# Joachim Ewechu

> Joachim Ewechu is the Kampala-based co-founder and CEO of SHONA, which supports entrepreneurs building viable businesses that create value for their stakeholders. A 2013 Acumen East Africa Fellow and 2017 African Visionary Fellow, he also co-founded Rootical, a Ugandan regenerative agri-food startup studio, and served as a founding board member of Street Business School until June 2026.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at SHONA
- **Organizations:** SHONA, Rootical, SHONA Capital (board member), Street Business School (former founding board member, term completed June 2026), Mara Launchpad (co-founder), Acumen East Africa Fellowship, Segal Family Foundation African Visionary Fellowship
- **Education:** St. Mary's College Kisubi, Educate!
- **Known for:** 2013 Acumen East Africa Fellow., 2017 Segal Family Foundation African Visionary Fellow., 2019 Builders of Africa’s Future awardee.

## Career timeline

- **2013** — Selected for the Acumen East Africa Fellowship; SHONA’s enterprise-support work dates to 2013 under its earlier Unreasonable East Africa identity.
- **2014** — Led the first Unreasonable East Africa Institute in Kampala; also publicly identified as a Mara Launchpad founder.
- **2015** — Unreasonable East Africa launched a revolving loan fund offering loans of US$5,000-US$50,000.
- **2017** — Selected as a Segal Family Foundation African Visionary Fellow.
- **2018** — Served on Street Business School’s founding board when it launched as an independent organization.
- **2019** — SHONA shifted its strategy to focus on Good Business; named among the Builders of Africa’s Future awardees.
- **2024** — Discussed co-founding Rootical and regenerative agri-food venture building in a February podcast interview.
- **2026** — Completed his Street Business School board term on June 30.

## Achievements

- 2013 Acumen East Africa Fellow.
- 2017 Segal Family Foundation African Visionary Fellow.
- 2019 Builders of Africa’s Future awardee.
- Co-founded SHONA and Rootical.
- Helped guide Street Business School as a founding board member from its 2018 independent launch to June 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Street Business School announced that Ewechu completed his founding board member term on June 30, 2026.
- **2026-10** — SHONA’s team page continues to list Ewechu as co-founder and CEO; Rootical lists him as a founder and SHONA Group CEO. Verified October 22, 2026; this is a status check, not a newly announced appointment.

## Links

- Website: https://shona.co/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ewechu/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ewechu

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joachim-ewechu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22