CANADA – Equifruit’s president, Jennie Coleman has been awarded the RBC Momentum Award and OPMA’s Women’s Produce Network Award celebrating women entrepreneurs

The prestigious RBC Momentum Award celebrates Canada’s most accomplished women entrepreneurs. Coleman was celebrated for her outstanding leadership as president of Equifruit, North America’s biggest importer of Fairtrade-certified bananas.

According to EuroFruit, the Awards have been highlighting the achievements of women driving economic growth and social change for over three decades. Some 11,000 women entrepreneurs were nominated in 2023.

Under Coleman’s leadership, Equifruit said it has made remarkable progress towards its goal of “Global Fairtrade Banana Domination”.

For the past two years, it has been recognized by The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business Magazine as one of Canada’s Top Growing Companies with growth of more than 200 percent in the past three years.

In addition to the RBC Momentum Award, Coleman was also recognized last week with the OPMA’s Women’s Produce Network Award, celebrating her outstanding contributions to the voice of women in the still heavily male-dominated produce industry.

“As one of the few female business owners in produce, Jennie has emerged as a champion for women in the industry,” said Equifruit’s sales and marketing director, Kim Chackal. “With an impressive collection of Women’s Awards under her belt, we’ve introduced a dedicated ‘Lady Boss’ category on our website.”

Equifruit said it looked forward to continued success under Coleman’s leadership and remains dedicated to its Fairtrade mission and creating a sustainable impact that will fundamentally change our industry’s relationship with banana growers.

Coleman’s leadership prowess in the fresh produce sector has shone brightly setting a new standard for resilience and innovation.

In another changemaker award, Jennie Coleman was named Globe and Mail 2023 Changemaker for her role in promoting responsible banana sourcing.

The award recognizes emerging business leaders who are changing the status quo through their ideas, accomplishments, and impact.

Coleman was chosen for her commitment to responsible sourcing and Fairtrade practices in the global banana industry.

Coleman, who purchased Equifruit in 2013, expressed her gratitude for the award and highlighted the importance of a fair distribution of value along the supply chain for Canada’s favorite fruit.

“I am honored to receive this recognition as a changemaker,” she said. “Equifruit is about change, not charity: changing a toxic 100-year-old banana business model and changing Canadians’ mindsets on bananas.”

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