Aline Mugisho is the Executive Manager, Youth in Agribusiness (IYA) International Institute of Tropical Agriculture focusing on sustainable agriculture and food systems. She is a youth and gender expert with over 18 years of experience in women and youth development. Before joining IITA, she worked as a Senior Project Manager for Living Democracy at the European Youth Education Centre (EJBW), Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in Germany. She also worked as a Senior Consultant on various programs funded by the USAID integrating gender and youth in agriculture such as Food Security Programme (FSP) and Food Security (FS). She has dedicated her life to the development of African women and youth through capacity building, skills transfer, business development as well as coaching and mentorship. Her current work focuses on Agricultural Industry Development and Transformation through Innovation and Technology scaling, Development of women and youth-friendly financial model and market systems. Over the last year, she has mainly focused on facilitating access to digital tools that can advance women and youth agribusinesses through digital agriculture and e-commerce. In addition, Ms. Mugisho creates an enabling environment for special investment platforms tailored towards youth and women. Ms. Mugisho has the mandate to over 250.000 employment opportunities for youth and women in Nigeria and many more across Africa. She has seasoned experience in international relations, migration economics and community development.
Ms. Mugisho is a researcher, and her research focuses on building sustainable and resilient economies through an intersection of formal and informal businesses. She previously worked on various research projects at the University of Witwatersrand such as Migrating for Work Research Consortium (MiWORC) and Regional Perspectives on Local Governance of Migration, Migrant’s Needs and Vulnerability. She holds a master’s degree in Migration Studies, a Bachelors in Journalism and Communication and currently completing her PhD in Public Policy with a special focus on resilience and protection in complex humanitarian situations. Ms. Mugisho’s additional experience includes project management, strategy development and business management.