Executive Director at SAF-Africa | Effective 1 April 2026

The Board of Directors of the Sustainable Agriculture Foundation – Africa (SAF-Africa) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Akinyi Linda Koi as the Executive Director of the organization, with effect from 1st April 2026.

Linda, who previously served as the Interim Executive Director since 1st July 2025, following the departure of our former Executive Director, Lucy Kioko now takes on the SAF-Africa leadership at an important moment in the organization’s growth and evolution. SAF-Africa, a non-profit legacy organization, is working to improve farmer incomes and food security by delivering smallholder-relevant innovations, strengthening access to markets, scaling climate-smart agriculture, and advancing the inclusion of women, youth, and disadvantaged groups across Africa. In making this appointment, the Board recognized Linda’s strong professional background in finance leadership and organizational stewardship.

Her track record as a head of finance, building strong institutional frameworks through enforcement of strong governance structures, positions her well to support SAF-Africa’s next phase of institutional strengthening, strategic growth, and programmatic scale. The Board is confident that she will provide the leadership required to advance SAF-Africa’s mission of scaling up collective action on markets and innovations so that farming can better serve smallholder families, rural communities, and nature.

Under her leadership, SAF-Africa will continue to deepen its work across priority areas including seed systems development, agri-entrepreneurship, climate resilience and inclusive finance solutions, catalytic market-based approaches, and research and development.

 As SAF-Africa builds on its legacy and expands its reach across the continent, the Board looks forward to working closely with Linda to strengthen partnerships, accelerate impact, and deliver on the organization’s vision of a world in which smallholders, communities, and nature thrive together.

The Board warmly welcomes Linda and wishes her every success in this new role.

Warm regards,

Mandla Nkomo – Chair, Board of Directors