Delilah Takawira is an accomplished development leader, strategist, and relationship builder whose passion for Zimbabwe and its people has shaped more than 20 years of work in food and nutrition security, livelihoods, resilience, and systems strengthening.
Her journey spans 13 years with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and 7 years with the Government of Zimbabwe and international NGOs, where she has designed, managed, and led large-scale, multi-donor development programs with care and conviction.
At the heart of her work is a deep belief that rural communities deserve sustainable livelihoods and dignified incomes, a belief she has translated into action through her leadership at FAO and on the Takunda project. Her leadership of the UK FCDO-funded Livelihoods and Food Security Program (LFSP) championed innovative approaches that lifted household incomes and strengthened food security across Zimbabwe, while her leadership of the USG-funded Takunda Resilience and Food Security Activity guided a consortium of partners and a team of more than 120 staff, delivering meaningful impact in four districts and empowering communities through resilience, nutrition, governance, and risk reduction initiatives.
Delilah is known for her ability to see possibilities where others see obstacles. She has been at the forefront of introducing new food value chains that are reshaping Zimbabwe’s national food systems, designing and implementing programs that bring communities, government, and the private sector into genuine partnership, and her work to expand market access and diversify food production reflects her steady commitment to a food system that is both sustainable and inclusive. Building bridges with the private sector is one of her signature strengths: in recent years she has been championing CARE Zimbabwe’s private sector and market-systems agenda, with a particular focus on inclusive and blended-finance solutions, spearheading collaborations with commercial banks, development finance institutions, and UN partners, and advancing risk-sharing mechanisms that open up access to finance for rural enterprises, women, and youth. Her leadership in shaping blended-finance models, and in connecting Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) and rural Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to formal financial institutions, is positioning CARE as a trusted last-mile partner private sector investment.
Delilah’s contributions extend well beyond individual programs. Her leadership at both FAO and Takunda has informed the development of national guidelines that set standards for food and nutrition interventions and market systems. Her colleagues and partners across these sectors recognize her gift for bridging community realities with national systems and private-sector solutions, with a strong commitment to inclusive, sustainable development.
She holds a master’s degree in nutrition from Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Delilah has a keen interest in psychology and is fascinated by how people think and what influences decisions. She loves exploring food culture and social dining.