About Me

Rehmah Kasule is a social innovator, a gender and youth development expert, and a prolific serial entrepreneur who started her first business, a Branding and Marketing firm at 26 years. In 2007, after successfully running her business for ten years, she shifted from building brands to shifting mindsets and founded CEDA International in Uganda. Through her visionary leadership and with funding from US State Department, United Nations Democracy Fund and MacArthur Foundation, Rehmah has successfully designed and implemented projects in girls education, youth development, mentorship, women’s leadership, human trafficking, preventing violent extremism, and active citizenship impacting over 280,000 youths and women on the African continent. Her work was recognized by President Barack Obama in 2010 and won several international awards including Fortune and Goldman Sachs Global Women’s Leadership Award 2014, and the Islamic Development Bank Women in Peace & Development in 2018. Rehmah was also named one of the Most Influential African Women in wellfare and civil society in 2016 by CEO Global.

With more than 25 years proven track record, she has delivered expert consultancy in strategic planning, gender mainstreaming, trade and export promotions, policy analysis and management, financial inclusion and private sector development for African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, International Trade Center and United Nations. She engendered the Uganda’s National Export Strategy with cross-sector strategic plans that built resilient and sustainable frameworks for government ministries and trade agencies to develop inclusive growth that mainstreamed women in trade and increased their participation in male-dominated export sectors. She has also served twice as a Wise Head Judge for the MacArthur Foundation 100&Change, a $100 million competition to help solve a critical social problem. Rehmah serves on boards, including StrongMinds, World Connect Inc. USA, and PANGEA Education Foundation.

Rehmah is a graduate of Peace, Conflict and International Development, an Aspen Leadership Fellow, Senior Synergos Fellow, VVLead Fellow and a Global Ambassador for Let Girls Learn, a Michelle Obama initiative. Her book “From Gomba to the White House” has equipped over 3 million young people with tools to discover who they are, dream big, design goals, develop key skills that lead them to rewarding destinies. During her Fellowhip, the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University, she designed the PLUS+AFRICA Leadership and Employment Linkubator to create employment pathways for 1 million youth in Africa by 2030. The social venture is focused on the Future of Work, and collaborates with the private sector and governments to strengthen the education-to-work and entrepreneurship eco-systems in Africa.

Rehmah was born a village girl but refused to become a village woman. From a young age, she questioned the discrimination and injustices caused by the gender, religious, racial, and patriarchal cultural norms that impede girls and women from fulfilling their potentials. She strongly believes that education breaks intergenerational cycles of poverty and she is committed to providing opportunities to change life trajectories - one girl at a time.