UPC staff and enumerators during a data collection training session in Arusha

Our team

The people behind the work

A senior team of researchers, planners and managers, and the project officers who deliver the work in Arusha's schools, markets and neighbourhoods.

Senior management team

Who leads the work

The senior team accountable for UPC's strategy, programmes, finances and consultancy portfolio.

Executive Director
Furaha Abwe
Furaha Abwe is a qualitative and mixed-methods researcher and development manager with over 15 years of experience across humanitarian and development contexts.
He has led research projects, consultancies and interventions commissioned by the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Rescue Committee, Innovations for Poverty Action, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Tanzania's National Institute for Medical Research, the US Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the HealthBridge Foundation of Canada and the Government of Tanzania.
At UPC he leads business development, community engagement, programmes, consultancy and research, and carries responsibility for project management, quality assurance, financial oversight, partnership development and delivery.
PhD in Planning, University of Cape Town. MSc in Urban Development Planning and Management, Ardhi University. BSc in Urban and Rural Development, University of Dar es Salaam.
Coordinator of Programmes
Shabani K. Muller
Shabani K. Muller is an environmental scientist and One Health researcher with more than 10 years of international experience across environmental health, public health, laboratory systems, sustainable agriculture and donor-supported research.
He works in project design, implementation planning, monitoring and evaluation, stakeholder coordination, field operations, GIS-supported environmental assessment, budgeting, technical reporting and capacity building.
His current doctoral research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln examines agrochemical contamination in amphibians and songbirds through a One Health and sentinel-species framework.
PhD candidate, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. MSc in One Health Molecular Biology, Sokoine University of Agriculture. BSc in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Dar es Salaam.
Coordinator of Operations and Support
Midian Kashambagani
Midian Kashambagani is a finance and administration professional whose experience spans financial management, accounting, administration and organisational operations.
He has served as Director of Administration and Finance at African Chitah Limited, Financial Manager at Real IPM Tanzania Limited, and Accountant at both Easy Travel and Tours in Arusha and Mount Meru University.
At UPC he runs the financial, procurement, logistics and administrative systems the programmes depend on, including reporting to donors and to the relevant Tanzanian government authorities.
MSc in Accounting and Finance, Mzumbe University. BBA in Accounting, Mount Meru University.
Coordinator of Consultancy and Technical Support Services
Biki Kachunga
Biki Kachunga works in innovation, investment and research commercialisation, with over five years of leadership and advisory experience across academia, consultancy and enterprise development.
At UPC the role leads the consultancy and advisory portfolio, covering evidence-based research, planning, technical and capacity-building services, client relationships, quality assurance and delivery.
Final-year PhD candidate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship Management, NM-AIST. MSc in Project Planning and Management, Institute of Accountancy Arusha. BSc with Education, University of Dar es Salaam. Certified Financial Educator, Bank of Tanzania. PhD Winter School in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Bern. Food Processing and Entrepreneurship certification, SIDO Tanzania.

Implementation team

Who delivers it

The project managers and officers who run the work in schools, markets and communities.

Project Manager
Rehema Hussein
Rehema Hussein brings over 10 years of primary-school teaching to UPC, combining classroom experience with education, community engagement and capacity development.
She manages a portfolio spanning Liveable Cities Solutions and the education, youth and livelihoods work, coordinating implementation, stakeholder engagement, training, monitoring and reporting.
MA in Social Work, Open University of Tanzania. Bachelor of Education in Guidance and Counselling, University of Dodoma.
Senior Project Officer
Suzan Victor
Before joining UPC, Suzan Victor was a Research and Policy Support Officer at the Uongozi Institute and a Field Officer at Innovations for Poverty Action, where she supported studies on the price elasticity of mobile money services in Tanzania, women's entrepreneurship and interoperable digital payment systems.
At UPC she supports the design and delivery of the youth, livelihoods, inclusive community development and education programmes, and coordinates community engagement, partnerships, training of trainers, research and reporting.
MSc in Africa and International Development, University of Edinburgh (in progress). BA in Sociology with honours, University of Dar es Salaam.
Project Officer
Josephine Masoka
Josephine Masoka came to UPC from secondary-school teaching, with strengths in learner-centred, inquiry-based and STEM-oriented pedagogy.
She supports the youth, livelihoods, inclusive community development and education programmes, working on delivery, community engagement, partnerships, training of trainers, research and reporting.
BSc in Education specialising in Geography and Biology, Sokoine University of Agriculture.