Mashiri Zvarimwa
Current Employer/Organisation Name
GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit – GmbH)
What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?
I joined the European Commission as a Task Force Expert for the Task Force Rural Africa (TFRA) to advise the Commission and the African Union on strategies for transforming rural African agriculture.
Afterwards I joined Tetra Tech, first as a Technical Assistance Facilitator, and later as the Regional Innovation Hub Manager, leading a global grand challenge that provided grants, technical assistance, investment facilitation, and enabling environment support to innovators (SMEs) whose technologies in the water-energy-food nexus helped farmers to produce more food with less water and less energy.
Recently, I joined GIZ on a secondment to the African Union Development Agency (AUDA NEPAD) to support the implementation of GIZ Global Programme called “Soil Matters”, specifically supporting AU member states and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to strengthen soil health initiatives within their National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIPs).
Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?
I love international development and being part of the solution to Africa’s socio-economic development.
Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?
I attended a one or two events of the African Caribbean society, maybe one or two soccer games. I wish I had done more in this regard.
What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?
I enjoyed the diversity of the cohort. The highlight was getting my scholarship sponsor (Syngenta) to offer me a job a few weeks before the end of the programme.
What did you most enjoy about studying here?
Very friendly staff and beautiful environments.
Why did you choose to study at Exeter?
The scholarship I got was only for Exeter.
What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?
Soft skills enhance relationship building. I would encourage all students to prioritize these. They may just be more important than technical skills. The MBA helped me to polish these skills.
What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?
Be visible, digitally and physically. Turn up at relevant events and reach out to those you know in the industry for a chat and advice.
What are your plans for the future?
As I have just recently published my first book, The African Agri-business Opportunity, I would like to pursue development work that makes this opportunity a reality for Africa.
