Due to their outstanding career success despite obstacles, numerous female entrepreneurs may serve as role models for aspiring businesswomen. , a multi-award-winning Zimbabwean entrepreneur, is one such example.
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Forget’s outstanding leadership and entrepreneurial acumen, dedication to community development, environmental sustainability, sustainable food systems, her innovative efforts to minimize food waste, and her expert guidance to businesses and organizations, assisting them in optimizing profitability, have earned her extraordinary recognition.
“My name is Forget Shareka, and I am a farmer, a multi-award-winning entrepreneur, an agronomic engineer, and a climate change advocate. I am the co-founder and business development director at Chashi Foods, a Zimbabwean social enterprise leveraging technology to reduce food waste while producing healthy snacks. While pursuing my undergraduate degree in 2018, I co-founded Chashi Foods to create a sustainable, fair, and accessible market for smallholder farmers.
The venture supports farmers in increasing their income, reducing food waste, and transforming sourced raw produce from the farm into healthy 100% natural dried fruits and vegetables, while boosting the local economy.” Forget shared in introduction.
Chashi Foods was launched with the goals of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable income generation, improving food and nutrition security, and providing jobs for rural Zimbabwean women and youth.
In addition to her outstanding entrepreneurial career, Forget has made a name for herself as an expert in sustainability and environmental management. She decided to go into the environment and sustainability space after earning her master’s degree. Her successful transition from agriculture and food manufacturing into construction and telecommunications is a testament to her outstanding creativity, adaptability, and versatility. She is an inspiration to future female executives due to her quick ascent to a senior position in a foreign nation in just four years.
“I am the Environmental Compliance Manager for Viberoptix. Prior to this, I worked as an Environmental Sustainability and Governance Officer in the same company and started at entry level as a graduate environmental officer in a leading meat processing company. I successfully transitioned from agriculture and food manufacturing into construction and telecommunications. Juggling education, a job, and entrepreneurship was really challenging, but I managed to do it with tenacity, hard work, and dedication,” stated Forget.
Because it provides basic skills, raises earning potential, opens doors to higher positions, and develops confidence, a strong academic background is crucial for career success. Forget is a prime illustration of this. Her strong academic background has played a significant role in her career success.
She studied Agricultural Sciences at EARTH University of Costa Rica and earned a master’s degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the University of Edinburgh Business School. Also, she has diploma certificates in Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies from Harvard Business School (online) & Financial Innovations for Economic Development from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Receiving the prestigious MasterCard Foundation scholarship twice is a testament to her outstanding academic career.
Throughout her career, Forget has received numerous honors and awards.
“I am the recipient of the 2020 Best Young Entrepreneur Award, the 2021 Ellie Maxwell Award, the 2022 Best Female Entrepreneur Award, the 2023 Female Manager of the Year-Silver, the 2024 Being Edinburgh Award, and the Global Award for Women in Ag (agriculture) from Agritechnica. I also won the University of Edinburgh Business School’s 100-second pitch competition and was recognized as an edie 30 Under 30 future sustainability leader in 2024,” she explained.
Forget’s accomplishments as a corporate leader and advocate for youth and women’s empowerment are too many to mention here. Through Chashi Foods and LiHFA, she provided agribusiness training to over 1500 young and smallholder farmers in Costa Rica, Africa, and Zimbabwe, assisting them in achieving food and nutrition security during COVID-19. She co-authored the smart agriculture guide for Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) used to train more than 100,000 women and created 770 jobs for young women in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, and Ghana.
She was selected to join Zimbabwe’s COMESA Federation of Women in Business and attended the SADC meeting to create trade policies and standards aimed at increasing women’s participation in business. In 2013, she was recognized as the most outstanding advocate in issues concerning reproductive health among young people with HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe.
Entrepreneurial role models like Forget are crucial for inspiring and guiding young businesswomen because they provide a tangible picture of success, boost self-efficacy, and demonstrate perseverance and diligence. They also encourage positive attitudes, make entrepreneurship seem more achievable, and increase the likelihood of pursuing an entrepreneurial career, which is the best route for women to achieve economic empowerment and autonomy. Forget’s advice to young entrepreneurs and corporate executives could help them thrive in the fiercely competitive business world of today.
“For entrepreneurs to succeed, they must have a strong business mindset, business character and grit beyond the written plan. Understanding your market, solving client problems, networking constantly for support, handling finances prudently, making wise hiring decisions, and building resilience to learn from failures will definitely assist you in achieving your goals. Remember that becoming a successful entrepreneur is not an overnight process but rather everyday improvement and persistent progress.
Challenges are an inevitable aspect of life and provide opportunities for wisdom and professional development, even while they bring work stress. They teach resilience and uncover hidden potential when we decide to learn from them instead of avoiding them. Throughout my personal and professional journey, I faced numerous challenges, such as limited access to education at a young age and balancing education, a job, and running a business, but I never wavered and saw every obstacle as an opportunity to learn and develop.
Dear young ladies, entrepreneurship is the best way to achieve autonomy, which almost every woman aspires to, and make your own footprint (LEGACY). Dare to do it. Don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams.”