“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest,” said Benjamin Franklin, and at Goodwell, we agree. What sets us apart from other impact investors is the non-financial support we offer our portfolio companies.
From strategy to governance, impact to fundraising, Goodwell furnishes our investees with essential knowledge to drive their companies forward. That knowledge is a powerful tool for maximising positive impact, which got us thinking: how can we share our knowledge with more people? How can we centralise it, and make it accessible to any African entrepreneurs who might benefit from it?
NYUMBA, where impact entrepreneurs meet
Enter NYUMBA, the place where impact entrepreneurs meet. We created this invite-only online platform to curate useful resources and experience-sharing to help people grow their businesses. It provides a trusted network of service providers Goodwell and our portfolio companies have worked with. It encourages real-life meet ups to build real-world connections between entrepreneurs.
“NYUMBA is more like a clubhouse than a classroom,” observed Nico Blauw, Partner and Head of Investor Relations at Goodwell. “We designed it with entrepreneurs in mind – the people behind the company. It’s an incredible platform for knowledge sharing, not only because of the resources it provides, but because of the community it creates. NYUMBA, at its core, is about open and honest communication between peers, and Goodwell is excited to enable such meaningful relationship building.”
Technical assistance for IYBA WE4A
In industry terms, what we provide with NYUMBA is known as “technical assistance”: targeted, non-financial support to build companies’ skills and capacity. Our recent partnership with IYBA WE4A (Investing in Young Businesses in Africa: Women Entrepreneurship for Africa) enables us to provide this technical assistance to a new, wider audience: specifically, women entrepreneurs driving climate transformation in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique.
We’re offering these founders training and peer-to-peer connection through NYUMBA to help them grow and prepare them for future investment rounds, totaling 100 participants by early 2027. The training comprises online assignments, online training calls (video sessions led by experts) and in-person gatherings – not only to learn, but also to establish a real-life, supportive network of people who are on a similar path of entrepreneurship.
Meet just a few of the IYBA WE4A participants
To maximise collaboration and personal attention, we’re conducting the IYBA WE4A training program in groups of 20-25 participants. Besides learning from experts and each other (on NYUMBA and beyond), the participants are a huge source of inspiration for the Goodwell team! We’re honored to work with business owners with such vision and drive, and are pleased to introduce you to just a few of the women participating in the training and making a positive impact on the climate and their communities with their businesses:
Mary Nyambura, Eco-Charge
Eco-Charge Ltd. is a women-led renewable energy company producing biomass briquettes from locally sourced agricultural residues and wood waste as a clean, affordable alternative to charcoal and firewood. This has opened a new income stream for many women working with Eco-Charge.
Founder Mary Nyambura elaborates on the impact Eco-Charge has on their suppliers: “We are able to plug in women into the supply chain. We are able to teach them how to source, how to load and also to bring it to our facility and we are able to buy [the materials] at the market rate. I am proud that we have been able to impact all the women that we have right now — and also going further to now doing a daycare for them. [We have] impacted more than a thousand women in our system, employed youth in our communities, and saved more carbon emissions.”
Juliette Njeru, Organic Fields
Organic Fields Founder Juliette Njeru didn’t set out to be an entrepreneur: “I just found myself pushed towards that direction, because having a background in horticulture, you engage with farmers more and then you get to realize that these farmers are going through difficulties; They are buying inputs at a very high price but then the yields are going downwards. So you get to feel like you need to know why is thishappening.”
Juliette decided that one answer to this question was to start a social-environmental enterprise which collects organic waste from local markets and turns it into organic fertilizer. Organic Fields now work with a wide network of farmers, trainers, and employees to process and use their product, building a more circular agricultural system and reducing food waste.
Milicent Okumu, AgriFlex
Agriflex is a scalable Kenya-based agricultural input distribution company founded in 2023. The company is woman-led, climate-aligned, commercially grounded, and already showing promise within its market. Agriflex works with an extensive network of dealers, manufacturers, farmers, and trainers, emphasising climate adaptation and soil health.
Founder Millicent Okumu strongly believes in the power of systems and structure to provide farming solutions: “My background really inspired me a lot, at a personal level and at a professional level. I was able to be in the middle of it all, solving problems with different solutions every day to different customers. I realised “I am able to do it”; so then my entrepreneurial journey began.” Recently recongnised as one of Business Daily Africa’s Top 40 Under 40 Women 2026, Milicent shared more about her path to entrepreneurship – and specifically the agricultural field – on Linkedin:
Céleste Tchetgen Vogel, eWAKA
eWaka Mobility Limited is a Kenya-based electric mobility and logistics technology company addressing the structural inefficiencies in last-mile delivery in Nairobi and across East African cities (Kigali-Rwanda).
“eWaka is a baby that was in gestation for 20 years!” founder Céleste Tchetgen Vogel observed. “During a trip to the Gulf of Guinea … I realised transportation was one of the key obstacles to not only people being able to move freely, but also goods. When you travel in Africa, people walk – and when they’re not walking, they’re stuck in traffic. It felt like a problem that was solvable … like a space where I could actually move the needle a little bit.” Founded in 2021, the company has deployed more than 1,500 electric vehicles to date, and has built a powerful tech-enabled mobility ecosystem.
Wanjiru Mambo, WedgeHut
Wedgehut Foods Limited is a woman-led business in Kenya, sourcing potatoes to transform into a range of fresh-cut, vacuum sealed products including chips, wedges, lyonnaise, cubes, and whole potatoes. The products are distributed through a cold chain logistics network, reducing food waste, improving access to high-quality produce, and providing market access to over 3,000 smallholder farmers.
Inspired by her experience of selling potatoes locally during the initial outbreak of COVID-19, WedgeHut founder Wanjiru felt her entrepreneurial spirit rising, and she began thinking about how to add value to the potatoes: “I did a lot of research on the potato value chain in this country, and it’s an untapped, niche market. … For me, it’s very personal. Both of my parents were agricultural extension officers, and farming put us all through school.”
Each woman featured here is a powerful force for change within their community and industry. We are thrilled to partner with IYBA WE4A to support them on their business and impact journeys through NYUMBA; the knowledge exchange is sure to be valuable for all of us.
Do you want to know more about NYUMBA and our technical assistance capabilities? Please get in touch: nico@goodwell.nl
