Joana Wani, founder and managing director of Épices du Kivu, began her training at Harvard University on October 14, 2024. She is one of ten women entrepreneurs from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) participating in the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) program, which aims to strengthen the skills of women business leaders with support from the United States.

DAY 1 À HARVARD

🌟 Nos brillantes femmes entrepreneurs sont arrivées à l’université de Harvard aux 🇺🇸 pour apprendre à mieux gérer leurs entreprises ! Nous sommes fiers de leurs accomplissements jusqu’ici et comptons sur elles pour motiver d’autres femmes entrepreneurs et… pic.twitter.com/VMJCZpvRow

— U.S.Embassy Kinshasa (@USEmbKinshasa) October 15, 2024

The US Embassy in the DRC tweeted, "Our brilliant women entrepreneurs have arrived at Harvard to learn how to better manage their businesses! We are proud of their accomplishments and look to them to inspire other women and strengthen the women's business network in the DRC."

"I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn from the best. It's a dream come true," Joana said after her selection was announced in September.

This trip to the US is the final stage of a program that enrolled 100 businesswomen from five cities in the DRC. The women were trained, mentored, and offered networking opportunities. 

In the first phase of the AWE program, Joana Wani improved her skills in business, marketing, finance, and operations management. She also networked with other women to share best practices. 

Wani was also part of the Orange Corners program run by Dutch Cooperation and Bralima, a subsidiary of Heineken. The 32-year-old entrepreneur has a degree in industrial engineering and a master's in business management. She has four years of experience in the food industry and project management.

In 2020, she started her company that grows and packages local spices like chili, garlic, ginger, rosemary, and lemongrass. Her products meet international standards for packaging. With three hectares of land in Walungu and a processing unit in Bukavu, Joana Wani exports her spices to Asia, Latin America, and Europe.

The young Congolese businesswoman represents a new generation of Congolese looking for sustainable alternatives to mining industries like gold and cobalt. In the DRC, spices are seen as "vegetable gold" by those who know how to use them. With its vast agricultural land and strategic location, the country has great potential for growth in this sector.

Georges Auréole Bamba