Beatrice J. Kimaro is an accomplished academic and development professional currently serving as an Assistant Lecturer at Moshi Co-operative University (MoCU). Holding a Master’s degree in Co-operative and Community Development from the prestigious Sokoine University of Agriculture, she is currently pursuing her Ph.D., with a research focus on Cooperative Irrigation Farming and Household Food Security in Mvomero-Morogoro, Tanzania.
Since 2016, Beatrice has been actively engaged in academia as an Assistant Lecturer in Co-operative Development and Management at Moshi Co-operative University. Her professional journey has been marked by a commitment to teaching, community service, and extensive research and consultancy work on cooperative and community development projects across East African countries, including Tanzania and Uganda. Her expertise spans various levels, from household initiatives to local community development projects.
Beatrice’s impactful contributions extend to her role as the Regional Program Coordinator (Repco) from 2017 to 2020, where she operated in Kilimanjaro, Arusha, and Manyara. In this capacity, she led diverse teams in planning and executing team-building activities, implementing program policies, conducting research, and liaising with stakeholders. Her responsibilities included supervision, training, and consultancy for members, leaders, and staff of different cooperative societies, ranging from SACCOS and AMCOS to community developmental groups, VICOBA, and microfinance institutions.
In 2021, Beatrice played a pivotal role in securing a research grant to assess the impact of cooperative members’ control on leadership accountability within coffee agriculture and marketing cooperatives in the Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions. Her responsibilities encompassed proposal write-ups, pretesting of data, data collection, analysis, report writing, and dissemination of findings.
Prior to her role at Moshi Co-operative University, Beatrice served as the Project Director at Compassion International organization from 2010 to 2012. In this capacity, she excelled in coordinating the strategic planning and annual plans tracking budget for the Local Rights Program. Beatrice was instrumental in mobilizing, organizing, and empowering individuals living in poverty to advocate for their rights. Her leadership extended to coaching and mentoring staff and center children on various projects, initiating and strengthening partnerships with Community-Based Organizations, and preparing project concept notes and proposals for fundraising.
Beatrice’s multifaceted approach to community development included managing human and financial resources, conducting monthly reports to the Project Facilitator and the country office, implementing community mobilization, and overseeing the Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) project. Her commitment to excellence was evident in consistently meeting project goals, conducting continuous monitoring and evaluation, and organizing periodic reviews and Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRA) to ensure the sustainability and impact of her initiatives.
Beyond her roles in academia and project management, Beatrice’s influence extends to her being a distinguished Economic and Community Development Analyst since 2019. Recognized on both local and international platforms, she has contributed her expertise to esteemed media outlets such as BBC, East Africa Radio, Clouds FM, Kicheko, and Azam TV. As an analyst, Beatrice brings her comprehensive understanding of economic and community development issues to a wider audience, fostering a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the economic and community development landscape through insightful commentary and analysis.