Evelyn Namara

Evelyn Namara is a Ugandan technologist, technology entrepreneur, and corporate executive. She is the founder of Vouch Digital, a company established in 2015. Namara serves as a non-executive director on the boards of KCB Bank Uganda, MTN Mobile Money Uganda Limited, and Village Enterprise. She gained recognition as the first Ugandan to receive the Anita Borg Change Agent Award in October 2012. She is the founder of Innovate Uganda.

Background and education Namara was born into a family of four children, being the only daughter among three brothers.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Makerere University. Namara also earned a Diploma in Sustainable Business and Responsible Leadership, focusing on Sustainability Studies, from The Swedish Institute Management Programme (SIMP).

Her early career included an internship at One2Net, where she specialized in UNIX programming. Vouch Digital provides voucher management solutions for NGOs, corporate businesses, and governments, facilitating the delivery of digital entitlements globally, which can be redeemed at authorized merchants.

By 2020, Namara and her team had reportedly served over 250,000 beneficiaries and transacted more than $3 billion with them in the Karamoja sub-region.

Awards and recognitions

Recipient of the Anita Borg ABIE Change Agent Award in October 2012. Named an Acumen Fund Fellow in 2013. Received the Overall Entrepreneur Award in the Agriculture sector at the Women In Africa Club Summit in Marrakesh, Morocco. Awarded the ICT For Development award at the Uganda Communications Commission ACIA Awards in May 2017. Recognized as Woman Innovator of the Year at the MTN Innovation Awards in both 2017 and 2018. Finalist for the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards in 2018. Honoree, Top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) Under 40, in the Business & Entrepreneurship Class of 2018, recognized by the UN. Achieved third place in the Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum Awards in 2019.