreneur – Rising Star Award: Sakalé Traoré (Mali, Founder & CEO of Mamali Moringa), transforming local moringa into value-added products while supporting 1,000+ women producers and 250 youth through farm-school hubs.
Female Ag-Tech Innovator Award: Cherotich Rutto (Kenya, Founder & CEO of Tawi Fresh), whose digital B2B marketplace has connected over 2,000 farmers (65% women) to commercial buyers, facilitating more than US$4.5 million in structured agricultural trade.
Grand Prize Winner & Resilient & Inspirational Leader Award: Marina Kamanzi (Rwanda, Founder & Managing Director of Kagezi Seed Company), whose climate-smart seed enterprise anchors over 4,500 smallholders across Zambia with drought-tolerant seeds.
For Nigeria and the wider West African region, Okonkwo’s win delivers concrete evidence that commercial agriculture’s future belongs to innovators who can bridge the gap between smallholder fields and industrial factories. By anchoring thousands of rural producers into a competitive manufacturing value chain, IFGREEN Industries demonstrates that backing women agripreneurs with structured capital and processing capacity is not charity—it is sound economic strategy.