Sylvia Banda, winner of the 2001 Most Outstanding Entrepreneur in Africa award, will be speaking at Brescia University College on Wednesday, Nov. 18.

The event will focus on Banda’s story: she started a small catering company when she was 24. Despite not having furniture, the restaurant was a success and today has expanded to become a million dollar company, featuring a variety of cafeterias throughout Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, and a culinary school.

“She buys locally grown foods and sells them in her company and around the world […] In one of her businesses, she trains farmers to dry and package these products,” said June Matthews, assistant professor in the division of food and nutritional sciences at Brescia. “With up to 50 per cent post-harvest losses, this is a significant contribution to addressing hunger.”

Banda’s participation was made possible with help from International Development Enterprises, a group that creates income opportunities for poor and impoverished workers.

“IDE has a strong, business-oriented mindset. They ask the farmers to buy their pumps. If these farmers [want] to invest, [the farmers] have to make it work. It’s a business based model, not a charity model,” Matthews added. “Business students might be very interested in how this system works.”

The event will be held from 5 – 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Brescia’s St. James Building. Tickets are $2, in support of those who earn less than that a day. The event is open to the public and parking will be free.

— Justin D’Angelo