Mene, Cynthia Ndubuisi
CEO/Founder Kadosh Production Company (KPC)
Cynthia Ndubuisi Mene from Nigeria is the CEO/Founder of Kadosh Production Company (KPC). KPC uses an integrated mechanized plant that processes and packages cassava into finished products 200% faster and 20-30% more cheaply than existing processes. The plant also packages cassava peel, which would otherwise be burned, to be sold as livestock feed. KPC enables women cassava farmers to produce more profitable cassava products and the reduction in processing time means that they can take their products to market more frequently.
Cynthia grew up with her aunt, a cassava farmer. She recalls the constant stress and inefficiency of cassava processing as a child. She started KPC to make processing easier and the sales of cassava products more profitable for women like her aunt.
By working with KPC, women cassava farmers are able to process cassava in four hours instead of four days. They can exchange cassava peels for a 20% discount on the processing fee. Through farmer / retailer cooperatives set-up by KPC they can guarantee access to timely processing and packaging. Cooperative members also receive business mentorship and KPC helps facilitate links to large-scale buyers. KPC has worked directly with over 100 women cassava farmers and retailers and by 2020, aims to reach 65% of women farmers in the Niger-Delta, indirectly impacting 10 million households. KPC has the potential to drive significant agricultural innovation in Nigeria, the business is poised to make an incredible impact and empower millions of women in sub-Saharan Africa.
Cynthia has B.Sc Textile Science and Polymer Technology at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and studied Business and Entrepreneurship at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. Not giving up on her dream has led Cynthia to different awards and honors. She won the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria Award (YouWIN 2013), the Nigerian Champion for Global Student Entrepreneurs Award (GSEA 2013), Innovation Prize for Africans Post prize Awards (2014), speaker at the Global Forum for Innovation in Africa (GFIA 2014), Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST Tech-I) Awards and GIST Best Female Entrepreneur Awards (2014), Mandela Washington Fellow for Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI 2015), the United States African Development Fund Award (USADF 2015) and the Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards (USLYEA 2015 - https://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/join-in/Young-Entrepreneur-Awards-2016/Cynthia-Ndubuisi/).