🤝One Year of Growing Together: Voices from the Rootical Community
🌱Approximately a year ago, the Rootical Community was created as a space where founders, innovators, and changemakers could continue learning, building meaningful relationships, and supporting one another beyond Rootical's programmes.
🤝 What started as a network has grown into a thriving community united by a shared commitment to regenerative entrepreneurship, collaboration, and systems change.
🎉As we celebrate our first anniversary, our members reflect on the people, conversations, and experiences that have shaped their journeys. These stories remind us that while ventures matter, it is the community behind them that makes lasting impact possible.
George Omoding
❝ I joined Rootical because I wanted to build a solution that would help farmers store grain safely and avoid distress sales after harvest. I expected to find mentors and fellow founders. Instead, I found a community.🤝
🌱Over the past year, the Rootical Community has become a place where learning felt personal. The masterclasses challenged how I think, the Circles created space for honest conversations, and the peer learning pods reminded me that entrepreneurship doesn't have to be a lonely journey.
💬Some of my favourite memories aren't about business at all. I still smile when I remember our Prophets versus Wizards debate over regenerative agriculture, where I found myself passionately defending ideas I hadn't realised I believed so deeply. I remember writing a Secret Santa tribute for Edith and having the privilege of celebrating someone who quietly carries so much. I remember asking a simple question in the group and watching people generously share contacts, ideas, and opportunities without hesitation.
❤️What has stayed with me most, though, is how this community shows up for one another. We celebrated the birth of Amani Emmanuel as if he belonged to all of us, and when there was a loss, we grieved together. Those moments reminded me that Rootical is more than a founder programme; it is a community that genuinely cares.
🌟Although my own venture has evolved in unexpected ways, my connection to this community has only grown stronger. I still look forward to Coach Ruthie's wisdom, Lynette's gentle humour, the friendships, the laughter, and the conversations that continue to shape me.
🌟I am grateful to have been selected for the Rootical Founder Programme, but even more grateful for the community I found along the way. Thank you for creating a space where founders not only build businesses, they build each other.❞
Linkedin infor:Here
Happy Anniversary, Rootical Community.💚
George Omoding Founder, 2025 Cohort | Rootical Community Member
Tendo Sydney
✨❝I joined the Food System Leadership Bootcamp organized by Rootical in January 2025. During that one week, we brainstormed, workshoped, 'speed-dated', mapped systems and sticky-noted our hearts and brains out. I connected with so many other young people doing so many interesting things in Uganda's food system.
However, it did not end at the bootcamp. Rootical rustled us all together to form a community that would remain alive, like the embers of a fire crackling softly and occasionally, even after the main event is finished.
🔥I later joined a small group of people to help stoke this fire and keep it glowing, the clan leaders. Together we thought of ways to keep the community alive and engaged even with people dispersed across the country and the globe.
Between navigating a completely different country, doing my Master's (combined with an extracurricular Honors program) and working, it got to a point where even tying my shoelaces had to be scheduled. If it wasn't on my calendar at least one month before, it wouldn't have happened.
🌟The Rootical community, especially the clan leaders, saw that and stubbornly refused to let me disappear into myself and for that, I am grateful.
🤔When I think about the wickedness of the food system challenges, which is often, I get this feeling of powerlessness. It's too big, too bad and too complex. However, even opening a simple WhatsApp group chat or having a 1-on-1 with someone like Innocent Ociti shows me that I am not the only one who recognizes the problems.
Beyond that, this community is a constant reminder that there is a mass of people like Emmanuel Luwemba, Brenda Assasira and so many more already creating alternatives.
🎉As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Rootical Community, I contemplate what being part of it means for me: meeting people where they are, allowing people to come as they are thoughts still jumbled, without any solutions but deeply aware of the problem and appreciating that you are only a tiny part.
It's not entirely on you to change the way things are; just do your part and do it well while recognizing how your actions fit into the bigger system.❞
Linkedin info: Here
Tendo Sydney | 2025 Cohort | Rootical Community Member
Jonathan Odong
❝🎉Today marks a profound milestone in our first anniversary. One year ago, with hearts full of vision and hands ready to build, we became what is now the Rootical Community.
🌟This past year has been nothing short of transformative. From our very first gatherings to the rich conversations, meaningful collaborations, and moments of collective impact we've shared, every step has been powered by the dedication of our members, supporters, thinkers, and doers. You have brought energy, insight, resilience, and warmth that turned a simple idea into a vibrant, living community.
We've faced challenges together, celebrated wins (both big and small), learned from one another, and grown stronger with every season. Through every challenge, we have embodied the truth that 'Life doesn't get easier or more forgiving; we get stronger and more resilient.' (Steve Maraboli)
😊As a proud member of the Rootical Community and Co-Founder of Regraze (Rootical's in-house venture studio), I have had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the power of this collective. I've seen members grow professionally, new businesses emerge, and communities benefit from the collaboration and energy that Rootical continues to inspire.
💡The journey has not always been easy. Building something meaningful demands sacrifice, resilience, and countless hours of dedication. Yet every challenge has only strengthened our resolve and reminded us why we began.
💡Rootical has taught me that real change happens when people choose to come together when young innovators support one another, when knowledge is shared freely, and when communities are placed at the heart of development.
This anniversary is not only a celebration of the past year. It is a heartfelt tribute to every member who believed in the vision, every partner who walked alongside us, and every individual whose contribution made this journey possible. As Melody Beattie wisely reminded us, 'Gratitude turns what we have into enough.'
As we step into our second year, my commitment remains stronger than ever. I will continue to support and build platforms that empower people, drive innovation, and create sustainable opportunities for communities. Winston Churchill said, 'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.'
🤝To every member, supporter, partner, and friend of Rootical, thank you. Thank you for believing in this vision. Thank you for showing up. Thank you for making Rootical what it is today: a home, a movement, and a powerful source of inspiration.❞
Happy First Anniversary, Rootical Community.💚
Linkedin info: Here
Jonathan Odong Co-Founder of Regraze
Clare Akello
❝ A year ago, I was afraid to start my own business for fear of failing. Today, I’m proud to say I’ve launched Livus Path Investment Limited and our signature product, Kitchen Heaven nutritious porridge flour.
I owe so much of this progress to the Rootical community. This space has been more than a network; it has been a home. By connecting me with bright minds and fellow entrepreneurs, Rootical helped me overcome my fears and embrace the idea of "failing forward."
😊I am so grateful to be part of a circle that challenges me to better myself every day, both personally and professionally. I would truly love to appreciate Ruth Ndwiga , Brenda Asasira Kay (Agripreneur) , Isaac Muhofa , Innocent Ociti ,Annet Dianah Nannono , Hannes Van den Eeckhout and everyone who has journeyed with me at any point through words of advice, technical support and encouragement.
🤝This has given me courage to keep moving forward during the tough times . I am forever grateful. Here’s to a year of growth and to the community that made it possible! ❞
Linkedin info: Here
Clare Akello | 2025 Cohort | Rootical Community Member
Butanaziba David Nsubuga.
❝There are few spaces and online communities here that are truly focused on agroecology. To me, the Rootical Community has been a place to learn, grow, struggle, heal, and win together.
As a founder, you're only as strong as the community around you. Through Rootical, I've had access to trainings that would have been difficult to find elsewhere, especially the Sales Masterclass with Daniel Choudry, which transformed how I think about selling my venture.
The Founder Wellness Fireside Chat with Abu and Hadijja was equally impactful. It gave me the space to reflect, answered questions I didn't even know how to ask, and cleared many of the doubts that had been clouding my judgment as a venture builder. I remember thinking, “It's just a season everything will be okay after all.”That conversation gave me renewed confidence, clarity, and the strength to keep building.
I'm grateful for the Rootical Community. I respect that people consistently show up. I love that members take the time to share opportunities beyond Rootical itself. If this is only the first year, I can't wait to see what the future holds.❞
Linkedin info: Here
Butanaziba David Nsubuga | 2025 Cohort | Rootical Community Member
Innocent Ociti
🤝One of life's greatest assets is having a community where, instead of paying consultancy fees for every challenge, you can simply call someone who has been there before. That is what the Rootical Community has been for me.
💬Whenever I've faced a challenge, all it took was sharing it in the WhatsApp group. Within minutes, people were asking questions, sharing experiences, making introductions, and offering practical solutions. It reminded me that entrepreneurship doesn't have to be a lonely journey.
💡Like an African community raising a child, everyone in Rootical contributes something unique. Some bring opportunities, others share knowledge, others bring laughter, and together we help each other grow.
🌱As the Cohort 2023 representative, I've learned that leadership is about reminding people of the value they already have in one another. It hasn't always been easy, but it has made me a better founder, leader, and person.
🎉As we celebrate our first year, I'm grateful for the conversations, the lessons, the friendships, and the people who have made Rootical more than a founder programme it is a community where founders build each other.
Linkedin info: Here
Innocent Ociti | 2023 Cohort | Rootical Community Member
