Startup Story
Lebo Biko is the co-founder of Oya Foods, part of Oya Group, which champions women-led innovation in the agri-food value chain. Founded in 2020, Oya Foods produces African-inspired, shelf-stable dried foods using ingredients primarily sourced from women farmers and suppliers. The company’s mission is to reduce food waste and modernize indigenous food systems. With over 25 years of experience in strategy, marketing, and governance, Lebo is passionate about sustainability, inclusive growth, and driving meaningful change. Through Oya Group, she is helping build a future where women thrive, African food culture is celebrated, and innovation transforms food systems.
LoA spoke to the innovation focused Lebo Biko to learn more about her entrepreneurial journey and the vision for the business and its future growth.
What does your company do?
Oya Foods is an African-inspired, 100% woman-owned food manufacturing company born from a passion for celebrating Africa’s rich culinary heritage. We offer a curated range of plant-based, healthy products—dried vegetables (including unconventional ones), snacks, powders, sauces, infusions, and garnishes, without any preservatives or additives. Founded in 2020, our vision extends beyond food. We’re driven by sustainability, women’s economic inclusion, and culinary innovation. Our mission is three-fold:
1. Championing African Foods, reclaiming and repositioning how African indigenous food is perceived. Many nutrient-dense African food like sweet potato leaves, amaranth, and cassava leaves are not widely available in in retail outlets. These treasures are often overlooked and misunderstood. By making them accessible and attractive we integrate them into everyday diets.
2. Reducing Food Waste, a global challenge. We specialise in dehydration—an age-old technique modernised with smart technology to preserve nutritional content and extend shelf life without preservatives e.g. our dried spinach lasts for months). Also our ‘root to tip’ approach ensures that nutritious edible parts of the plant that would otherwise be discarded, are turned into valuable, marketable goods (E.g. we offer beetroot crisps and dried beetroot leaves).
3. Supporting women who are at the heart of the African agri-value chain, often as labourers or small scale producers. We are deliberate about sourcing primarily from women farmers and suppliers, ensuring regular market access, growing them and their communities.
We target both consumers and business. For consumers we are relevant to health-conscious consumers looking for plant-based, minimally processed food products that support a healthy lifestyle as well as immigrant communities residing in South Africa, seeking easy access to familiar foods that remind them of home and are otherwise difficult to find e.g. sweet potato leaves are well known in places such as West Africa and Asia.
Our target business clients include food service providers and manufacturers who need long shelf-life, bulk dehydrated ingredients for their products used in specialty blends. We also work with fresh food retailers to turn surplus produce into premium dried goods through our Expert Dehydration Service. We blend innovation and impact—redefining African food processing through heritage, sustainability, and inclusion.
“Our vision extends beyond food. We’re driven by sustainability, women’s economic inclusion, and culinary innovation.”
What inspired you to start your company?
Our story begins with a simple, powerful idea: what if African food could be more than just something we eat — what if it could be a source of pride, of purpose, and of power? And what if we could show what women-led innovation in the agri-food value chain truly looks like — when connected to the right partners, tools, and opportunities for growth, both locally and across the continent? That’s the spirit behind Oya Foods.
The name "Oya" draws inspiration from African mythology — Oya is the warrior goddess of winds, transformation, and rebirth. She embodies change, fierce feminine energy, and forward momentum. That spirit resonated with us. We wanted to build something that would disrupt the norm — a brand that was bold, rooted in African heritage, and committed to transformation: of food systems, of value chains, and of women’s economic agency.
The idea for Oya Foods took shape during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was born out of years of working with women owned and led businesses, locally and across the continent. Through Womanomics Africa ®, the not-for-profit we co-founded in 2019, my business partner Rehema Isa and I were deeply involved in helping women participate meaningfully in high-growth industries, particularly through intra-Africa trade. Agriculture became a natural focus area — not only because it is the backbone of the African economy, but because women are already so active in it, albeit largely in informal, low-value roles.
When the pandemic hit, we witnessed firsthand how vulnerable women in agribusiness were. With markets and institutions shut down, many women were left with excess produce they couldn’t sell. Food waste soared, incomes dried up, and economic insecurity grew — revealing deep cracks in the agri-food system. At the same time, we were struck by the irony: while perfectly good food was being discarded, many households were struggling to access affordable, nutritious options. It was a clear sign that the system needed rethinking.
In exploring solutions, we borrowed from the wisdom of our grandmothers — from age-old preservation methods used across the continent, where food was sun or air dried to store for seasons to come. That’s when dehydration emerged not only as a culturally familiar practice, but also as a scalable and modern solution. We realised that by drying and preserving surplus and seasonal produce, we could reduce food waste, extend shelf life, and unlock new market opportunities — especially for women who needed to diversify beyond informal selling.
We didn’t start with a big budget, a team of experts, or a detailed roadmap - much of the journey has been fuelled by our own learning, experimentation, and determination. Every process, every product, every partnership was shaped through hands-on problem-solving, late nights, and a deep belief in the purpose behind the work.
Today, Oya Foods is a proudly African woman-owned company that transforms fresh fruits, vegetables, and indigenous greens into high-quality, shelf-stable products. From sweet potato leaves and amaranth to beetroot crisps, pineapple wheels, powders, infusions, and garnishes — our offerings are preservative-free, beautifully packaged, and rooted in African culinary traditions. More importantly, they are creating real economic opportunities for women.
Oya Foods isn’t just a business — it’s a movement. One that celebrates our food heritage, reduces waste, and builds a resilient, women-led value chain across Africa. We are here to prove that African food can be innovative, clean-label, and globally relevant — and that women can lead the way in shaping the future of food.
“We blend innovation and impact—redefining African food processing through heritage, sustainability, and inclusion.”
What makes your business, service or product special?
We modernise a traditional process, using smart dehydration to create preservative-free, nutrient-rich, and market-ready African superfoods. Unlike conventional drying, we apply modern technology to ensure consistency, quality, and scalability, making these products attractive to today’s consumers.
But our business goes beyond food—it’s about who benefits. We intentionally primarily source from women farmers and suppliers, who are already growing these underutilised crops, ensuring they have consistent market access in an industry where they are often overlooked. By reducing food waste, strengthening women’s role in the agri-value chain, and commercialising indigenous ingredients, we transform food preservation into economic opportunity and sustainability.
Tell us a little about your team
We’re a small but mighty team of passionate women and youth who bring energy, commitment, and heart to everything we do. Our people are fully invested in Oya Foods — treating the business as their own and showing up each day with a deep sense of purpose and pride. Together, we represent a powerful blend of strategic leadership, marketing creativity, and operational excellence — the kind of mix that fuels innovation and sustainable growth. Our production team has developed strong technical capabilities in food safety, dehydration processes, and quality control through hands-on training and continuous improvement. On the sales and marketing side, our team is bold, agile, and always exploring fresh ways to engage customers and grow our presence.
We also work closely with a network of dedicated supplier-partners — many of them women — who are essential to our mission and help bring our products to life. Everyone involved, from field to final product, wears multiple hats and contributes beyond their job description. It’s this shared commitment, versatility, and collective strength that makes the Oya Foods team truly exceptional.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
Entrepreneurship runs deep in my roots. My maternal grandparents, both qualified educators, built thriving businesses in Soweto that shaped our family’s legacy. After my grandfather’s passing in the early 1980s, my grandmother — a determined and visionary woman — expanded those businesses with remarkable grit. That was my first glimpse into what it means to build something lasting. My parents, both professionals — my mother a social worker and my father an attorney turned judge — also chose purpose-driven paths. They established practices with their work deeply rooted in service, justice, and community. That shaped how I’ve always approached the idea of work: it must do more than pay the bills and beyond the individual— it must matter.
After leaving the corporate world in 2017, I stepped fully into entrepreneurship the following year. My desire to do meaningful, impact-driven work — especially for women — led my business partner Rehema Isa and I to co-found the Oya Group. We started with Oya Solutions, a strategy consultancy with a strong focus on women-led businesses, followed by Womanomics Africa®, our not-for-profit that helps women leverage trade as a pathway into high-value economic participation. In 2020, Oya Foods was born.
Starting Oya from scratch, bootstrapping through uncertainty, has been one of the most humbling and transformative experiences of my life. It’s one thing to advise brands — it’s another to build one with your own hands. It’s been a journey of steep learning curves, late nights, tough pivots, and small but meaningful victories.
“Our aspiration is to become a premium, woman-owned African global food brand — the go-to for African-inspired snacks, ingredients, and healthful food solutions; purpose-driven and globally recognised for clean, innovative, and culturally rooted offerings.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
Our aspiration is to become a premium, woman-owned African global food brand — the go-to for African-inspired snacks, ingredients, and healthful food solutions; purpose-driven and globally recognised for clean, innovative, and culturally rooted offerings. As we scale our operations and deepen our export readiness, our greater mission is to build a women-led value chain that creates opportunity at every level — from farm to shelf. We envision a thriving ecosystem of women farmers, processors, and food innovators across the continent. Oya Foods is just the beginning. The bigger dream is to help shape a future where African food is celebrated, and African women are recognised as leaders in shaping it.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
What gives me the most satisfaction is seeing purpose turn into impact. Whether it's a customer discovering the beauty and flavour of African ingredients for the first time, or a woman supplier gaining consistent income and confidence from being part of our value chain — those moments remind me why I chose this path. Building something from the ground up, seeing it grow, create jobs, spark pride, and shift narratives — especially about African food and women’s roles in business — is incredibly fulfilling. It’s not just about profit; it’s about progress, and being part of something bigger than myself.
But beyond the external wins, one of the greatest joys is what this journey means for my children. My journey has become a practical, everyday lesson for them — a front-row seat to what it looks like to dream big, take risks, and live a purpose-driven, impactful life. They get to see that it’s possible to create something from nothing, to lead with values, and to build not just for profit, but for change. That’s deeply rewarding.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Start with your “why.” Be crystal clear about the reason you’re building what you’re building — not just what you want to do, but why it matters to you. That clarity becomes your compass when things get tough, and your fuel when momentum slows. Without it, it’s easy to get lost in the noise or chase someone else’s version of success.
Don’t wait until everything is perfect. Start small, test, learn, and grow. There’s power in figuring things out along the way.
Trust yourself, stay grounded in your purpose, and surround yourself with people who challenge you, support you, and remind you of the bigger picture. You don’t have to do it all at once — just take the next right step.
Find out more
Email: lebo@oya.company
Website: http://oyafoods.company
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/oyafoods.company/
Twitter: http://x.com/OyaFoods
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oya_foods_
Why LoA loves it…
At Lionesses of Africa, we love to see women entrepreneurs who think big and want to change the world with their impact-driven businesses. Lebo Biko and her co-founder at Oya Foods are definitely change-makers, showing what women-led innovation in the agri-food value chain truly looks like, and positively impacting women’s lives as a result. As she demonstrates, with a big vision combined with drive and determination, it’s possible to help build a future where women thrive, African food culture is celebrated, and innovation transforms food systems. Inspirational! — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa