RITAH NAKANDI

Before moving from Uganda to Newton for graduate school in 2006, Nakandi was a member of the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Association where she traveled in both urban and rural settings to train, mentor and counsel women to start, sustain and grow their businesses. One of the biggest challenges facing many craftswomen was the limited market available for products. So, Nakandi founded the Afri-root Collective in Watertown in 2013, seizing the opportunity to connect East African craftswomen to international markets for their exquisite and unique items through an online marketplace and presence at tradeshows. A portion of every sale is reinvested in training programs to promote leadership development and skills training. In addition to making a considerable impact on the lives of many Ugandan women, Nakandi is deeply involved in the local community. She holds a degree in pastoral ministry from Boston College and an MBA from Cambridge College. She is also founder and recruiting director of Meetcaregivers and serves on the board of Women Thriving, Inc.