Our people
Our people

Global Board and Advisors

Our Governing Board and Advisors provide us with critical support.

Governing Board

 

Headshot of Ada Osakwe

Ada Osakwe

Founder and Chief Executive, Agrolay Ventures

Ada Osakwe joined the One Acre Fund board in 2017. She is the Founder and Chief Executive of Agrolay Ventures, an investment firm targeting early-stage agribusiness and food-related companies and projects in Africa. She is also the founder of Nuli Juice, a farm-to-table restaurant chain in Nigeria that works to create markets for smallholder farmers.

Ada was the Senior Investment Adviser to Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and led investment policy and financing initiatives focused on the private sector. Prior to this, she was a Vice President at Kuramo Capital Management, a private equity firm in New York. She was also a Senior Investment Officer at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), focused on infrastructure financing. She started her career as an investment banker with BNP Paribas London. Ada received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. She holds an MSc in Economics and Finance from the University of Warwick, U.K. and a BSc in Economics (First Class Honours) from the University of Hull, U.K. Ada is a 2016 Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow. She serves on the AfDB President’s Advisory Group on the Bank’s ‘Jobs For Africa’s Youth’ initiative.

Ada is an independent voting member of the board.

 

 

Agnes Gathaiya

Agnes Gathaiya

Country Director for East Africa, Google

Agnes Gathaiya is the Country Director for East Africa at Google. She is responsible for managing regional Google operations, developing and executing growth and innovation, and building and managing strategic partnerships. 

Agnes has 20+ years of progressive experience in organizational transformation, predominantly focused on developing strategy and providing commercial leadership in sales and business development. She has held leadership positions in organizations including Deloitte Consulting, SAP, Safaricom, and most recently served as CEO of Integrated Payment Services Limited (IPSL). She also sits on the Boards of United Way – Kenya, African Women in Fintech and Payments, and the Payments Association of Kenya.

Agnes holds a Master’s in Business Administration from United States International University and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Bryn Mawr College, USA. She has also completed the Harvard University Women in Leadership program and was recognized in 2010 by Business Daily as one of the Top 40 Under 40 Women in the country.

Agnes is an independent voting member of the board.

 

Andrew Youn headshot

Andrew Youn

Senior Partner/ Executive Director/ Co-Founder

Andrew Youn started One Acre Fund in 2006. Andrew graduated from Yale magna cum laude, is a former management consultant, and received his MBA from Kellogg School of Management. Andrew co-founded the program in Kenya with John Gachunga, and now lives in Rwanda.

Click here to view a video profile of Andrew and his work with One Acre Fund, produced by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University

Watch 3 reasons why we can win the fight against poverty | Andrew Youn on YouTube.

 

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Fred Ogana

Managing Partner, East Africa Market Development Associates Ltd

Fred Ogana is a Managing Partner at East Africa Market Development Associates Ltd and former country director of TechnoServe Kenya. At TechnoServe, Fred's responsibilities included overall strategic management of programs, and executive-level oversight for finance, marketing, operations and human resources development. Prior to joining TechnoServe in 1998, Fred was the founder and director of an international import and exports firm. During his tenure, the company merged with a group of Eastern European investors to set up a joint venture enterprise based in Prague, Czech Republic, with an office in Nairobi. The company was involved in the export of flowers from Kenya and importation of medical supplies. He holds an honorary Bachelor of Commerce degree in business management from University of South Africa, Pretoria, a BA in business studies and sociology from Kenyatta University, Nairobi, and is pursuing a Master of Commerce in business management from the University of South Africa. Fred also serves on Berkeley's Global Social Venture Competition judging committee.

Fred is an independent voting member of the board.

 

George William Kayonga

Ambassador George William (Bill) Kayonga

Trade and Export Development Consultant

Amb. George William Kayonga joined the One Acre Fund Board in 2021. A career diplomat, he served as the High Commissioner of Rwanda to Kenya for 16 years, as well as a further two years as a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the East African Community. He was also a Non-resident Ambassador to Somalia.

He enjoyed a distinguished career in the public service, serving as Chief Executive of Rwanda’s National Agricultural Export Development Board for six years. A trade and export development expert, Amb. Kayonga brings with him a wealth of experience in the private sector, having managed several supply chain and logistics companies for the past 12 years.

He holds a Masters Degree in Diplomacy and International Studies, and a Bachelor of Commerce Degree – Finance. He’s currently an Independent Director, Board of Directors of Equity Bank Rwanda, and a member of the One Acre Fund Rwanda Advisory Council.

Amb. Kayonga is an independent voting member of the Board.

 

 

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James Mwangi

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Africa Climate Ventures

James Mwangi joined the One Acre Fund board in 2015 and has served as Board Chairman from 2022 to present. James co-founded Dalberg Advisors in New York in 2002, founded Dalberg’s Africa business in 2007, served as Dalberg Advisors Global Managing Partner from 2010 and 2014, and as Dalberg Group's Executive Director from 2014-2022.   

In 2021, James founded the Climate Action Platform for Africa, a non-profit organization that aims to help Africa achieve broad-based economic growth through climate action leadership. James is an early investor and board member of Koko Networks, a Non-Executive Director of Old Mutual Limited, and the Board Chair of One Acre Fund. In 2022 James received a Climate Breakthrough Award, he is also an  Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow, a WEF Young Global Leader,  and a member of YPO. He holds a degree in economics from Harvard University and is a Yale World Fellow.

James is an independent voting member of the board.

 

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Joel Ackerman

CFO, DaVita Inc

Joel Ackerman joined the board of One Acre Fund in 2008, and served as Board Chairman from 2009-2021. Prior to joining DaVita, he served as CEO of Champions Oncology from 2010-2017. Ackerman was also previously a partner at Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm. Joel spent more than 15 years at Warburg Pincus, most recently as the head of the healthcare services group and a member of the executive management committee. Prior to Warburg Pincus, Joel spent three years working at Mercer Management Consulting. He currently sits on the board of directors of Kindred Healthcare Inc. and previously served on the board of Coventry Health Care Inc., both publicly traded healthcare service companies. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University with a BA in physics. He also received an MA in physics from Harvard University.

Joel is an independent voting member of the board.

 

Kanini Mutooni 

Kanini Mutooni headshot

Managing Director – Draper Richards Kaplan

Kanini Mutooni is a Managing Director at Draper Richards Kaplan, a Venture Philanthropy institution investing in global early-stage entrepreneurs creating impact. She is also a Senior Adviser for Toniic, the global action network for impact investors with over 300 asset owners representing over $16b in investable wealth.  Prior to this appointment, Kanini was the Director for Investment at the USAID-funded East Africa Trade and Investment Hub, a $65m, 8 country initiative to attract investment and increase trade in the East Africa region.

Kanini is a UK Chartered Accountant with a record of exceptional leadership gained in East Africa, Europe and the United States. She is the immediate former Board Chair of The Global Innovation Fund, a $250m investment vehicle supported by the UK, US, Canadian, Australian and Swedish Governments. The fund focused on investing a range of capital for early-stage innovations in emerging markets with a focus on Food and Agriculture, Healthcare, clean energy and Fintech.

Kanini has worked at Board level in leadership positions at investment banks in London and US, such as Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. In 2014 she was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader for her exceptional leadership in business and global entrepreneurship. She is currently Chair of AMREF Health Innovations and she continues to be a Senior Advisor providing strategic advisory support to a number of Africa focused impact funds, such as the $150m African Agriculture SME Fund and Union Bank Privee’s (UBP) listed global equity impact fund.  She is currently the Chair of the Investment Committee of the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, a pan-African $250m challenge fund focussed on investing in early-stage agriculture and food SMEs.  She is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Capetown’s Bertha Center for Social Innovation.

 

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Karl Hofmann

President & CEO, Population Services International

Karl Hofmann is the President and CEO of Population Services International (PSI). PSI is a non-profit that promotes products, services and healthy behaviors that enable low-income and vulnerable people to lead healthier lives. Based in Washington DC, PSI operates in more than 60 countries and is the world's largest social marketing firm.

Prior to joining PSI, Hofmann was a career American diplomat for 23 years. He served as US ambassador to the Republic of Togo, executive secretary of the Department of State, and deputy chief of mission (senior career diplomat) at the American Embassy in Paris. Hofmann is a graduate of Georgetown University and the National Defense University. He is a director of the US Global Leadership Coalition, a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, and a member of the External Board of Advisors of Pennsylvania State University’s School of International Affairs.

Karl is an independent voting member of the board.

 

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Matt Forti

Managing Director, One Acre Fund USA

On the board since the organization's founding in 2006, Matt Forti was One Acre Fund's first Board Chairman. Matt joined One Acre Fund's staff in 2013 to coordinate its global operations outside of Africa.  Prior, Matt was a Manager and Co-head of the Performance Measurement Practice at the Bridgespan group. Matt received an MBA with distinction from the Kellogg School of Management and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Northwestern University with a BA in economics and sociology.

 

Advisors

 

Angelline Rudakubana

Angelline Rudakubana

Director, World Food Programme

Angelline Rudakubana is the World Food Programme (WFP) Director, Representative to the United Nations Commission for Africa and the African Union. Prior to her appointment, Angelline was the WFP's Deputy Director of Programme and Operations in Afghanistan.

Earlier in her career, Angelline was the WFP Country Director for Burkina Faso and has served with the WFP in South Sudan, Zambia, South Africa (via NEPAD/CAADP), and East Timor—as Deputy Director. Among her many accomplishments, Angelline started a milk project, purchased from female pastoralists,  for school children in Burkina Faso and the Sahel region. The programme has since been replicated in various countries.

 

 

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Bob Annibale

Senior Fellow at the University of London, SOAS

Bob Annibale is a Senior Fellow at the University of London, SOAS, focusing on social and inclusive finance, social entrepreneurship, and financial and racial justice. He worked in senior business and corporate positions at Citi in Athens, Bahrain, London, Nairobi, and New York. He is widely recognized as the founder and Global Director of Citi Inclusive Finance (2005-2020) which during his tenure mobilized nearly $4bn to serve the financial needs of underserved and low income communities, particularly women, working across Citi's businesses and geographies. He has been honoured as a "Champion of Change" by the Obama administration for his work supporting immigrant integration and citizenship in the US, and by Euromoney as a "Global Impact Banking Champion."

 

 

Athanase Mukuralinda headshot

Dr. Athanase Mukuralinda

Country Representative, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)

Dr Athanase Mukuralinda is a Senior Scientist and Country Representative of the World Agroforestry Centre, an international organization that promotes the use of trees in agricultural landscapes. He is also Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Rwanda Water and Forestry Authority.  He has published many papers in peer-reviewed journals and has written a book on Agroforestry Systems called Taking to Scale: Tree-Based Systems in Rwanda to Enhance Food Security, Restore Degraded Land, Improve Resilience to Climate Change and Sequester Carbon.

 

Chris Addy headshot

Chris Addy

Partner and Co-Head of Bridgespan's Philanthropy Practice.

Chris is a partner in Bridgespan's Boston office and the Co-Head of Bridgespan’s Philanthropy practice.

Chris advises groups with significant capital that seek to make social change. His focus is on helping clients to understand the potential impact of any funding under consideration and to identify, design, and execute on big bets, large initiatives for social change. This includes helping clients get clear on their values and beliefs, identifying areas of interest and desired results, developing strategies, sourcing NGOs/social enterprises, conducting due diligence, and structuring funding. While donors/investors are most often his clients, Chris also works closely with NGO leaders and social entrepreneurs to refine their strategies and develop operating plans. Prior to joining Bridgespan, Chris worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company in Chicago in a wide array of industries, including agribusiness and retail.

 

 

David I. Cohen headshot

David I. Cohen

Founder of Ezrah Charitable Trust and Simcah Management

David Cohen runs a family-office investment fund that is focused on both public and private investments around the world.  He also runs a charitable trust that is focused on philanthropy in Africa with a broad mandate that includes impact and job creation. He is a co-founder of an early stage venture capital fund in Africa called Enza Capital. David worked at Goldman Sachs primarily in the London office for about six years.  He was a partner at Farallon Capital for about twenty years with a broad focus on a number of investment areas.

He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University where he graduated with a M.Sc. in Development Economics.  He was born and raised in South Africa and now resides in Delray Beach, FLA.

 

Emmanuel Nzamurambaho headshot

Lt. Col. Emmanuel Nzamurambaho

Chief Executive Officer, Agro Processing Trust Corporation

Prior to his current role as Chief Executive Officer of the Agro Processing Trust Corporation (APTC) in Rwanda, Lt. Col. Emmanuel served as the corporation's Deputy CEO from 2014 to 2018. Before his time with APTC, he worked at the Zigama Credit and Savings Society as a credit analyst and also as a branch manager at their Musanze and Ngoma locations.  

Lt. Col. Emmanuel graduated from the National University of Rwanda, Butare, in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, and later received his Master of Science in Agronomy from Allahabad Agricultural Institute in India.

 

 

Faustin Mbundu Kananura headshot

Faustin Mbundu Kananura

Executive Chairman, MFK Group Rwanda

Mr. Faustin Kananura Mbundu runs and holds equity in a number of companies involved in a number of businesses ranging from Information Technology and Tourism to Agri-business and Education. He has a host of entrepreneurial experience, having founded and managed several companies in East Africa. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree (Hons) from Makerere University and owns more than half a dozen companies in several sectors, including agriculture, real estate, consultancy, gaming, coffee export, fertilizer manufacturing, animal feeds, schools, a brokerage firm called MBEA, fruit export, and others.

One of MFK Group’s subsidiaries, Garden Fresh, was the recipient of the “Best Emerging Exporter” award in 2018. 

 

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Dr. Gabriel Semasaka

Veterinary Doctor, former Member of Rwandan Parliament

Dr. Gabriel Semasaka has held various positions and responsibilities in the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, as well as at various non-government organizations from 1986 to 2008. He later became a Member of the Parliament of Rwanda, where he served for a decade. He currently works as a livestock advisor in Rwanda's private sector.

Dr. Semasaka received his degree in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Dakar (EISMV), Senegal, in 1986.

 

 

George Ngarambe headshot

George Ngarambe

Seed Multiplier Expert

Mr. Ngarambe is the current chair of the Rwanda Seed Multipliers Organisation (RWASMO), an umbrella organization that brings together various seed multipliers in Rwanda. As an RWASMO lead, he engages with the Rwandan government and leads advocacy efforts for seed multipliers in the country around areas such as seed price, inspection, and pre- and post-harvest facilitation. He is an experienced maize farmer and seed multiplier, having founded Seeds of Trust, a company that produces open-pollinated seed varieties. 

 

 

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Gideon Kayinamura

Former Ambassador of Rwanda to the United Kingdom

Former Ambassador of Rwanda to the UK, now retired, Mr. Gideon Kayinamura also served as Ambassador to the United Nations in New York from 1996 to 1999, and as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry from 1999 to 2001. Mr. Kayinamura was a Member of the Rwandan Parliament for a decade. His proudest achievement has been to serve Rwanda from 1994 until now, he says. 

 

James Munanura

James Munanura

Household Nutrition Expert, Rwanda Ministry of Agriculture

James Munanura is the Household Nutrition Expert for European Union-funded technical assistance to Rwanda's Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources. His work focuses on introducing and mainstreaming nutrition-sensitive programs to the country’s agricultural sector that will help improve household food and nutrition security. In addition to that, he is also tasked with designing nutrition interventions for two of Rwanda's agricultural blueprints: The Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation (PSTAIV) and the National Strategy for Transformation.  

Previously, James worked as the Technical Adviser of Food Security and Nutrition at the American Refugee Committee. He holds an MSc. in Biochemistry from Makerere University in Uganda and a BSc in Food Science and Technology from Larenstein University in the Netherlands.

 

James Wesner headshot

James Wesner

Managing Director, Marquette Associates

Jamie Wesner, CFA is a Managing Director with Marquette Associates, an institutional investment consulting firm based in Chicago. He advises endowments, foundations, pensions plans and healthcare organizations on their investment portfolios. Prior to joining Marquette, Jamie worked with One Acre Fund at its original location in Kenya.  Previously Jamie worked at Bank of America, Nuveen Investments and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern.

 

Jenny Scharrer headshot

Jenny Scharrer

Principle Project Manager, KfW Development Bank

Jenny's work focuses on financial system development and agricultural finance in Sub-Saharan Africa. In that capacity she has been responsible for structuring funds such as the Africa Agriculture and Trade Investment Fund, the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria, and The Lending for African Farming Company (LAFCo). In addition to her service on One Acre Fund’s Advisory Board, Jenny serves on the board of directors of LAFCo.

Before joining KfW in 2011, Jenny was working with the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology during the financial crisis of 2008/09, and for Oxfam Hong Kong in Vietnam, focusing on improving agricultural value chains. Before moving to Vietnam, Jenny had worked for McKinsey & Company in Germany and Bahrain. She holds an M.P.A from the Harvard Kennedy School.

 

John Gachunga headshot

John Gachunga

One Acre Fund Co-Founder, Business Consultant to Alpex Consulting Africa Limited

John is a business consultant to Alpex Consulting Africa Limited (ACAL), and co-founded One Acre Fund's first program in Kenya with Andrew Youn in 2006.

In his work with ACAL, John specializes on business strategy, finance, project management, and research. John laid the foundation for One Acre Fund's Kenya operations. His main responsibilities included managing program operations and logistics, and recruiting and managing the team through our early formative years. Prior to his role with ACAL, John worked in project management with the Global Alliance for Africa and in credit administration for Equity Bank.

Please see here to learn more about John's role in One Acre Fund's early days.

 

Martin Fisher headshot

Martin Fisher

Co-founder, KickStart International

Martin Fisher co-founded KickStart International after working in Kenya for 6 years, including 5 years with ActionAid. KickStart designs affordable moneymaking tools and mass-markets them to poor entrepreneurs and farmers, who buy the equipment and use it to establish highly profitable family businesses. Fisher has won numerous awards and recognition for his inventions and work as a social entrepreneur, including the IDEA Design Gold Medal, TIME Magazine's 2003 European Hero award, 2005 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, and the Schwab Foundation's "2003 Social Entrepreneur of the Year" award. In 2008 he was named Engineer of the Year by Design News magazine and received the prestigious $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability. Fisher earned his BS in mechanical engineering from Cornell University, followed by an MS and PhD in mechanical design and theoretical and applied mechanics from Stanford University.

 

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Nicole Gardner

Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Marsh & McLennan Companies

Nicole Gardner is the Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of Marsh & McLennan Companies, a global professional services firm providing advice and solutions in the areas of risk, strategy, and human capital. Nicole began her career at Oliver Wyman, a global leader in management consulting and subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies. While there, she spearheaded Oliver Wyman’s diversity and inclusion efforts, establishing and leading its Diversity & Inclusion function.

Nicole holds a BA in Economics from Wellesley College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a member of the Wellesley College Business Leadership Council and the Academy of Women Leaders. In addition to her service on One Acre Fund’s advisory board, she serves on the board of directors of Boston Cares.

 

 

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Patience Mutesi

Country Director, TradeMark East Africa

Patience Mutesi is the Country Director of TradeMark East Africa (TMEA), an Aid-for-Trade Organization that aims at growing prosperity in East Africa through increased trade. She holds a US $65Million portfolio of trade facilitation projects in Rwanda including trade-related infrastructure, standards and NTBs, ICT for Trade, trade policy, logistics, trade related advocacy, export development, and Women in Trade among others. 

Prior to joining TMEA, Ms. Mutesi had a 12-year career in banking & microfinance in various strategic roles including corporate banking, strategy, and business and product development in Ecobank and BCR (I&M Bank). In her last banking role, she was Head of Corporate Banking in Ecobank Rwanda and the Corporate Banking Cluster Head for EAC, covering Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

She has an MBA in Finance from Maastricht School of Management and a BSc. Honors in Quantitative Economics from Makerere University. She is passionate about the advancement of women and youth participation in social and economic development and is driven by her passion for family, her country Rwanda, and Africa.

 

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Rebecca Onie

Co-Founder, The Health Initiative

Rebecca Onie is co-founder at The Health Initiative, a campaign catalyzing a nationwide effort to spur a new conversation about – and increased investments in – health. She also co-founded Health Leads, a national non-profit organization that connects low-income patients with the basic resources they need to be healthy through a large network of participating clinics and college volunteers. Rebecca is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, a U.S. Ashoka Fellow, a MacArthur Fellowship recipient, and a TED speaker—among numerous other accolades and awards. Rebecca attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Rebecca served on One Acre Fund's Governing Board from 2013-2019.

 

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Richard Passov

Former Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Zoetis Inc.

Richard Passov has more than 25 years of experience across technology and life science companies.  He helped capitalize Sun Microsystems through its hyper-growth phase, was one of the first employees in Intel’s Venture Capital group and helped steer Pfizer through several acquisitions, strategic reviews of R&D productivity and led the divestiture of Zoetis and it’s successful IPO. He’s a co-founder of Iota Biosciences, board member of OffAssignment, Adjunct Professor at UC Berkeley’s Fung Institute, guest columnist at 3QuarksDaily, and is researching the anthropology of computation.  

 

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Serge Kamuhinda

Director, Volkswagen Rwanda 

A lawyer by profession, Mr. Kamuhinda is also a political analyst and an expert in International Investment and Economic Law, Regional Integration and Trade Policy, and European Union Affairs.  Prior to  Volkswagen, he served as an Advisor in the Office of the President in Benin. His previous role was as Chief Operating Officer of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). He was also the  Deputy Head of the Strategy and Policy Unit at the Office of the President in Rwanda.  

Mr. Kamuhinda received his L.L.M and MA in German and French Law and International Economic Law from the Paris-Sorbonne University, and his MA in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe.