Lucy Enset is a women-led company that produces Enset flour and baked products in Arba Minch (Ethiopia), established through an ICGEB-funded Collaborative Research Proposal Grant.
Enset is a crop that is indigenous to Ethiopia and is consumed after fermentation. This is a traditional, yet time-consuming and unreliable process. Enset processing is a main activity of rural families, but loss of product is up to 45% due to unsafe fermentation, which provides insufficient sustenance.
Prof. Addisu Fekadu Andeta from Arba Minch University decided to map the challenges within the Enset value chain and bridge the critical gaps through knowledge transfer, local capacity building, and the empowerment of smallholder Enset farmers, primarily women, who are the main actors in Enset processing. His work, supported by an ICGEB CRP Grant, led to the introduction of basic processing equipment and the development of improved fermentation techniques that reduced the traditional fermentation period from two months to just seven days.
This initiative contributes to several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 2 (sustainable agriculture), SDG 4 (inclusive quality education), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 9 (resilient infrastructure), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals).
The innovation combines a technological and cultural shift in the processing of food, allowing families and communities in Ethiopia to easily satisfy their needs and produce surplus products, which provides additional income. The innovations have significantly improved product quality and diversification, enhanced food safety, and, most importantly, transformed the livelihoods of thousands of people in the regions where the initiative is active.
An additional advantage is that the once discarded fibres from the Enset stem have now become a valuable source of income for the community. Women from nearby villages have started producing handcrafted products using these fibres, selling them locally and online. Their work has already reached international markets, including the United States.
To follow up on the success of the initiative, in April 2025, ICGEB supported the official launch of the Lucy Enset starter cultures through the B-INOC initiative, of the BioBoost project funded by the Italian Ministry of External Affairs (MAECI).
Lucy Enset now facilitates economic growth and the creation of decent employment opportunities in the local communities by empowering women’s innovation. This initiative is fully aligned with one of the national priorities in Ethiopia, as Enset is a major staple food.
All ICGEB instruments of action (fellowships, grants, meetings, technology transfer) strive to empower ICGEB Member States to be the main drivers of scientific and, thereby, economic development, leaving communities stronger, more independent, and more resilient after the ICGEB project ends.
This story has also been published in the SHE in STI 2025 brochure of the United Nations.
