Dr. Agnes Apea Atim

Dr. Atim is a rural development specialist with proven expertise in decentralization policy, research and practice in Sub-Saharan Africa. She has significant understanding of fiscal decentralization, rural development financing, and decentralization practice and policy. She has worked as a rural development practitioner, policy analyst and consultant for over 20 years with various national, regional, and multinational organizations including the African Union, United Nations, Commonwealth, USAID, DFID, EU, and others.

Dr. Atim is currently the Chairperson of the Local Government Finance Commission of Uganda. In this role, she focuses on fiscal decentralization and rural development. She advises the President and Government of Uganda on equitable national budget allocation and alternative financing for local governments. In addition to her government role, she is a women’s empowerment advocate and believes in social entrepreneurship as model for change. She founded Hope Development Initiative, a social business that provides agricultural inputs, loans and market linkages to over 10,000 women farmers in Northern Uganda.

Through her work, Dr. Atim hopes to bridge gaps and create synergy between different stakeholders to improve the relevance, impact and sustainability of her research, development activities and programs. She has won several accolades including: BBC 100 Women 2017, as one of the world’s top 100 most innovative women and change makers; Africa’s Most Influential Woman in Agriculture by CEO Communications Global in 2015; Presidential Citizens Award by the President of Uganda in 2016, and many more.

Dr. Atim Holds a PhD in International Development from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom and an MA in Development Studies from Uganda Martyrs University. She participated in the Vital Voices Global Ambassadors Program as a Mentee in South Africa in 2015.

She was selected as a Fellow for the first VV Engage Cohort.