Affiong Williams

Founder & CEO, ReelFruit

Bio Current as of February 26, 2020

Affiong Williams was born on March, 9th, 1986 and is the CEO/ Founder of ReelFruit the largest fruit processing, packaging and marketing company in Nigeria. The company, founded in 2012, retails a range of dried fruit and nut snacks through a variety of channels including over 450 Supermarkets, Airlines, Schools, Hotels, and concluding export sales via Amazon.com ReelFruit is an award-winning brand, winning both an international Women In Business Competition in the Netherlands. She has also recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of the most promising ’30 under 30′ entrepreneurs in 2015. Affiong is passionate about agribusiness and looking at innovative, market-driven solutions to add value to local produce given Nigeria’s unique agricultural landscape. 

Her Select Work Experience Includes: 

• Established a complex supply chain in 4 countries (Ghana, Gambia, Ivory Coast and Nigeria) to achieve year-round availability of products- a key competitive advantage 
• Successfully registered ReelFruit products for sale on Amazon.com, leveraging AGOA and reducing transport costs by 30%- the first company in Nigeria to do so. 
• Registered and active member of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council 
• Managed several mid-sized export sales to Belgium, Switzerland, and the US, (finalizing Canada), also completing intra-Africa trade to Gambia and Senegal by Q1, 2018 
• Lead a team of over 50 full staff members, as well as 4 external consultants, and managed a pilot farm project training 45 women in Mango Farming in Kaduna 
• As part of business model, have gained experienced with several horticultural and commodity mapping studies that have both been backed by donors such as IDH and USAID NEXXT, as well as company-funded research studies 
• Have offered pro-bono advisory for large Ghanaian Agricultural company looking at market entry into Nigeria 
• Advised the Lagos State Government on their approach to investing in SMEs in order to achieve maximum job creation 

Through her entrepreneurial journey she has been invited to countless fora on Agribusiness, investment, and trade. Most recent of these include; 

• Panellist, Inaugural Intra African Trade Fair, Cairo 2018 
• Finalist, Strive Masiyiwa Go Gettaz Initiative Accra, 2019 
• Finalist, AFDB Africa Investment Forum Market Days Entrepreneurial Venture Showcase. Johannesburg, 2019 
• Finalist, AFDB African Youth Agripreneur forum and Agripitch, CapeTown, 2019 
• Winner, Village Capital Agriculture Accelerator, Kenya, 2020 
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Affiong Williams obtained a post graduate diploma in Business Administration from Wits Business School, Johannesburg, South Africa. In 2018, she also participated in the Stanford SEED Transformation Program- Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies. She worked for 4 years for Endeavor Global, a global non-profit which catalyzes economic development by supporting small to medium enterprises in developing markets. Affiong is passionate in unearthing the job and wealth creation potential of agribusiness and global trade. 

Affiong is passionate about Entrepreneurship, Agriculture, Politics and is an avid runner, completing over 15 marathons, raising funds for charity in the process.