Rwandan entrepreneur Marina Kamanzi has emerged as the Grand Prize winner of the 2026 VALUE4HER Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA), taking home $40,000 for her contribution to seed production and agricultural enterprise development.
Kamanzi, the Founder and Managing Director of Zambia-based Kagezi Seed Company Limited, was announced the winner at the awards ceremony held in Kigali, Rwanda.
Her victory came after a competitive continental process that attracted more than 1,000 applications from 35 African countries. The process was narrowed to 19 finalists representing 15 countries.
Kamanzi’s enterprise operates in the seed production segment, providing agricultural inputs aimed at improving farmers’ productivity, climate resilience and access to commercial opportunities.
ALSO READ WAYA 2026: 19 women agripreneurs from 15 African countries named finalists
The award highlights the growing role of women in Africa’s agricultural economy, particularly in building and owning businesses across seed production, food processing, agricultural technology, value addition and rural enterprise.
The WAYA awards are a flagship continental programme of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), designed to recognise women agripreneurs while providing prize capital and visibility to support the growth of their businesses.
Among the other major winners was Nigerian entrepreneur Ifeoma Mary Okonkwo of IFGREEN Industries & Investment Ltd., who won the Women Empowerment Champion category and received $25,000.
Okonkwo runs a cassava enterprise covering production, processing, structured sourcing and market access. Thokozani Chimasula of Malawi and Irene Etyang of Kenya emerged first and second runners-up respectively.
Doreen Jean Nsasiirwe of Uganda’s Westlink Delicacy Api Group Ltd. won the Resilient & Inspirational Leader category and received $25,000, while Zimbabwe’s Peserverance Muzeya of Alzanael Private Limited won the Outstanding Value-Adding Enterprise category with a $25,000 prize.
Kenya’s Cherotich Rutto of Tawi Fresh also received $25,000 after winning the Female Ag-Tech Innovator category, while Mali’s Sakalé Traoré emerged Young Female Agripreneur – Rising Star.
Regional awards went to Amira Affaf Bellil of Algeria for North Africa, Yvette Dickson-Tetteh of Ghana for West Africa, Sabiha Rashid of Tanzania for East Africa, Rachel Ushindi of the Democratic Republic of Congo for Central Africa, and Shirley Marlin Da Graça of Mozambique for Southern Africa. Each received $12,000.
The awards are part of AGRA’s broader VALUE4HER initiative, which connects more than 17,000 women-led agribusinesses across 48 African countries to finance, markets, technology, knowledge and commercial networks.
AGRA President Alice Ruhweza said women are active across every level of Africa’s food system, stressing that direct investment in women-led agribusinesses is essential to driving economic and agricultural transformation.
