Leah Diana Mutebi: Founder, Butterfly Initiative- Zambia.
She was privileged to have attended nursery school in the early 80s, at a time when most Zambian children her age would stay at home. With a public library near her parents’ home in Lusaka’s Chilenje South township, Leah Diana Mutebi was pushed to learn how to read and write faster.
“This allowed me into the world of story books, elves, fairies and Christmas trees, but most importantly I loved to read about places such as farms, barns, woods and logs”, said Leah
Perhaps her love for stories about farms and barns could have been a driving force to considering farming as her source of income. However, Leah recounts that her mother practically farmed all her life besides working in the computer center at the University of Zambia. Like most average families in Zambia who have a piece of land to farm from, Leah’s mother would ensure that her children took turns to go to the farm with her, but the produce was all for household consumption.
“I don’t remember her selling any of her farm produce, I only remember her cooking the maize, groundnuts, pumpkins, vegetables, sweet potatoes and would even give some to our Neighbors and her office mates.’ said Leah
Leah notes that the story books on farming that she would read about always implied that farms could earn you money from the produce and that caught her attention. Now 40-years old Leah is passionate about following her dream of ‘feeding the Nation’. Leah is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Butterfly Initiative Zambia Limited and now a graduate from Women Creating Wealth (WCW) programme run by the Graça Machel Trust. Butterfly Initiatives is a family owned agribusiness enterprise producing various horticulture and meat products in Zambia.
But how did this dream to feed the nation come about?
According to Leah the best advice she ever received is that a ‘dream without action is mere day dreaming and action without a vision is catastrophic but combining a vision with action is a sure way to successes. This is the advice that has kept Leah going.
Leah’s first real lesson in Agriculture science came in secondary school. Her first business in 2012 was rearing chickens, a business which yielded quick cash flow. But she wanted more financial security and decided to venture into real estate. She acquired a home loan and built some housing flats for renting out, from the savings and reinvestment, Butterfly Initiatives was started with an initial investment of 100 thousand Zambia Kwacha. A ten-acre farm land was brought at a cost of 150 thousand kwacha, paid in installments. This is amid challenges of borrowing money from financial institutions that require collateral such as property.
Leah is however happy that through harnessing existing and new networking platforms such as membership with women’s alliances, farmers’ forums, and Butterfly initiative continues to grow. The initiative has a work force of four permanent employees who are supported by at least 15- part time workers when need arises. She boasts that in its short period of existence, Butterfly Initiatives has managed to supply an assortment of fresh vegetable to leading supermarkets in the country, alongside supplying to one of Zambia’s biggest agriculture trading centers, Soweto Market in Lusaka. However, the business has come with its own challenges. Leah points out that the courage to start and find motivation to take the leap is the greatest challenge. She notes that deciding to go into farming and letting go of a steady income resulted in her family perceiving her not serious.
The Graça Machel Trusts’ Women Creating Wealth (WCW) programmes has given Leah a different view of entrepreneurship. The programme starts with the EMPRETEC training a programme under the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and in Zambia it is hosted by the by Zambia Development Agency. Leah is among the 300 women who graduated in March 2018 from the WCW programme. She is grateful that she had the opportunity to go through the programme.
“I am proud to be counted among women who took the step and started her own business and a source of inspiration for others” said Leah.
She cites, confidence perseverance and commitment, motivation or simply the desire to change her family’s lifestyle, and the drive to carry others along the way as things that have made the most significant difference in her business. Leah’s however says the biggest barriers to women owned business is the multiple roles that women play. She adds that Gender inequality and the cultural stereotypes that women’s places are in the kitchen especially when one is married make effort by women to run businesses almost impossible.
When it comes to strategies, attitudes or habits to do with money, Leah says starting small with the resources one has is usually the best way. In five years’ time, Leah dreams of running one of the biggest female operated agribusiness venture in Zambia, which will not only meet meeting clients’ needs but exceed their expectation.
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