Tonny Ojuka
Agronomist | Market Systems & Inclusive Economic Development Expert
Kira,Central
Summary
Seasoned development professional with 14+ years of experience in designing and implementing inclusive economic empowerment and resilience programs. Proven track record in mobilizing resources, building climate adaptation capacity, and driving rural transformation. Specializes in food security and livelihoods (FSL), Climate Smart Agriculture, Market Systems development, and gender-responsive approaches. Proficient in managing multi-stakeholder partnerships, promoting financial inclusion, and delivering impactful results in fragile and emergency contexts.
Overview
8
8
years of professional experience
2023
2023
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Income and Job Creation Advisor East Africa
Stromme Foundation Uganda
01.2023 - Current
- Mobilized climate finance for resilience-building projects targeting smallholder farmers
- Enhanced local implementing partners' capacities in adaptive strategies and value addition
- Successfully integrated gender-responsive approaches and resilience-building strategies into livelihood programs
- Lead the development and implementation of income and job creation interventions focused on climate-resilient agriculture, green economy, and digitalization in East Africa
- Establish partnerships with private sector actors and financial institutions to drive new enterprise development and provide local businesses with access to finance
- Program Conceptualization and Development: Leading the development and periodic updates of Income and Job Creation interventions, ensuring they are managed and implemented per SF policies, strategies, and procedures
- Promoting new initiatives, such as green economy development, digitalization, value addition, and access to finance, in SF Uganda's local implementing partners
- Facilitates the implementation of project development plans, develops and reviews quarterly/annual work programs, and ensures they are based on the Rights Based Approach principles
- Synergies and Networking: Promoting green economy interventions, climate-smart agriculture, utilizing technology for income and job creation, and integrating livelihood activities
- Collaborating with local partners and stakeholders to develop high-impact activities for the poor
- The role also involves establishing relationships with private sector actors, financial institutions, and strategic organizations to identify new enterprises
- Representing SF in livelihoods and resilience work, participating in the annual budget process, and drafting progress reports
- Partner Technical Support: Assessing partner needs and developing an annual institutional development strategy, focusing on improving participatory governance and capacity building
- Supporting and facilitating livelihood project implementation, monitoring financial standards, and analyzing interventions from various perspectives
- Documenting and maintaining best practices in livelihood support, ensuring partnership/enterprise coordination, and engaging in evidence-based influencing with government officials, private sector forums, and district/national level organizations
Regional Economic Inclusion Officer
Stromme Foundation East Africa
01.2021 - 01.2023
- Improved financial literacy among target groups, increasing access to economic opportunities
- Strengthened partnerships with private sector stakeholders to support rural livelihoods
- Improved financial literacy among women and youth, increasing access to economic opportunities
- Provided technical support to partners and facilitated the capacity building of local organizations, enhancing their ability to implement inclusive, resilient development strategies
- Quality Programme Development at the Regional Office level: Created and maintained financial inclusion initiatives, advocated for technological advancements and innovations in the green economy, and formulated both short- and long-term livelihood intervention plans
- By taking part in program reviews and assessments, the function guaranteed that set goals implemented projects
- Offered technical assistance to regional partners, ensuring that they submitted yearly applications and had their plans reviewed and approved
- Collaborated with partners to target impoverished homes with PRA tools, and bolstered empowerment and participatory development
- Capacity building: Collaborated with the Economic Inclusion Specialist to assess partner needs and developed an annual institutional development strategy to improve participatory governance
- Organized and conducted training for partners, coordinated evaluations, assessed training, conducted training of trainer's workshops, and developed checklists for quality assurance
- Synergy, sustainability, Exit strategy(s): Collaborated with the Regional Economic Inclusion Specialist, Regional Program Manager, and Education Manager to implement a qualitative synergy concept between livelihoods and education, develop a sustainable group phasing strategy, and collaborate with partners for training
Market Systems Development Officer
GOAL Uganda
01.2020 - 01.2021
- Designed and executed market system interventions that increased economic opportunities for rural youth
- Established strategic partnerships with local governments and private sector players
- Developed and implemented market-based livelihood interventions targeting youth job creation, focusing on agribusiness and value addition in rural and urban areas
- Coordinated with local governments, private sector actors, and NGOs to strengthen the market systems that support vulnerable populations, particularly young women and marginalized groups
- Planning, developing, and implementing market development activities: Assessed economic opportunities and resources, introduced the program to stakeholders, and coordinated with technical specialists to develop market system development activities for youth job creation
- Co-designed with private sector actors in implementing youth-tailored interventions for youth economic empowerment
- Developed capacity-building materials and participated in partner capacity-building sessions
- Mobilized targeted youth and identified value-addition opportunities in livestock and agriculture sectors, particularly for young women and rural youth
- Collaboration/Networking: Created and maintained strong relationships with local government departments, sub-county leaders, and local authorities, representing GOAL in meetings and ensuring information sharing
- Participated in shared learning dialogue series and planned learning events to review technology developments and explored private-sector approaches to community challenges
- Documentation, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting: Collaborated with monitoring staff to gather data for program impact measurement, ensuring accurate information flow for database entry and communication materials
- Prepared weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports, and maintained a filing system for market development activities
- Representation and Coordination: Coordinated with local-level private sector services providers, liaised with government officials, NGOs, and civil society organizations, maintained close relationships with development organizations, and conducted professional and personal activities without jeopardizing humanitarian missions
Agribusiness Advisor
VSO Uganda
01.2017 - 01.2020
- Mentored emerging agripreneurs to scale their businesses sustainably
- Promoted climate adaptation practices within agribusiness value chains
- Supported the development of gender-sensitive agribusiness plans and identified opportunities for youth employment in the agricultural sector
- Collaborated with the Technical leads to develop a strategy for youth agripreneurship and business growth in the central region
- Supported agribusinesses in developing gender-sensitive plans, offering business development services, and analyzing budgets and product deficiencies
- Identified new opportunities and strategies for youth employment in agribusiness and supported internal reorganization by offering technical support and training
- Established strategic partnerships with key business development service providers and stakeholders to promote agribusiness growth
- Developed creative strategies, provided training and technical support services, and provided continuous mentorship
- Represented the project in publications and presentations, coordinated training, and actively engaged in strategic thinking
Education
Masters of Science - Agriculture
Uganda Christian University-Mukono
Bachelor's Degree - Sustainable Agriculture and Extension
Ndejje University
National Diploma - Crop Production and Management
Bukalasa Agricultural College
National Certificate - Tropical Agriculture
Amugo Agro Technical Institute
Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) - undefined
New Generation Secondary School
Primary Leaving Certificate (PLE) - undefined
Lira Modern Primary School
Skills
Management
Professional Courses
- Building resilience against climate and environmental shocks.
- Building Climate Resilience through Ecosystems-based Adaptation Planning.
- Project Cycle Management Framework and M&E frameworks by Stromme Foundation.
- Market Systems Development by GOAL Uganda.
- Pro-poor Value chain development by IIRR and VCDN/ZOA.
- Climate-smart agriculture by ZOA.
- Participatory Agro-enterprise development by ZOA and TRIAS Uganda.
- Village savings and loan association by ZOA.
- Farmers Institutional Development by AT-Uganda.
- Farmer field school methodology by UN-FAO.
- Farming as a Business by AT-Uganda.
Accomplishments
o Established partnerships with 10 private sector actors to develop value chain offerings for smallholder farmers, increasing their income and market access.
o Designed and implemented inclusive economic programs, focusing on pro-poor value chains in coffee, maize, cassava, sunflower, livestock and agroforestry.
o Led initiatives to strengthen smallholder farmers' resilience through climate-smart agricultural practices and capacity building.
o Collaborated with community leaders, cooperatives, and other stakeholders to implement market linkage programs, resulting in improved economic outcomes for farmers.
o Developed market system activities targeting youth, particularly women, in the agriculture and livestock sectors, fostering strong relationships with local government and private sector actors.
o Supported the establishment of informal financial groups and facilitated financial literacy training for women and youth groups, contributing to economic empowerment.
o Collaborated with private sector actors to design interventions tailored for youth economic empowerment, focusing on value addition in the agriculture and livestock sectors.
o Established strategic partnerships with business development service providers to scale agribusinesses, driving economic growth and sustainability.
o Led the development of strategies for youth agripreneurship, supporting the growth of youth-led agribusinesses and enhancing employment opportunities in rural areas.
REFEREES:
1. Mr. Enosh Ojwang Pinycol
Senior Advisor Agriculture and Climate
Enosh.ojwang.pinycol@stromme.org
Tel: +256777370382
2. Mr. Joseph Drasi
Project Manager-GOAL Uganda
jdrasi@ug.goal.ie
3. Mr. Anywar Andrew
Program Area Manager Cash Based Programming.
ADRAA Uganda
andrewiceslira@gmail.com
Tel: +256772195000
Timeline
Income and Job Creation Advisor East Africa
Stromme Foundation Uganda
01.2023 - Current
Regional Economic Inclusion Officer
Stromme Foundation East Africa
01.2021 - 01.2023
Market Systems Development Officer
GOAL Uganda
01.2020 - 01.2021
Agribusiness Advisor
VSO Uganda
01.2017 - 01.2020
Bachelor's Degree - Sustainable Agriculture and Extension
Ndejje University
National Diploma - Crop Production and Management
Bukalasa Agricultural College
National Certificate - Tropical Agriculture
Amugo Agro Technical Institute
Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) - undefined
New Generation Secondary School
Primary Leaving Certificate (PLE) - undefined
Lira Modern Primary School
Masters of Science - Agriculture
Uganda Christian University-Mukono
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