Adama Kuyateh is an entrepreneur with vast knowledge of business management. Her established skill sets have paved the way for her to operate and manage her establishment. Her company, Wam Lek Faya, is a company that specializes in producing and packaging dried spices and liquid condiment hot sauces. An investment that has pleased a lot of spice lovers.
Adama’s journey to being a CEO emerges from the fact that she has always been interested in business management. She is a double Master’s degree holder in International Management and Business Administration respectively. The African Dream caught up with Adama to discuss her company and her platform to success. She said, “Having worked in management for over 15 years, I’ve always had the desire to build and establish a business.” Her love for sports enabled her to initially build on that desire. Establishing a football academy in the United States, she provided services for individuals, groups, and teams within Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia. Given the nature of the business, the establishment had to be shut down due to the global pandemic. “While this was a bit disappointing, it was a great segway to continue my exploration of art in the kitchen. Undeterred by the stringent regulations in the food industry, I knew my experience in management had better positioned me for another venture. I have worked with all sizes of companies from small, medium, to large size organizations. Here we are with the new adventure and I’m loving every bit of the process,” she revealed.
WAM LEK FAYA
Wam Lek Faya was established in 2020 and officially launched to the general public in February 2023. Its headquarter is located in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. The company’s name is the creole translation for “Hot Like Fire”, indicating the spiciness of its products. Wam Lek Faya’s key focus is to offer spice lovers and enthusiasts who enjoy consuming its flavor to choose from a brand of numerous scintillating options. Their liquid sauces cater to both spice lovers and the general hot sauce condiment consumer. “Similar to our dried spices, we focus on satisfying the consumer’s palette beyond the delivery of heat with a well-balanced combination of flavor, aroma, acidity and preservative-free with our globally inspired use of natural ingredients,” Adama explained.
The products are created with a lot of fresh vegetables combined with extract and various dried spices along with the famous African Birds Eye Chili pepper also known as Peri Peri chill. All ingredients except for the Peri Peri are sourced from the US.
Given that the company is new to its operations, it holds less than 10 employees. Nevertheless, as sales and productivity increase and company awareness spread nationally and globally, that number is bound to expansively increase. Speaking about what led her to establish Wam Lek Faya, Adama stated, “It’s amazing how the kitchen became a favourite place of mine. Growing up, I’d rather be outside playing soccer (football as it’s known globally) instead of helping in the kitchen. It was not until my young adult days that I took interest in cooking. My love for traditional snacks from Sierra Leone, West Africa was the catalyst. I’ve never looked back since. Constantly experimenting with creating sauces with the perfect flavour, taste, and heat led to the birth of Wam Lek Faya.”
Challenges are typically experienced by businesses especially in the initial stages. When asked about such, Adama stated that “The issue with anything in life is choosing not to get started. The main and biggest challenge was to start the process. If I had not started, nothing would have happened. It is my belief that growth is a process, in the midst of the process excellence is birth. I see all things as a challenge, it is up to me to choose to be comfortable where I am or keep on pressing forward refusing to allow any glitch to stop.”
Adama Kuyateh’s story is a unique and peculiar one. She seeks to establish and break free in the world of culinary through her specialization in sauces and spicy condiments.
Here are the links to Wam Lek Faya’s social media handles:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090045833011
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WamLekFaya
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wamlekfaya/
I always believe that where I see myself now is very important because that determines where I will be years down the line. From the very beginning when Wam Lek Faya was established, it was viewed as a global organization built to satisfy the palettes of spicy food lovers across the globe with our globally inspired handcrafted spice blends. This mission and vision remains the same at any given timeframe. As previously mentioned, the key is refusing to remain comfortable because in doing so, we constantly challenge ourselves to be innovative, creative, and delivering excellence at all times
Adama kuyateh on where she sees herself in the next 10 years