“But what happened to the black woman who could not be absorbed into domestic service in the cities at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries? The only alternative occupation that was easy to adjust to … was beer brewing.” – Ellen Kuzwayo, in her book, Call Me Woman (1985)
Traditional Afrikan Beer, primarily brewed by Afrikan women, is intricately intertwined with Afrikan culture. As late as the 1980’s domestic-scale brewing of this beverage was the single greatest source of employment for women in some Afrikan countries. The beverage is naturally nutritious as it is high in B vitamins, amino acids, and probiotics.
We are a social business which supports homebrewers of traditional Afrikan beer to produce the customarily nutritious beverage safely, efficiently, and profitably. We do this by (1) hiring them as contract manufacturers while offering quality control and manufacturing support; and (2) by getting their brews to new customers at restaurants, events and local markets.
Through the UCT Leopard's Lair pitching competition, we won a prize awarded by the Student Seed Fund - a partnership between the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneuship and the SAB Foundation. This has has greatly assisted us with early market testing.
The Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellowship for Entrepreneurship has assisted the development of this early-stage business through extensive training and mentorship. This programme is delivered by the Queen's University Dunin-Deshpande Queen's Innovation Centre.