Yesterday was International Women’s Day which is a day we recognize the social, economic, and cultural achievements of women to promote gender equality worldwide. The theme for International Women’s Day 2023 was “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality”. Technology and innovation have revolutionized the way we live and work. From remote work to e-commerce, technology has opened up new opportunities and possibilities especially for the people we work with in Africa.
The “DigitALL” theme highlights the importance of addressing these disparities and creating equal opportunities for women in the world. This year we want to spotlight the work done by one of our suppliers – Delictable Foods. We sat with them to have a conversation about the steps they have taken to embrace equity and what innovations they are using to decrease the gap between women and technology.
Delictable foods was founded by Sempeyo Kudate, based in Nairobi, Kenya and it’s wholly women owned and has endeavored to work with women as a company policy. 90% of their workforce is women from different ages and walks of life. The journey started at her sister’s kitchen with the quest to get her niece to try different nutritious food, she says the company was started from a point of view of love of family, fresh food and creativity around food. Delictable foods offers perfectly balanced combination of healthy, nutritious, wholesome, essential products that include whole grains, healthy nuts, seeds and dried fruits. They are passionate about providing healthy, fresh, delicious and affordable products that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
The partnership between Rutasoka and Delictable foods was a natural fit as we are both dedicated to promoting sustainable agriculture and reducing the environmental impact of food production. They work with suppliers, aggregators and farm inputs collectors who process sustainably and work with small scale farmers in an effort to improve the environment. “ Rutasoka has been keen on working with us hand in hand across the value chain to make sure sustainability is guaranteed.” – Sempeyo says.
One of the key benefits of this partnership is the opportunity to support women-owned businesses. By featuring products made by African women entrepreneurs, such as Delictable Foods, on our e-commerce platform, Rutasoka is helping to promote gender equality and economic empowerment for women. Additionally, Delictable foods uses technology to pivot from using a lot of manual labour. They are able to calibrate the right energy inputs helping them manage the product consistency, moisture content, among others. Other advances in technology also include accounting sales management that has improved their levels of accountability. They are also in the process of implementing a more robust Enterprise Resource System that will help them manage their end to end process.
In conclusion, Rutasoka’s commitment to promoting sustainable products and supporting women-owned businesses is a testament to the fact that businesses can work together to create positive social and environmental impact while also being profitable. “ One of the biggest impacts for the company from the partnership with Rutasoka is providing employment to our ladies. Having the ladies be financially independent, take care of their families and take their kids to school has been quite a joy.” says Sempeyo.
Rutasoka is expanding its offerings and promoting economic empowerment for women. Delictable foods is able to reach a wider audience through Rutasoka’s e-commerce platform, and both companies are promoting sustainability in the process. This partnership is a great example of how businesses can work together to promote sustainability and gender equality. By choosing to buy from us, you help support women entrepreneurs in Africa and together we can create a brighter future for women and girls everywhere.
#EmbraceEquity
