Botswana’s ‘Corn Lady’ Builds a Culinary Business

After earning an honors degree a decade ago, Tshephiso Marumo began selling ears of corn door-to-door and was derisively nicknamed Mmammidi, or Corn Lady. She reclaimed the name, turned it into a brand and opened two roadside food stalls in Gaborone that serve traditional village dishes and have attracted politicians, musicians and influencers.

Ms. Marumo’s meals began as home dinners cooked in three‑legged cast‑iron pots over wood fires, seasoned simply to highlight meats, starches and vegetables. Her first stall, opened in late 2019 at a busy intersection, was followed by a second in January; she now employs 11 people who start each morning at her bungalow, firing up about 30 pots to prepare dishes such as seswaa, mokoto and bogobe jwa lerotse.

Her rise has been amplified online: she has more than 240,000 Facebook followers, roughly 10 percent of Botswana’s population, and a large social media presence that some find inspiring and others find divisive. Ms.

Botswana, Gaborone

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