Sylvia Banda (born 1962) is a

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

n business woman, restaurateur and social entrepreneur. She is an

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

fellow. Banda promotes

local food Local food is food that is produced within a short distance of where it is consumed, often accompanied by a social structure and supply chain different from the large-scale supermarket system. Local food (or "locavore") movements aim to con ...

use, choosing ingredients for her restaurant from local and small-scale farms. She started her own business, Sylva Professional Catering in 1986. By 2009, she had 16 restaurants in Lusaka. In 2014, she invested $105,000 in US dollars to open a food processing plant in Zambia. Banda has also served as the chair of the Zambia Chapter of the African Women Entrepreneurship Programme (AWEP). ''Lusaka Voice'' calls Banda "one of Zambia's most recognisable entrepreneurs." Banda and her husband, Hector, publish

Zambian cuisine Zambian cuisine is largely based on ''nshima'', which is a food prepared from pounded white maize. ''Nshima'' is part of nearly every Zambian meal. In addition to ''nshima'', Zambian cuisine includes various types of stew, cooked vegetables and d ...

recipes in a weekly ''

Times of Zambia The ''Times of Zambia'' is a national daily newspaper published in Zambia and headquartered in Ndola. During the colonial period the newspaper was known firstly as ''The Copperbelt Times'' and then ''The Northern News'' It was a twice-weekly new ...

'' column called "Zambian Dishes with Sylvia Catering." Banda also trains women on how to preserve local foods. She has a nonprofit organization, Sylva Food Solutions (SFS) to help local farmers increase business. Banda works with the University of Zambia to offer an agriculture-based training programme that promotes innovative thinking as well as traditional foods and recipes.

References

External links

Official website
1962 births Zambian businesspeople Living people Ashoka Fellows {{Zambia-bio-stub