Our team
SYPO has a team of talented young professionals in Uganda. Each of our employees has a university degree, several years of work experience, and most important of all a passion for helping the rural poor. The employees each have a budget to pursue Master (or other) degrees during their employment with SYPO.
SYPO keeps a flat organization structure – each employee has a high level of autonomy and responsibility. That’s why each of our team members in Uganda is a ‘manager’. All managers, and yet no one is managed. They have end-to-end responsibility for their own part of the company, which is both more interesting for the team members and more efficient as an organization. The team spends most of their time in the field, working in simple offices right in the middle of the villages where we help the poor. Outside of Uganda we work with volunteers only; both our Supervisory Board and our Directors are unremunerated. To learn more about our organizational model, read here.
THE TEAM IN UGANDA
The team in Uganda spends four days a week, Monday through Thursday in the field – deep in the villages where we provide microfinance services. They take new microcredit applications, help the women develop their businesses, write up financial reports, etc. Friday is reserved for team meetings and administration, and the occasional inevitable meeting in town, far from our target population in the field.
ANNITAH AKANKWATSA
Operations Manager
Joined SYPO in March 2019
“I love to see the women we work with become financially independent”
EVALYNE NAMARA
Zone Manager
Joined SYPO in April 2019
“I enjoy my work because every day I see SYPO changing the lives of women and their families”
MILLY NAGGAYI
Performance Manager
Joined SYPO in May 2012
“SYPO has transformed many of the villages we work in in the last 10 years – the positive impact on the community is huge”
JULIET NAMBANJA
Operation Manager
Joined SYPO in January 2018
“I get inspired every day by seeing women grow financially”
JULIET FANGA
Compliance Manager
Joined SYPO in February 2019
“I love that my job empowers women and helps them support themselves and their families”
PROSSY KANSIIME
Zone Manager
Joined SYPO in February 2019
“Our work helps raise the stature of women in their villages and in society”
ROSETTE BASALWA
Zone Manager
Joined SYPO in March 2019
“As a child, I helped my single mother become financially independent – I love that I get to do the same thing in my job today”
MARY NALWADA
Zone Manager
Joined SYPO in April 2019
“As a child of single mother, I particularly enjoy supporting other women through my job”
ZAINABU NAIGAGA
Zone Manager
Joined SYPO in January 2020
“I hate seeing my fellow Ugandans suffer, and I love that in my work with SYPO I can help them every day”
DIRECTORS
Our Directors have executive responsibility over the project, and report to the Supervisory Board. Both Director and Board positions are not remunerated.
DUKO HOPMAN
Managing Director
Duko has been Managing Director of SYPO Uganda Ltd. since its start in 2011, and Director of the Dutch NGO SYPO since 2003. In his ‘day job’ he is a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, living in New York City.
EMMA KANDELAARS
Director
Emma has been Director of SYPO since 2012. Emma is a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, in their Dubai office. Before McKinsey, she worked with a microfinance company in South Sudan.
SUPERVISORY BOARD
The Supervisory Board of the NGO SYPO in the Netherlands oversees the activities of the NGO and ensures
that all donations and other funds are spent efficiently and with high beneficial social impact.
GER VAN DER BRUGGEN
Chairman (supervisory board)
Ger has been the Chairman of the Dutch NGO SYPO since its inception in 2003. He has a background in entrepreneurship and is passionate about supporting entrepreneurship in emerging markets.
MARC HUITINK
Treasurer (supervisory board)
Marc has been with SYPO since 2014. He is in charge of the financial oversight of the NGO. In his ‘day job’ he is financial controller for a nationwide utility grid operator.
PIETER DE HOOP
Board member (supervisory board)
Pieter has served on SYPO’s board since its inception in 2003. He is an entrepreneur with deep understanding of agribusiness in emerging markets. Pieter travels to Uganda regularly to provide Board oversight on the daily operations of the organization.
JOHAN HEIJINK
Board member (supervisory board)
Johan is a lecturer at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, the Netherlands. He’s been with SYPO since 2015, and focuses on linking students and researchers to the NGO.
KLAAS DE HAAN
Board member (supervisory board)
Klaas has been with SYPO since 2015. He is an expert in agribusiness and focuses on SYPO’s operational decisions that maximize the beneficial impact on the women engaged in agricultural entrepreneurship.