Growing Beyond the Bootcamp: Rootical Agri-Food Leaders
Two years ago, Rootical’s Food System Leadership Bootcamp convened 40 participants in Entebbe to explore how Uganda’s food system could be reimagined, one regenerative agri-food business at a time. Farmers, entrepreneurs, civil society professionals, and innovators who shared one vision: to transform how food is grown, processed, and consumed working with nature, instead of against her.
Two years later, the results are uplifting. Data from Rootical’s two-year alumni survey reveals a community of leaders who are advancing their careers, building regenerative businesses, and reshaping Uganda’s food landscape in tangible ways.
Career Shifts: A Sector Transformed
Rootical is directly contributing to employment and leadership in Uganda’s agri-food system, a sector that employs 70% of Uganda’s workforce yet struggles with low productivity and limited innovation.
30% of alumni were previously outside agri-food but transitioned into the sector after the bootcamp. One participant moved from general consultancy roles to being the lead agri-food projects at an international non-profit.
33% took on new roles within the agri-food organizations they already worked for.
Only 15% are active outside agri-food, showing a retention rate of 85% within the sector.
Career growth is equally striking: 74% of alumni have been promoted or experienced significant career advancements since the bootcamp. These numbers outpace Uganda’s national promotion rate in the private sector, which the Uganda Bureau of Statistics estimates at less than 40% within a two-year period.
New Ventures: From Ideas to Impact
Rootical alumni are founding and growing businesses that respond directly to farmer needs
Plenti founded by Edith Okello has introduced mobile solar dryers, reducing post-harvest losses that affect up to 30% of Uganda’s grains annually.
Lotssy Hub co-founded by Innocent Ociti and Brian Kiprotich grew directly from connections made during the bootcamp and is building collaborative agribusiness solutions.
Glowish Agro Solutions founded by Elizabeth Kabakoyo is expanding in Gulu, by linking with fellow alumni (Ecologic) to distribute her organic inputs.
Native Harvests is turning surplus foods such as local grains such as millet, fruits and vegetables into nutritious food products
Two years after the bootcamp, 4 businesses are building actively with Rootical, 2 are being developed in-house, and at least 3 businesses have continued building by their own means.
Agroecology in Action: Evidence of Regeneration
Uganda’s agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate change, with over 80% of farmers relying on rain-fed agriculture. Rootical alumni are among the leaders introducing ecological resilience into this system.
82% of alumni report implementing agroecological and regenerative agriculture practices in their work since the bootcamp.
Practices range from permaculture and agroforestry to composting, reduced tillage, biological fertilisers and pest management solutions.
Two active founders are producing organic fungicides and reaching smallholders, while another alumnus expanded his organic fertilizer project.
Ecologic, one of the businesses in the studio, is training farmers to use beneficial microbes instead of chemical pesticides.
The inaugural Cohort during a field visit in August 2023.
A Network That Lasts
The survey confirms that Rootical’s most enduring outcome is its community:
92% of alumni have maintained connections with fellow participants or trainers.
Two-thirds have collaborated on projects, businesses, or opportunities outside of Rootical.
Collaborations include product trading (e.g., Glowish Agro supplying inputs to fellow alumni), joint funding applications, and consultancy partnerships.
According to the African Development Bank, businesses in East Africa with strong networks are 30% more likely to survive beyond two years. Rootical is thus building both resilience and opportunity through community ties.
Personal Transformation: Leadership from Within
Beyond business growth, the bootcamp has catalysed inner change:
All respondents reported at least one form of personal growth, including increased confidence (44%), gained new perspectives (82%), improved self-awareness (48%), strengthened purpose (59%), and better relationships and collaboration (59%).
Over 80% said the bootcamp helped them discover their “unique edge” in the food system.
Alumni describe the experience as “life-altering,” “a solid rock,” and “the moment I became a better leader.”
These personal transformations fuel the resilience and creativity needed to address Africa’s food challenges, where the continent loses $4 billion annually to post-harvest losses and faces the world’s fastest-growing youth population.
Looking Ahead: Scaling Lasting Change
Two years on, the Food System Leadership Bootcamp has proven itself as a catalyst:
74% alumni career advancement
82% agroecology adoption
92% sustained connections
66% direct collaborations
This is more than training, it is systems change in motion. Alumni are leading policy advocacy, training farmers, regenerating ecosystems, and starting businesses that directly address Uganda’s agricultural challenges.
The data is clear: Rootical works. It shifts careers, grows businesses, embeds regenerative practices, and community. We are officially moving beyond initial validation. With the 9-month post-bootcamp results from our 2025 cohort coming soon, we are poised to definitively prove that this is a scalable model for transforming food systems in Uganda and beyond.
