Those close to her describe her as an Afro-optimist with a natural interest in financial services, trade, business, innovation, and entrepreneurship. This is supported by her current roles including being a Ugandan ambassador to the United Nations Women Entrepreneurship Day Organisation, a board member of HiPipo Foundation, an advisory board member of the African Council for Trade, Tourism, and Investment (AfCOTTI), and a member of the Africa List.
Her career journey started off in the United Kingdom, where she climaxed as a finance director in the financial services industry in London, UK working with one of the world’s largest hedge funds. In 2013, Ssali relocated back to Uganda and transitioned her career into trade development.
This was after obtaining a master’s degree in business administration from France’s Grenoble Graduate Business School, with a specialisation in innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology management. She is an alumna of Harvard Business School where she specialized in executive leadership.
Ssali is an integral member of the finTech network in Uganda where she has engaged regularly to provide her expertise and input on financial services, trade, and policy aspects. She has engaged with the Ugandan finTech community for the last three years.
Until June 2021, Ssali was the country director at Trademark East Africa (TMEA) for eight years and during this period, working with the government through the ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, she supported the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the ratification of the World Trade Organisation Trade Facilitation agreement and the bilateral trade agreement between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Also, working with the ministry of Works and Transport, she supported the delivery of the cross-border trade facilitation infrastructure portfolio of five one-stop border posts (OSBPs) including Malaba, Busia, Mutukula, Mirama Hills and Elegu and on commenced the construction of the Gulu logistics hub and the two border posts with the DRC, Ntoroko Lake Port, and Goli OSBP.
With Uganda Revenue Authority, she supported the delivery of the Uganda Electronic Single Window and the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking system to enable the automation of trade process and ease the movement of cargo on the Northern Corridor from Mombasa port and the Central Corridor from the Dar es Salaam port.
Ssali loves nature, Ugandan coffee, and photography, and she is also an author/writer. She is also the founder of the Ideation Corner which is a social impact fund that seeks a Uganda where innovative young entrepreneurs, especially women, have access to capital to scale their businesses.
“Working with a multi experienced team and being the business and finance expert with a passion for ideas, innovation, and technology that fosters Financial Inclusion, ambassaor Damali Ssali will sure do Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and Uganda justice.” MP David Karubanga commented about her appointment.
Karubanga added that she fits in the formidable mold of extraordinary ladies whose works have highly impacted and transformed several markets across the continent and thus “PSFU should be supremely excited that she joined their senior executive” – more so given her rapport with some of the world’s biggest hedge funds, agencies, and public and private foundations such as the Gates Foundation, Rocker feller Foundation, MasterCard Foundation, and World Bank.
inarticle} inarticle}