The aroma of freshly prepared meals now drifts through the streets of Masvingo, drawing customers into Urban Eats Restaurant, a business born not just from ambition but from bold transformation through training in entrepreneurship, financial skills, records keeping and digital marketing. At the centre of it all stands Enny Chitongo, a young entrepreneur who turned knowledge and skills  into enterprise and tangible economic power. Ennie started as a smallholder farmer selling raw produce from farming. After participating in the 2024 Women’s Business Bootcamp (WBBS) facilitated by IYWD, Enny did not simply refine her business ideas; she expanded them. Armed with practical skills in entrepreneurship, financial management, and feminist leadership, she made a decisive move and opened Urban Eats Restaurant in Masvingo, marking a defining milestone in her journey toward economic independence.

Enny was part of the Women’s Business Bootcamp, anco-created by Hivos Southern Africa and supported by the Embassy of Ireland in Pretoria under the project titledS(HE) Matters. The intervention combined goals of strengthening young women’s sustainable livelihoods and influence in public decision making.  Through the bootcamp it provided an interactive platform for peer-to-peer and intergenerational learning, real-life case studies, and practical business planning sessions. Participants explored socio-economic wellbeing, access to and control of resources, market positioning, and long-term sustainability. For Enny, the training became the blueprint for scaling up her agricultural activities turning them into additional value chain enterprises than operating them in isolation.

“The bootcamp changed how I see business and myself. I learnt that more value of my agricultural produce could be unlocked from seeing business ideas as interconnected. Opening Urban Eats did not only increase my business opportunities it became a way of claiming my power and ability to influence society,” Enny reflects.

Before launching her restaurant, Enny had already demonstrated entrepreneurial resilience. She began with cultivating various crops on her farm. She also  managed a poultry project of over 500 chicks.. Despite challenges such as power outages and fluctuating operational costs, she continued persisted. After participating at the WBBS she began to see her business in terms of value chains not only to manage risk but diversify income streams. Instead of selling raw produce alone, she expanded into food service, adding value to her agricultural products through hospitality.

The opening of Urban Eats Restaurant represents more than business growth, it reflects economic agency. By integrating her agricultural activities, poultry production with restaurant operations, Enny created a sustainable and circular business model rooted in local production and community consumption. Her enterprise contributes to local employment, strengthens food systems, and demonstrates how women can lead in sectors traditionally dominated by men.

Her journey embodies the principles of feminist economics and sustainable livelihoods. Through WBBS, Enny strengthened her human capital, including knowledge and leadership skills; financial capital; physical capital through her restaurant infrastructure and farming assets; and social capital through networks and mentorship. She transitioned from informal entrepreneurship to structured enterprise ownership, enhancing both her autonomy and her influence within the local economy.

Enny’s story demonstrates that when young women and women are equipped with skills, confidence, and supportive networks, they transform livelihoods, shift power dynamics, and advance socio-economic justice in their communities.