Careers stories
Discover our latest careers stories - from interviews with staff at all levels of the organisation, to advice and top-tips for your application journey and deep dives on all things DEI, we hope these blogs help you understand even more about what a career at One Acre Fund looks like.
Discover our careers stories
The Farmer’s Eye in the Sky: Lydia Tasia
Lydia Tasia shares her career journey navigating a male-dominated field in agriculture, and how she uses satellite imagery and data to predict better yield outcomes for farmers.
Leaving the Nest: Divine Irumva
In this piece, Divine shares how a one-way ticket abroad led her to a business and economics degree, and why she chose to use those skills to create lasting impact for smallholder farmers rather than chasing profits and maximizing shareholder value.
Case Closed? Not Quite. Investigating what drives impact: Wafa Khan
In this piece, Wafa Khan, our Research and Partnerships Senior Manager, shares her career journey, how she creates impact for farmers in her role, and what that impact means to her.
Serving Farmers Through Data: Yetunde Hamza
Yetunde shares her career journey, why she finds purpose in her role, and how she uses everyday numbers to listen to and support smallholder farmers.
The Art of Decoding Impact: Olivier Irakoze
Olivier transitioned from a career in linguistics to helping One Acre Fund recruit top talent. In this piece, he shares his journey and why every great hire is ultimately connected to better outcomes for farmers.
What Two Decades of Serving Farmers Have Taught Us About Building Careers That Matter
There’s another kind of growth that is less discussed and maybe more fulfilling. It happens when you stay long enough to help build something, to evolve with it, and to see your work compound into generational impact.
Give to Gain: Real Investment in Women Requires Giving Them Actual Power
Real giving, the kind that transforms systems, is not symbolic. It disrupts the status quo and requires creating opportunities, sharing power, and ensuring women are trusted to lead.
Good intentions aren’t enough! A personal reflection on how men can be allies to gender equity
Allyship is not simply about being supportive. It is about creating new opportunities and an environment where the women colleagues we work with feel like they truly belong. Ultimately, this also ensures better outcomes for the farmers we serve.
In My Own Words: Ange Ishimwe
Ange Ishimwe shares her career journey, why personal and collective development matters to her, and how she’s creating spaces for more women to access these opportunities.
In My Own Words: Sibusisiwe Kamanga
In this piece, Sibusisiwe reflects on her career journey, her approach to leadership and mentorship, and what inspires her most about working in agricultural development.
In My Own Words: Zainab Haruna
In this piece, Zainab reflects on her journey into tree work, why finding her ikigai was important to her, and what it means to be a woman leading change.
In My Own Words: Jeanne Mukarukundo
In this piece, Jeanne shares why she sees her career as an avocado tree, how she supports farmers in building resilience and prosperity, and the many ways she continues to grow impact, both at work and beyond.
In My Own Words: Christine Gitobu
Christine shares her journey from the world of banking and fintech to the frontlines of field work, how she made the pivot and why her colleagues now fondly call her “headteacher.”
My Journey into One Acre Fund - Metoucela Nsabimbona
Metoucela shares about his first days joining One Acre Fund, making a bold career pivot, and what it’s like working from our rural headquarters in Burundi.
In My Own Words: Emmanuella Niyoyita
Emmanuella shares her career journey from development to the corporate world and back again. She opens up about what drew her back to impact work and what she loves most about her role today.
Women in Senior Leadership: Championing Inclusion
In this piece, Alexa shares how she fosters inclusion within her team and why this is crucial in shaping organizational culture.
Impact vs. Profit: Choosing a Career that Makes a Difference
It's no longer just about financial rewards and climbing the corporate ladder—people want to use their expertise to make a real difference.
In My Own Words: Esther Nyongesa
Esther turned childhood doodles into a career that impacts millions of farmers. Read about her creative journey, impactful work, and how she balances design with her personal passions.
My Unexpected Career Path to Senior Leadership
Read about Jake’s career journey, why he finds purpose in his role, the head-and-heart balance his role requires, and why he believes his line of work can be an excellent launch pad into executive C-suite leadership.
In My Own Words: Sian Wanjiru
In this piece, Sian Wanjiru shares her inspiring journey from the world of chemical engineering and business to social development.
In My Own Words: Imeldah Wamela
In this piece, Imeldah shares her career journey, from an eager graduate to a specialist leading a team and impacting farming communities.
Doreen Ndishabandi: How my passion for People work spurred my career growth
In this piece, Doreen reflects on her career transition – from heading our Rwanda program’s Government Relations, Policy, and People teams to becoming our Global Chief of Staff – what she enjoys about her people-focused role, and how she creates impact.
In My Own Words: Karen Makumi
We recently caught up with Karen where she shared about her transition from the world of business consulting into recruitment, the transferable skills she brought into her current role, and why she’s enjoying this phase of her career.
In My Own Words: Concilia Ogolla
In this piece, Concilia dives into her career journey, from her initial interest in One Acre Fund to the lessons she learns from smallholder farmers and how that influences her work.
