Mamaa Trade

Mamaa Trade is a brand new social enterprise based in Toronto, Canada, that markets products from women's cooperatives in Africa and Asia thus offering the buyers unique and quality products and a chance to support poorer women in developing countries through their purchases. It is owned by Johanna Helin, who has a long personal history in working with women's cooperatives in Africa. The word "mamaa" means "fair/equal" in the local Napti language of Nabdam District in Northern Ghana where our shea producers and basket weavers live. Johanna has been working with these communities for more than ten years supporting the establishment of shea and basket cooperatives. Johanna is a founding member of Estonian Development NGO Mondo which supports women in different deprived communities in local income-generating activities. Through Mamaa Trade she will continue to offer support to the development activities of NGO Mondo and offer direct marketing support for the cooperatives. In addition to baskets and shea butter from Ghana, Mamaa Trade also sells beautiful Kitenge textile products from cooperatives of disabled people in Uganda and jewellery made by Syrian refugee women in Turkey. In the near future we’ll also add beautiful embroidered products from Afghanistan. We are actively working to widen our selection of products. We’ll keep you posted on the news!