Tanzania Board

Rahma Suleiman is a dynamic young leader driving youth-led development, governance, and innovation across Africa. She recently served her first term on the Board of Directors of Restless Development Tanzania, where she provided strategic oversight to advance sustainable development and strengthen youth-led accountability initiatives. Her journey with Restless Development reflects a deep commitment to youth leadership. She progressed from a volunteer to leading the Alumni Advisory Board for two terms, and previously contributed to programme design and implementation. She notably led
successful proposal development, including the Youth Sounding Board, a landmark partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland that positioned Tanzanian youth as key contributors to national development.

Rahma brings a strong continental perspective through her role as a Programme Associate at the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD). She supports the implementation of the 100 Million MSMEs Programme and played a key role in revamping the Akili AI platform, a partnership with BADEA, Meta, and Deloitte. This initiative leverages AI-powered advisory services to expand access to technical support and investment readiness for entrepreneurs across Africa. She has also led investment readiness training for high-potential, youth-led enterprises across Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa, strengthening their scalability and access to markets.

Her sector expertise spans health and agribusiness innovation. She has supported the implementation of Phase 2 of the Home-Grown Solutions Programme, in partnership with the African Development Bank and JICA, scaling locally driven health innovations. She also contributed to the design of the Home-Grown Solutions Agribusiness Accelerator, supporting enterprises addressing critical agricultural challenges within the COMESA region.
Rahma’s global advocacy work includes her role as a young woman leader in the Young Women’s Leadership Hub under the Education Plus Initiative, a multi-agency effort led by UNFPA, UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNESCO, and UN Women. Her work focuses on advancing gender equality, HIV prevention, and education for adolescent girls and young women across sub-Saharan Africa.

Previously, she served as Partnerships and Training Coordinator at Youth Challenge International, where she trained nearly 3,000 young women and supported over 45 social enterprises with catalytic funding in Tanzania, Uganda, and Ghana. A social innovation pioneer, Rahma co-founded Enter Africa, using gamification to address societal challenges, an approach showcased at global platforms such as Gamescom in
Germany. She is also a YALI alumna and has contributed to public policy and youth accountability initiatives, including engagements with the African Union and the SADC Parliamentary Forum, where she supported a resolution on youth-led accountability in health and gender equality.

Her policy influence includes contributing to the design and soft launch of the pre-AGYW Manifesto at ICASA 2025, amplifying the voices of over 1,000 young women and informing global health and gender policy discussions. Rahma Suleiman is committed to building an inclusive future where African youth and women are not just participants in development, but leaders shaping the continent’s prosperity through innovation, policy, and transformative action

Justice Rutenge is the Founder and Managing Consultant at iDev Consulting, where he advises national NGOs, donor agencies, multilateral organizations, philanthropies, and corporates on impact and sustainability. He has over 16 years of experience spanning results measurement, program and strategy design, strategic communication, and resource development across governance, inclusion, and private sector development domains, among others. Most recently, Justice served as Executive Director of the Foundation for Civil Society (FCS), Tanzania’s premier grant-making and capacity- building institution for civil society organizations. Prior to his consultancy practice, he held positions at KPMG’s International Development Advisory Unit (IDAS), Twaweza East Africa, Care International in Tanzania, and World Vision Kenya.

Justice holds a BA in Integrated Community Development from Daystar University, an MSc in Media, Communication, and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and is currently pursuing a PhD in Business and Management at Strathmore Business School. He is a certified director (CiDir, Institute of Directors Tanzania) and holds an Executive Certificate in Non-Profit Management and Leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School. An alumnus of the Mandela Washington Fellowship and the Program for African Leadership (PfAL) at the LSE, Justice is also an avid writer with over 50 published op-eds covering national, regional, and global issues.

Lillian Secelela Madeje, is an entrepreneur and systems-builder working to strengthen workforce and employment systems across Africa. She is the Founder of the Niajiri Platform, a technology-enabled workforce infrastructure designed to address structural gaps in hiring for enterprises in Africa, while expanding access to dignified work, skills development, and economic opportunity for Africa’s growing youth population. Lillian’s work is anchored in the belief that sustainable impact requires strong institutions, aligned incentives, and systems that work for those closest to the problem

Through Niajiri, she has developed tools that integrate recruitment automation, talent assessment, and employability support, enabling enterprises to hire efficiently while supporting young people to build relevant skills and transition into work. Her approach prioritizes learning, iteration, and partnership, ensuring that solutions respond to real market needs and can scale responsibly. With over 15 years of experience across workforce development, innovation ecosystems, and organizational strategy, Lillian has collaborated with governments, international organizations, financial institutions, and startups across Africa and globally. Her advisory and consulting work includes engagements with the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority, the World Food Programme, the ICT Commission of Tanzania, IDEO.org, the International Labour Organization, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Across these roles, she has supported institutions through strategic planning, systems design, and capacity-building initiatives focused on long-term effectiveness and inclusion.

Lillian holds an Executive Diploma in Development Policy and Practices from the Geneva Graduate Institute, an MBA in Leadership Management from the African Leadership University School of Business, and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with honors from Park
University. She serves as a Non-Executive Board Member and Chairperson of JUMO Financial Services and is a founding member of the Tanzania Startup Association, contributing to ecosystem strengthening and policy dialogue within Tanzania and the region.

Beyond her professional work, Lillian is deeply committed to mentoring, leadership development, and civic service. She has convened and facilitated national boot camps and innovation challenges, including the Tanzania Innovation Safari and the Energy Safari under Energy Change Lab, nurturing problem-solving and locally led innovation. Her volunteer and civic contributions have been recognized through the Sherwood Marlowe Memorial Award, and she has been an active member of networks such as The Africa List and Dar Shapers, a World Economic Forum initiative. Guided by principles of continuous learning and innovation, and informed by global experience, Lillian’s work continues to strengthen education, workforce development, and entrepreneurship ecosystems across Africa and beyond.

Joseph Brighton Malekela (30), born and raised in Njombe – Tanzania, has over 10 years of experience in advocating for youth engagement policies in
decision-making, peace, security, and development processes. Currently, Joseph is a member of Youth Sounding Board of European Union in
Tanzania, and serves as Executive Director of The African Leadership Initiatives for Impact (ALII), focusing on empowering youth in leadership,
peace, and development. Joseph is an Alumni of Mandela Washington Fellowship (2024), and UN Youth Champion of the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations in Tanzania. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and ethics and is currently finalising a Master’s degree in Strategic and Peace studies, both at the University of Dar-Es-Salaam in Tanzania. Through the Organization of ALII, Joseph Co-Chairs a large youth network of CSOs working on Youth, Peace and Security called Youth4Peace Agenda Coalition of Tanzania.

Joseph is an alumni of several international Leadership programs and Fellowship, such as, Mandela Washington Fellowship (2024) by Department of State in USA; Young Citizens Forum (YCF) By Friedrick Ebert Stiftung (2024) in Tanzania; Global Peace Pioneers (2023) by Global Peace Foundation in Seoul, South Korea; Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) EAC Regional Leadership Centre Cohort 48 (2023) in Nairobi, Kenya; Gamal Abdel-Nasser Fellowship for International Leadership, Cohort 2 (2021) in Cairo, Egypt; The 12th UNESCO Youth Forum in 2021 as youth representative from Tanzania; and pioneered as Program officer of the 1st Mwalimu Nyerere Pan-AFrican Young Leaders Fellowship (2022) hosted under Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation in Tanzania. Joseph’s exceptional contributions have been duly recognized by renowned institutions and organizations locally and globally. He received UNESCO Global Citizenship Peace Education Prize 2025 provided by UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. He was also honored as the Outstanding Youth in Peace and Security during the Tanzania Emerging Youth Awards Provided by African Youth Transformation and Prime Minister’s Office in Tanzania (2023); Best Volunteer of the Year 2021 by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Tanzania through his works at the Global Peace Foundation Tanzania, and also acknowledged as a Distinguished Human Rights Defender of the month for January 2020 by Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC).

Joseph have convened professional consultancy works with several institutions such as; youth-led Civil Society Organization Capacity Assessment and Development Plan contracted by Save The Children; Developed the Strategic Plans of Youth Partnership Countrywide (YPC), Youth of United Nations Association (YUNA Tanzania) and ElimikaWikiend. He have further prepared technical papers, policy briefs, speeches and research works presented to national and international platforms. As a committed young leader and social change-maker, Joseph has dedicated his time, knowledge, and
skills to raise Champion the 2030 Global Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a particular focus on Goal number 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. He actively empowers new generation of young leaders in Tanzania and consistently influenceing mechanisms for youth participation and engagement in decision- making processes, peacebuilding initiatives, conflict resolutions, mediation and the prevention of violence, ultimately striving to create peaceful communities. In addition, for over the past 7 years, every year in-line with international day of Peace, Joseph has been convening National Forums on Youth, Peace and Security to foster inter-generational
dialogues, influence policies on youth participation to decision making and peace processes in Tanzania.

Ms. Fortunata Kitokesya is a Tanzanian lawyer and seasoned governance and human rights expert with over 15 years of senior-level experience in access to justice, democratic governance, and legal empowerment. She has held key positions including Program Management Specialist for Governance and Democracy at USAID Tanzania, Legal Advisor for Access to Justice at GIZ, and Program Manager for Good Governance and Human Rights
at the Royal Danish Embassy in Dar es Salaam, where she successfully managed complex governance projects, provided high-level strategic advice on human rights and political developments, and conducted in-depth analysis to inform embassy programming.

Earlier in her career, she served as Senior Program Officer for Human Rights Protection at the Legal Services Facility and acted as Country Coordinator for the regional “Increase of Access to Justice for Vulnerable People in Africa” project (2008–2011) implemented by Human Rights Development Initiatives (HRDI) in Pretoria, South Africa. She was also a Fellow with the Open Society Justice Initiatives (2011/12), where she contributed to the establishment of clinical legal education in Tanzania. Holding an LLM in Human Rights from Central European University in Budapest and a law degree from the University of Dar es Salaam, she is an Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania.

Her core competencies include human rights protection and promotion, policy analysis, women’s legal empowerment, project cycle and grants management, program design and implementation, advocacy, capacity building, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, networking, partnership development, and team leadership — skills that make her exceptionally well-qualified to provide strategic oversight, governance expertise, and thought
leadership as a member of the Board of Directors.

Joyce Mfikwa is an Associate Certified Public Accountant (ACPA 6778) with over seven years of experience in finance, audit, and compliance. She has worked as both an internal and external auditor, as well as in accounting and financial management roles, bringing a well-rounded perspective on financial systems, accountability, and regulatory compliance. Her experience spans across the private sector, government, and non-governmental organizations, with a strong track record in supporting donor funded programs, strengthening financial systems, and promoting transparent and effective resource management.

Beyond her professional career, Joyce is a passionate advocate for women and youth empowerment. She actively contributes through writing articles, Ebooks, and creating educational content focused on financial literacy, self- awareness, and personal development. Her work is driven by a commitment to equipping youth and women with practical tools for informed decision making and sustainable independence. She is dedicated to contributing to impactful, youth and women focused initiatives and advancing inclusive and sustainable development.