How Tadiwanashe Makamure Grew into a Communications and Storytelling Professional as an AL for Agribusiness Network Intern

When Tadiwanashe Tracey Makamure joined the AsL for Agribusiness Network as a Marketing and Design Intern in August 2025, she came in ready to work. She had the skills, the enthusiasm, and the commitment. What she did not expect was how much the experience would reshape the way she thinks not just about marketing, but about what communication is for.

“This internship significantly shaped how I understand communications as a tool for impact rather than just visibility,” she says.

It is a distinction that sounds simple but means a lot. Content that just looks good is one thing. Content that moves people, drives participation, and builds a sense of community around a shared mission is something else entirely. Over eight months, Tadiwanashe learned the difference between the two and got very good at doing the latter.

Her role sat at the intersection of communications, storytelling, and network engagement. In practice, that meant a lot of things at once. She developed and executed digital content strategies across the network’s LinkedIn page. She designed promotional materials for key network initiatives such as the Co-Creation Fund, Members’ Hangouts, the SME Internship Program, and sector-specific campaigns. She tracked engagement metrics and contributed to data reporting. She supported event communications from promotion through to post-event documentation. And she contributed to content calendars and campaign planning, working closely with the team to make sure every piece of content was connected to a bigger purpose.

But of everything she worked on, the storytelling is what she speaks about with the most energy. Tadiwanashe led the creation of Member and Sector Spotlight articles for the network, a process that involved drafting interview questions, reaching out to participants, writing their stories in long form, and then finding ways to bring those stories to life across social media so that the right people could see them. It was detailed, people-centred work that required patience, curiosity, and real writing ability. She brought all three.

“Developing Member and Sector Spotlight stories helped showcase the work and impact of network participants,” she reflects. “Seeing content I created actively engage and reach network members across Africa” was one of the highlights she carries with her.

It was not always smooth. One of the biggest challenges was simply the pace required for multiple deliverables across multiple platforms, often with overlapping deadlines. Tadiwanashe describes learning to manage this through strong prioritization and a willingness to push forward even when structures were still being figured out. “Working on evolving campaigns or new initiatives where structures were still being defined pushed me to take initiative, ask the right questions, and think independently,” she says. She also had to be constantly thoughtful about her audience, which is a pan-African community spanning different countries, languages, and contexts. She even found herself creating content for Francophone network members, navigating a language barrier she had not anticipated, and coming out the other side with a new appreciation for what cross-cultural communication really takes.

By the time her internship ended in April 2026, Tadiwanashe had contributed to something tangible. The network’s visibility had strengthened. Its storytelling capacity had grown. Its visual

identity was more consistent. And the record attendance numbers at key network events during her time were, in part, a reflection of the communications work she was part of driving.

She left the internship with seven concrete skills that she can name clearly. These include strategic communication and content planning, digital marketing and campaign execution, storytelling and long-form writing, graphic design using Canva, event reporting and documentation, data tracking and engagement analysis, and stakeholder communication. That is not a bad return on eight months of work.

Her advice to whoever comes after her is simple and direct: “Be proactive. Don’t wait to be told what to do. Take ownership of your work and treat it as pertinent. Ask questions and seek clarity early. Stay organized because you will likely manage multiple tasks at once. Use the opportunity to learn beyond your role.”

For Tadiwanashe, this internship did more than build skills. It gave her a clearer picture of the kind of professional she wants to be, someone who works at the intersection of development, entrepreneurship, and communications, using storytelling as a way to amplify voices and build the communities that matter.

“This internship has reinforced my commitment to working in spaces that drive meaningful impact across African communities,” she says.

That commitment came through in everything she did. And the AL for Agribusiness Network is better for having had her.