What We Stand For - Ajike Shea Centre

Empowering Women

This is our core aim and responsibility for the centre which we take very seriously. It is our dream that every woman in our centre gain financial freedom which in turn have a positive impact in their communities as a whole. To achieve this, we encourage our women producers to have a common fund from their premium where they buy livestocks like goats in large quantities for a group of women to breed and start a business with, the next time they get another premium, other women in the centre also get to start another business in another livestock breeding like Guinea fowls etc. These businesses are not only other stable sources of income, they are also respected and loved by their husbands like never before.

Community Building

As a result of working and planning together at the centre, we want to see the women able to build and strengthen their community because they have the same agenda and goal which is to make their lives better. They work together under the same roof, support each other to start new businesses and also see themselves now more like sisters regardless of their age difference. Because these women are the backbones of their communities, the relationship amongst their husbands and children will also be greatly impacted. What better way to build a strong community.

Giving Back to the Community

As a Social Enterprise, we take it a responsibility to give back to the communities of these women in appreciation for their skills, knowledge and tradition. This was why we started giving to their communities even before we starting business and making profits from our activities in their communities. We carried out a school renovation project and clothing items donations before we started operations at the centre. We aim to establish a mini-clinic for Maternal care where the women would receive free Antenatal especially there is none in their communities.

Controlled Environment

Before the centre, each woman would prepare their Shea butter in their homes using different practices and procedures. This is accountable for the numerous variations of Shea butter across Shea butter producing communities in Africa. But since working at the centre, they are able to produce under the same roof with the same practice which brings uniformity to the quality of the Shea butter produced especially after they have been trained on how to produce premium and the highest quality. This is why in as much as we are empowering rural women, we also take pride in making premium quality Shea nuts and butter available globally.