MPP '25 Husein Pumaya Yakubu Wins Two Prestigious Awards for Social Enterprise SheaMe
We are proud to celebrate MPP '25 Husein Pumaya Yakubu, whose social enterprise SheaMe placed second in both the Mastercard Foundation Dobson Start-up Awards and the Dobson Bootcamp and Cup Competition, 2025 鈥� two of the most competitive entrepreneurship programs hosted by the 黑料不打烊 Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship聽and supported by the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at 黑料不打烊 University.
厂丑别补惭别听works to improve the economic outcomes of women in northern Ghana鈥檚 shea industry. Despite the global shea industry being valued at over 3 billion USD, the women who produce the majority of shea butter often earn very little due to inefficient manual processing methods, low-quality butter production, limited market access, and inadequate packaging.
Through SheaMe, Husein and his team help increase women鈥檚 disposable incomes by improving processing efficiency, developing finished products such as body creams and hair food, and linking producers to better markets. The women and communities they work with have already experienced significant improvements in income levels. SheaMe also converts shea waste into useful products such as shoe soles, contributing to sustainable economic development.
鈥淭hese awards will support our efforts to expand into more communities and reach more families,鈥� Husein shared. 鈥淧itching on behalf of SheaMe was a humbling experience. The more I took part in Dobson workshops and progressed through the competition, the more confident I became in our mission.鈥�
At its current pace, SheaMe hopes to work directly with 500 women across more than 40 communities within the next five years 鈥� continuing to deliver high-quality, ethically sourced shea butter products while advancing women鈥檚 economic empowerment in rural Ghana.
We congratulate Husein for his remarkable achievements and for advancing inclusive innovation and social impact 鈥� values that lie at the heart of the Max Bell School of Public Policy.
