We recently connected with Sabrina Yegela and have shared our conversation below.
Sabrina, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I found my purpose in the most unexpected way—through struggle, resilience, and a deep-seated desire to create change.
Growing up in Tanzania, food was more than just nourishment; it was a thread connecting culture, community, and survival. But my perspective on it shifted dramatically when I experienced malnutrition firsthand. It wasn’t just a personal challenge—it was a wake-up call. I saw how food insecurity wasn’t just about scarcity; it was about broken systems, global trade imbalances, and climate change disrupting the very foundation of how we feed ourselves.
That realization led me to create Bantu Vegan, a social enterprise rooted in ethical, plant-based, and sustainable living. What started as a food venture became something much larger—a mission to challenge neo-colonial trade policies, empower small-scale farmers, and reconnect communities with ancestral agricultural wisdom. It became about giving people agency over what they eat, how they grow it, and how they sustain their land for future generations.
The journey to finding my purpose was anything but linear. It was shaped by moments of adversity and learning and questioning everything, like the year-long conflict over water between my small farm and a nomadic pastoralist group during a devastating drought, forcing me to rethink resilience and resource management. It was reinforced by my time working with Moving Windmills, where I saw firsthand how innovation, local knowledge, and sustainability could transform entire communities. It was cemented in the launch of a community mentorship program, where I trained women in regenerative farming and mushroom cultivation, witnessing them gain financial independence and inspire others to follow suit.
Purpose isn’t something you stumble upon—it’s something you build, choice by choice, hardship by hardship. It’s the fire that keeps you going when systems tell you no, when the path is unclear, when you’re standing at the intersection of survival and innovation. Today, I carry this purpose forward—through Bantu Vegan, through my work in sustainability, and through every conversation about food, equity, and empowerment. Because I think at the end of the day, purpose isn’t just about what you do—it’s about who you lift up along the way.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Bantu Vegan isn’t just about food or skincare—it’s about redefining what African agriculture and enterprise can look like. It’s about moving away from an economic model that has long positioned African farmers as mere suppliers of raw materials while high-value production happens elsewhere. It’s about proving that sustainable farming, ethical production, and economic self-determination can thrive in tandem.
We create vegan, plant-based skincare and artisanal foods inspired by Tanzania’s rich agricultural heritage. But that’s just the beginning. We’re building a full-circle ecosystem that connects farming, production, and experiential learning. Our products are farm-to-face, our education is hands-on, and our mission is deeply rooted in environmental and economic justice.
What excites me most is what’s coming next. We already work with small-scale farmers to produce raw ingredients like cashews, turmeric, and mushrooms, but we’re expanding into farm schools, AI-powered precision agriculture, and solar-driven irrigation to push forward regenerative, tech-enabled, and climate-smart farming solutions. We’re launching a Farm BnB, where visitors can immerse themselves in sustainable living and food tourism. We’re creating a subscription model that delivers not just our products, but also recipes, cultural narratives, and hands-on ways to integrate ethical consumption into everyday life.
Farming, when done by kinfolk, has long been stigmatized as a “poor man’s trade,” an afterthought rather than an aspiration. That is a colonial narrative we are dismantling. Agriculture is wealth. It is power. It is sovereignty. Our work challenges the idea that true progress means abandoning farming and imports should replace local production. Instead, we are proving that when agriculture is approached with sustainability, technology, and community-driven economics, it becomes a path to prosperity.
Bantu Vegan is about owning our supply chains, rewriting the rules of trade, and proving that Africa can create, innovate, and lead in the global sustainability movement. Our model isn’t just special—it’s necessary. It is a blueprint for how African economies can shift from extractive to regenerative, from dependent to self-sufficient.
If you believe in ethical consumption, climate-smart entrepreneurship, and a future where African brands aren’t just participants but global leaders, we’d love for you to be part of this journey.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back, three qualities have been essential to my journey: creativity, grit, and the ability to connect, care for, and uplift the people who build with you.
Creativity has been my guiding force—not just in making things, but in solving problems, navigating challenges, and reimagining what’s possible. In a world that often presents rigid rules and “proven” paths, creativity is the ability to step outside those lines, to dream differently, and to design solutions that are uniquely your own. It’s what has allowed me to transform Bantu Vegan from an idea into a movement, blending sustainability, culture, and economic empowerment in a way that feels authentic to our context. For anyone early in their journey, I’d say: never let practicality kill possibility. Let your imagination lead, and then figure out how to make it work.
Grit is the quiet force behind every big dream. No matter how brilliant an idea is, the road to making it real will test you. It will push you to your limits, demand patience, and require you to get up—over and over again—after things don’t go as planned. When I faced a year-long water conflict that threatened my farm and the livelihoods of everyone depending on it, grit kept me at the table, looking for solutions instead of giving up. When funding was scarce or the market seemed indifferent, grit reminded me that what we’re building is bigger than a single setback. When venture capitalists tell me that what I’m doing doesn’t make sense to them, grit helps me accept their opinion and keep learning and innovating and iterating and connecting with the people that do get it. If you’re just starting out, my advice is simple: be stubborn about your purpose, but flexible in your approach. The ability to pivot while holding onto your vision is what will keep you moving forward.
The most profound lesson I’ve learned, though, is that nothing is built alone. The ability to connect, care for, and reward the people who choose to build with you is not just a value—it’s a necessity. The idea of the “self-made” entrepreneur is a myth. Everything I have, I owe to the people who believed in this vision, who poured their time, skills, and trust into Bantu Vegan. Success is not just about the strength of your idea; it’s about the strength of the relationships you cultivate along the way. If you want to go far, invest in people—acknowledge them, support them, and make sure they grow alongside you.
These three qualities—creativity, grit, and deep appreciation for community—have shaped my journey. And for anyone walking their own path, I’d say: build boldly, persist relentlessly, and never take the people who stand with you for granted.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
My parents did something both incredibly simple and profoundly life-changing: they put everything they had into me, even when they didn’t always understand where I was going. They sacrificed, they trusted, and they made sure my world would not be defined by the limits of the one I was born into.
They bet on me completely—not just with resources, but with belief. Even when my dreams seemed abstract, unconventional, or a little too ambitious, they never told me to slow down. Instead, they leaned in. They worked harder, gave more, and found ways to make the impossible feel possible. They understood, in a way that I didn’t fully grasp at the time, that education could be a generational turning point, a bridge to opportunities beyond what we knew.
And now, full circle, they are all in—working with me every day, running things back home as I make the (somewhat selfish, very expensive) decision to pursue my MBA remotely from London. We joke about it, but in truth, this is a joy for all of us. They see firsthand how much education has uplifted our family for decades, and they wait patiently, alongside our team, for me to return and for us to sprint forward into what’s next.
Their greatest gift to me wasn’t just access to opportunity—it was unwavering faith in the journey, even when the destination wasn’t clear. And that’s something I will carry with me forever..
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bantuvegan.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bantuvegan?igsh=ZmR5ZGNwcGFmbjQ1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1FXFdRciNP/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrina-yegela?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@bantuvegan?si=vaRDT599mJBYayfi
- Other: I’m on Threads as @bantuvegan. Install the app to follow my threads and replies. https://www.threads.net/@bantuvegan?invite=0
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
