Emmanuel serves as the Finance manager responsible for financial services, financial control and reporting processes for the Uganda branch. Prior to this, he was Finance Officer for Balloon ICS, a £79m youth volunteering programme funded by DFID and managed by VSO. Before joining Balloon Ventures in 2017, he worked for six years at Extra Solutions Ltd where he headed asset verification & management and process audits across East Africa, South Sudan and Nigeria. Emmanuel holds a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Kyambogo University.

Gladys is a finance specialist with a passion for monitoring and evaluation. She works with Balloon recruiting SMEs for investment support. She previously worked as a business development officer with Valuemax Consulting ltd in charge of business recruitment and business forums for professional consultancy and as an administrator with Kenya Institute of monitoring and evaluation studies. Gladys also worked with SCODE, an NGO that deals in renewable energy, mainly in data collection, report writing and community empowerment. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Egerton University and an MA in Monitoring and Evaluation from Mount Kenya University.

Joel has 15 years investment experience in private equity, venture capital, development finance and corporate finance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to Balloon Capital, Joel was an Independent Transaction Advisor focused on Capital Raising & Business Advisory for SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa and an Investment Manager with social impact investment funds: GroFin, South & East African Fund and Pearl Capital Partners. He also worked in corporate finance at I&M Burbidge Capital and interned at the East African Development Bank. Joel has a MSC in Investment Management from Henley Business School – University of Reading and a Bachelor of Economics from Makerere Univiersity in Uganda. He also holds a Certificate in Private Equity and Venture Capital from the London Business School and an OMEGA Certificate in Credit Skills Assessment from The Chartered Banker Institute.

Maureen is a project management and entrepreneurship professional with over 5 years’ experience in Training, Customer Relationship Management and Business Development. At Balloon she manages a portfolio of companies, supporting them to grow and create good jobs. Prior to this, she worked for different Balloon programs in various capacities as a Program Coordinator for Balloon ICS and Citi Volunteer Africa, and Senior Curriculum Facilitator for 13 ICS cohorts in Kenya and Uganda. She is also founder of Lifted Souls, an organisation fighting Gender Based Violence in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. Maureen holds a BA from the Kenyatta University.

Oscar currently serves as the Investment Director in charge of the Balloon Ventures branch in Uganda. Before Balloon Ventures Oscar served as the Regional Business Development Manager in charge of Western Uganda at Uganda Telecom with 23 districts under his supervision. Prior to this Oscar worked for 8 years in the banking sector serving as a Personal Banker and Corporate Relationship Officer and later Branch Manager at Barclays and then Bank of Africa. Here he was responsible for $2m of deposits and a loan book of about $1.2m. He holds an MBA from Makerere University.

Tim currently works at Balloon Ventures and is responsible for identifying and due diligencing the most exceptional small businesses, with a focus on agriculture. Prior to this, Tim was Country Manager for Balloon ICS, a £79m youth volunteering programme funded by DFID and managed by VSO. Before joining Balloon, Tim worked with Cotton On Group (Foundation) as the Uganda Sustainability Programme Manager responsible for designing and implementing high impact community projects that enable families to grow social and financial assets to better be able to finance their children’s education; with the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) as a consultant Rural Sociologist; with Gumutindo Coffee Cooperative Enterprise as a Certification Manager responsible for implementation of Organic and Fairtrade commodity standards. Tim hold a MSC in Agricultural Development/Food Business from University of Copenhagen/University College Cork and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Agricultural Economics) from Makerere University.

Vianah has 5 years of experience in Finance and Accounting. She began her career at PKF, one of the top accounting firms in Uganda. She later joined Livingstone International University Finance team where she worked as an accountant for 3 years. She is currently working as an Investment Manager at Balloon Ventures Uganda, managing a portfolio of businesses. She also serves as president of the Rotaract Club of Uptown, a community based youth club aimed at finding creative solutions to the problems faced in their communities. Vianah holds a Bachelors in Business Administration from Livingstone International University.