Sandra Letio, Chief Executive Officer of Pelere Group Limited, has won the prestigious Leadership Award at the Empretec Women in Business Awards 2026, held on 26th October during the 9th World Investment Forum in Doha, Qatar. Organised by the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) under the theme “Women-led businesses and the art of scale”, the awards recognise women entrepreneurs building businesses with significant economic and social impact. The awards attracted 52 entrepreneurs nominated by Empretec centres worldwide.
This recognition builds on her earlier international achievement in 2016, when she received the UNCTAD Empretec Young Entrepreneur Award.
Sandra, a beneficiary of Enterprise Uganda’s Empretec Centre, was recognised for growing an agribusiness from USD 30 into an enterprise that connects more than 5,000 smallholder farmers to markets while creating employment and opportunities across Uganda’s shea and oilseed value chains.
Behind this growth is a story of business development and capacity building, Sandra attended the Entrepreneurship Training Workshop in September 2023, BEST training in 2012 among others. She credits this support with strengthening her business planning, entrepreneurial competencies and systems thinking, enabling her to improve operations, diversify products, expand her farmer network and reach new markets.
Sandra’s entrepreneurial journey is rooted in Northern Uganda, where decades of conflict left communities facing significant economic challenges.
Inspired by her grandmother’s use of traditional shea-based remedies, she saw an opportunity to turn an indigenous resource into a source of livelihoods while promoting environmental conservation.
Rather than allowing shea trees to be lost to charcoal production, she set out to build a business that creates commercial value from sustainably sourced shea.
Today, Pelere Group operates across agriculture, processing and manufacturing through four brands: its Bulk Brand, Pelere Shea Butter, Elevate Naturals and Tropicare.
Its products range from raw and semi-processed oilseeds to skincare, haircare and home-care products, serving local and international markets. In 2025, Sandra reported annual sales exceeding US$150,000 and a workforce of 150 permanent, temporary and part-time employees.
Sandra’s achievement demonstrates the potential of combining entrepreneurial determination with structured business development support to build enterprises that create value beyond their owners to the global stage.
As Pelere Group seeks to expand production capacity and strengthen its export presence, Enterprise Uganda is proud of this milestone.
It reflects the ambition of the Empretec programme to build stronger businesses that drive value addition, create jobs, empower communities, stimulate economic growth and access international markets.
Photo credit: UNCTAD / World Investment Forum 2026
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