Monica Musonda is Founder & CE of Java Foods, a Zambian based food processing company. Java Foods first product was “eeZee Instant Noodles”, which has become Zambia’s leading instant noodle brand. Java Foods also manufactures and distributes Supa Cereal (a fortified instant cereal/porridge) for school feeding programmes and emergency relief programmes.

Monica is a dual qualified English solicitor and Zambian advocate with over 16 years post qualification experience. She began her legal career working for the Attorney General of Zambia, where she advised on the privatization of state-owned enterprises. She then went on to work in private practice for Clifford Chance (London) and Edward Nathan (Johannesburg – where she rose to the rank of partner). She also worked as Counsel at International Finance Corporation and for the Dangote Group as Director Legal and Corporate Affairs. She was directly involved in Dangote Cement’s $13bn listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as well as assisted the Group raise various debt instruments in the international market (in excess of $3bn). Monica was the project lead responsible for the Group’s $400m investment into Zambia to build the country’s largest integrated cement plant. Her experience working with one of Africa’s most successful entrepreneurs gave her the impetus to start her own business and in 2012, she moved back to Zambia and set up Java Foods.

Monica currently serves as non-executive director on a number of boards including Airtel Networks Zambia Plc & Zambia Breweries (where she is chair). She is a nutrition advocate and sits on both the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Lead Group and the Global Advisory Board for SUN Business Network. She is the recipient of the 2017 African Agribusiness Entrepreneur of the Year award, which is an award conferred annually to entrepreneurs who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in agricultural input and value addition in Africa. She is a 2013 Young Global Leader (World Economic Forum) and Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow. Forbes Magazine and Africa Investor named her as one of the leading Young Power Women in Business in Africa in 2013 and 2014 respectively. She is one of the few Zambian women involved in manufacturing/agro-processing at a scalable level.

In her free time, Monica mentors women entrepreneurs and is often called on to speak on issues related to women empowerment, entrepreneurship and nutrition. She holds a LL.B from the University of Zambia and an LL.M from the University of London.