Lioness Weekender Cover Story

MAYA, a food processing business in Mali integrating local producers into its value chain

Seynabou Dieng is a social entrepreneur and the founder of MAYA in Mali, a food processing company founded in 2017 which uses raw materials from local agriculture and integrates small producers into its value chain. The finished products are distributed in Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. Seynabou is committed to the cause of women and young people; 80% of her staff are women and and she devotes a great part of her time to coaching young entrepreneurs. Seynabou’s leadership in entrepreneurship and her social commitment have earned her several distinctions, the latest being the Cartier Women Initiative, she was 2021 laureate for Sub Saharan African.