Tunu Yongolo: Teamwork has shaped my career path

Around 1990, Michael Jordan said that ‘talent wins a game but teamwork wins championships.’

This became his mantra to show the world that if it was not for the amazing team by his side, he would have not brought home all the rings that he won.

This mirrors Tunu Yongolo’s philosophy in her profession journey.

Tunu is a Communications, Outreach and Advocacy Lead for the Funguo Innovation Programme at UNDP Tanzania. She credits her success as a manager to the teams she has been working with throughout her career.

Early in her professional life, Tunu was in the Marketing world. This was began with her pursuing a Bachelors of Commerce and Marketing Degree at the University of Dar es Salaam.

“When I was still at the University, I was also working as a field marketing job. My duty was to go to hotels and restaurants to sell advertising space,” she narrates.

“I remember getting sexually harassed a number of times to the extent that I was tormented. The Marketing managers of these places wanted me to offer myself in exchange for the magazine space. One of the incidents was so bad that I decided to quit the industry altogether,” she recalls.

Seeing that communications falls in line with her expertise, Tunu began applying for communications jobs with hopes that it would be a fresh start.

“I understood that communications would have been the same or worse so I made sure that the work I would have would be an office job that would permit me to remain in the office,” she explains.

Her first job in the communications industry was at Meda Tanzania as a Communications officer.

“At that time Meda Tanzania was subsidizing mosquito nets to pregnant women because their rate of getting malaria had increased. My responsibilities was to make noise around the project as well as show how women could avoid getting malaria and give birth to healthy babies,” she says.

After three years, Tunu moved to Twaweza, which was at the time dealing with governance education and other things that aligned with other sectors.

“It was a great opportunity for me because it was expanding my expertise on communications, which I did not have. I was also learning things concerning other sectors. One of the highlights of my career at Twaweza was to prepare a monthly report called ‘Sauti za Wananchi’ through which I designed and edited the reports as well as organizing their launches. It was truly exciting,” she says.

Tunu appraises her manager at the time who assisted in nurturing her career throughout the four years she was working at Twaweza.

“It reached a point when it was clear to both us that it was time for me to climb the corporate ladder either at the same company or elsewhere. I then moved to Femina Hip in 2018 to work as Media and Communications Manager where I was overseeing production of television, radio, social media and the print regional based magazine which was distributed to over 2,300 Secondary Schools across the country. I liked the diversity of topics that were covered in the magazine and how interesting these topics were,” she says.

These topics aligned with her enthusiasm to learn new things and the challenge posed by the topics that broadened her knowledge around them as she covered them in up country.

Tunu further explains: “In 2022, I was selected to attend the Nelson Mandela Fellowship in the US, which put me in the limelight. When I came back, I knew it was time for me to climb a few steps up my career ladder and then I landed at the UNDP.”

She is now spearheading the communications departments of UNDP’s Funguo programme whereas she is working to facilitate small businesses and startups founded by young people in Tanzania.

“These startups and businesses are mostly the ones that people do not know about aside from the fact they are changing lives through their work. They are first given grants by UNDP. My work is to document and unveil their steps through evolution in a manner that would attract more investors to push for their growth,” Tunu details.

She says through the years of experience, she is learning that the world of communication is fast changing with the development of technology and the way this affects other sectors.

“Communication reflects noise and everyone is trying to be louder to catch people’s attention, it comes with misinformation and uncertainty. It is a sector that elevates the world as it is. Everyone has to be in the moment, on time, vigilant of these changes. Communications is what people are listening to, watching and how they are consuming these news and the purpose behind that. It is important to be attentive of these transitions,” she advises.

She emphasizes young people to take chances on themselves by making their work visible on social media as well as applying for training and fellowships that would fatten their networks and knowledge.