Lynette Akol, the founder and CEO of Krystal Ice ltd, the maker of frozen fruit snacks
When Lynette Akol signed up for the inaugural dfcu Rising Woman competition in 2018, as a start up business owner, she may only have been eyeing the sh15 million winner’s prize, but she got a lot more than she bargained for.
“There has been continued support through mentorship and community, sponsored media engagements to grow our brand, my leadership and decision making has improved over the last six years,” says Akol, the founder and CEO of the maker of frozen fruit snacks, Krystal Ice ltd.
“Business is tough and the handholding I have received from dfcu since winning has been very important to our continued success.”
The Rising Woman initiative is sponsored by dfcu Bank, Monitor Publications Limited and other partners, to support women founded and controlled businesses grow through training, mentorship and greater access to the group’s financial products.
The top ten winners of the proposal writing and pitching competition, get an all-expense paid study trip to Nairobi, Kenya. The top three share sh30m between them.
“Since winning the award we employed more people, got more of the technical team. We have got our UNBS (Uganda National Bureau of Standards) certification, very important in the food business and dfcu has helped us attain ISO certification;” she explains, speaking at her office situated on the bustling Commercial Street, Luzira, which on the day we were there, was market day with vendors lining the streets selling everything from second-hand shoes to banana juice.
Business Growth
Business Growth
Her joining the dfcu Women in Business (WiB) Program at the Bank has been a godsend in many ways making finance easier to access, exposure to new opportunities and learnings, attracting the right talent for her business and many other opportunities that come with being in a community of like-minded people.
It goes without saying that her business has grown quantitatively as well.
“Since our employees have grown to 24 from three, we are now dealing with six farmer groups up from one and our production has also increased,” Akol said.
These are significant strides for a business that was barely two years old when the inaugural Rising Woman was launched in 2018.
With the euphoria of her Rising Woman achievement still fresh in the air, the economy went into lock down because of the Covid pandemic and she had to find a new level of resilience.
“Our distribution channels were all shut down and our revenues collapsed greatly. So we invested a lot of the Rising Woman prize money in digital marketing, growing our presence on social media and making home deliveries,” she recalls. At the time, Akol she thought her business was going to end before it had the opportunity to take off.
“But I learnt that passion and vision breed resilience,” and we lived to see brighter days.
Advice to women
One thing the Rising Women in initiative has given her is an opportunity to share her story as well as learn from people with similar experience.
“I encourage women to look out for opportunities and embrace the challenges that come with them. It can be tough but also very rewarding especially when you look back at what you have achieved,” she said.
For a business that started with a passion to build something of her own and a brainstorming of company names with her pre-adolescent daughters, her journey is far from over.
“I want Krystal Ice Ltd to grow beyond its current central Uganda footprint, to go national and then, go beyond Uganda. We want to launch new products and have a fully automated factory,” she says, when asked about the future.
In celebrating its 60th year in existence, dfcu Bank stands firm on its commitment to empowering women entrepreneurs in pursuit of their business goals. From uniquely structured financial products, to hosting free to attend financial literacy sessions and being a part of partnerships such as the Rising Woman Initiative, the Bank is leading the way in the transformation of the lives and businesses of Ugandan women entrepreneurs.
