Anna Priscilla Veras

When asked what her goals for the future are, Anna Priscilla Veras replied “I was born to change the world, I want to cause this transformation”.

Specifically, Anna wants to change the food we consume everyday by making pesticide free produce available to everyone. For this purpose, she founded Muda Meu Mundo in 2016 – a social enterprise that supports small family agro-ecological farmers in Brazil to distribute their products through fair trade.

Anna has always had a passion for healthy eating. When her son was born, she wanted to give him the best possible nutrition but soon realised that there was a lack of availability of organic products in mainstream supermarkets. Determined to change this, she developed a brilliant business model for Muda Meu Mundo that benefits both, farmers and consumers. Farmers get trained and certified by Muda Meu Mundo to supply their organically and sustainably grown produce to popular mainstream supermarkets across Brazil and thereby increase their income. Consumers get easy access to organic, healthy food.

Anna found out about YBI member Aliança Emprendedora through Facebook and enrolled in their online course through which she met many other young entrepreneurs who inspired her. The experience showed her that anyone can be an entrepreneur and that youth entrepreneurship is powerful. This strengthened her belief in herself and her own abilities. She even set up a similar online training platform for the farmers she works with and volunteers as a mentor for aspiring young entrepreneurs.

Anna’s business went through a rough patch at the end of 2018 and she realised that her business model at the time wasn’t sustainable. She made adjustments and within just one year, Muda Meu Mundo bounced back spectacularly. The business is now more successful than ever, and Anna sees this as her biggest achievement to date. Today, she can support herself very well through her business and has seven full-time employees.

Anna’s goal for the next few years is to expand to all big cities across Brazil as well as underdeveloped countries. She says that starting her business has changed her deeply as a person.

“It changed my worldview; the way I believe I can make an impact. The journey is not easy, but the most important thing is to find something that will make you happy, that will change someone’s life, to go beyond buying and selling.”