Damali Ssali has been appointed country director of Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) Uganda.
The organisation’s mission is to improve the consumption of healthier diets for all, especially the most vulnerable, by improving the availability, affordability, desirability, and sustainability of nutritious and safe foods, and reducing the consumption of unhealthy and unsafe foods.
Ssali, who has decades of experience in the financial sector, will be charged with leading a systemic transformation of Uganda’s food system.
Her mission will be to champion inclusive, scalable, and sustainable solutions that improve nutrition and promote healthier lives across the country.
“With her Afro-optimism, policy expertise, and people-centered leadership, Ssali is positioning GAIN as a catalyst for lasting impact and positive change in Uganda’s food and nutrition landscape,” according to those familiar with her vision for the organization.
Ssali’s new role represents more than just another career move. It’s the convergence of nearly two decades of experience in financial services, trade facilitation, private sector development, and innovation, all focused on addressing one of humanity’s most fundamental challenges: ensuring access to nutritious food.
Her story reads like a masterclass in career evolution. She worked in UK’s financial services sector with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).
“That experience ignited her passion for development and social impact,” according to those who know her work intimately. What started as number-crunching for one of the world’s most influential social impact foundations became the foundation for a career dedicated to transformative change across Africa.
Upon returning to Uganda, Ssali became country director at TradeMark Africa (TMA) where she orchestrated investments totaling $ 250 million over nine years, leaving behind a legacy of infrastructure that continues to facilitate trade across East Africa today.
Under her leadership, Uganda witnessed the construction of the Gulu Logistics Hub and seven one-stop border posts, including strategic locations like Busia, Malaba, Elegu, Mutukula, Mirama Hills, Goli, and the Ntoroko Lake Port. These have become economic lifelines that have streamlined trade processes and connected
Ssali played a big role in developing Uganda’s National Trade Facilitation Systems. She was instrumental in facilitating the country’s ratification of both the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement- initiatives that positioned Uganda at the forefront of continental trade integration.
Her leadership in automating trade processes resulted in annual savings of $ 32.9 million for businesses and achieved a remarkable 154% return on investment by 2018. In an era where development projects often struggle to demonstrate clear impact, Ssali’s track record stands as a testimony of effective leadership.
She then moved to the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), where her vision expanded beyond infrastructure to human capital development. As Chief of Programmes and Projects at PSFU, she designed Uganda’s first $ 1 billion Private Sector Catalytic Fund and successfully raised $ 10 million in new project financing.
But the real testament to her leadership was the implementation of the Lead Firm Structure project, which generated over 174,000 direct jobs and 523,000 indirect jobs for Ugandans under 35 years, working with 37 companies.
Ssali is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA). She has undertaken executive programs at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions: leadership at Harvard Business School, impact investing at Oxford’s Saïd Business School, and innovation management at France’s Grenoble Graduate School of Business.
This combination of practical experience and academic rigor has shaped her into what colleagues describe as a leader with “strategic insight, global expertise, and deep commitment to inclusive growth and economic transformation.
