Prof Laurine Chikoko (Ph.D)

Chairperson

Professor Laurine Chikoko (PhD) is distinguished scholar, with an established research and publication record in economics with over thirty articles in peer reviewed journals. Prof. Chikoko has over 15 years of experience in administration of research grants, consultancy work and policy advisory. Currently, she is the Executive Dean of Research and Postgraduate Studies at Midlands State University, Zimbabwe and her key responsibilities include managing the entire research portfolio at the institution; ensuring ethical conduct in research; intellectual property and patent applications; research grants administration and training facilitation. Prof Chikoko has done consultancy work for international organizations such as Hand in Hand Zimbabwe and Sweden, Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Government of Canada (RoadMAPP). She has researched and produced technical and policy documents for these organizations. Over the years, Prof. Chikoko acquired research skills that include: quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research methodology; qualitative data analysis that uses computer-based software for analyzing qualitative data; research instrument construction; field-based data collection; report writing; presentation; project management and program evaluation. In the context of academia, government and industry collaborations, Professor Chikoko continues to make prolific and invaluable contributions to national policy formulation and reforms. She has distinguished herself academically by training and examining PhD scholars regionally and internationally. Outside the academic sphere, Professor Chikoko is a Board Member of the CEO Africa Round Table and participates in programs on economic policy issues run by international bodies such as Wilton Park (an executive agency of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office providing a global forum for strategic discussions) and she has been appointed recently as the Advisory Board Chair for Transforming Rural Agro-enterprises and Livelihoods Organisation (TRALO).

Prof Robert Newbery (Ph.D)

Prof Newbery is an Entrepreneurship and Head of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group at the Business School of Newcastle University, United Kingdom. Prof Newbery hold a PhD in Local Business Association majoring in Rural Entrepreneurship, MSc in Rural Social Science, MBA and BSc in Applied Software Engineering. He is a development scholar who draws on his interdisciplinary base as an engineer, entrepreneur, academic and leader to affect real change in the world. Prof Newbery research focuses on entrepreneurship in developing contexts. This draws upon debates in the mainstream entrepreneurship literature regarding Bottom-of-the-Pyramid and poverty alleviation and builds upon his extensive contacts working in Sub-Saharan Africa. It also pulls together strands in complementary fields, such as rural sociology and farming. His combined knowledge of entrepreneurship and rural development, combined with his extensive experience in Sub Sahara Africa on entrepreneurship and rural development is relevant for this project since it focuses on livelihood development as well as rural development.

Prof Michael Brookes (Ph.D)

Prof Professor Brookes is a Professor of Work and Employment at the University of Hertfordshire (UK) and Research Associate at Nelson Mandela University as well as Director of the Khanyisa Project, a non-profit partnership seeking to address employability issues in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. He hold Ph.D in Economics, M.A in Economics and B.A Hon in Economics. As the Khanyisa Project Leader, a long running collaboration between himself, various universities in South Africa and Siya Sebenza, a non-profit training foundation he delivered training workshops and employer support focused upon promoting employability and currently manages a national network encompassing 52 training centres. His research interests include employment relations, international and comparative HRM and labour economics, with the central strand connecting all aspects of this research being to explore the relationship between national institutional configurations and firm level work and employment practices. Prof Brookes experience in training and capacity building programmes coupled by academic rigour is relevant for this programme since capacity building programmes will be undertaken in these programmes to ensure sustainability and replication.

Prof Albert Makochekanwa (Ph.D)

Prof. Albert Makochekanwa is an economist with over 19 years of experience in economics and social science issues, and is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Zimbabwe. Prof. Makochekanwa holds a Ph.D. in Economics Degree (University of Pretoria, South Africa), a Master of Science (MSc) in Economics Degree (University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe) and an Honours in Economics Degree (University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe). He has worked extensively in Africa, specifically, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana and Ethiopia. Prof. Makochekanwa has published several journal papers, book chapters and contributed to several studies on economic issues in Africa. Before joining the University of Zimbabwe, Prof. Makochekanwa worked for Trades Centre (Zimbabwe), Competition and Tariff Commission (Zimbabwe), University of Pretoria (South Africa), Conningarth Economists (South Africa), Commonwealth Secretariat (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), and USAID-Trade Hub Project (Botswana). Prof Makochekanwa has provided leadership and guidance in various institutions including being (i) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Member of the Research Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), (ii) Board member of the Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) (Zimbabwe), (iii) Board member of Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Unit (ZEPARU) and (iv) Council Member of Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University (ZEGU). Over the years, Prof. Makochekanwa has also been a consultant to the following organizations with which he has produced technical and policy documents: (1) World Bank, Washington DC, USA; (2) World Bank Institute (WBI) Washington DC, USA; (3) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Virtual Institute (UNCATDVi), Geneva, Switzerland; (4) Trade and Industrial Strategies (TIPS of South Africa) and AusAID, (5) Center for Global Development (CGD), Washington DC, USA; (6) United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Harare, Zimbabwe; (7) African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), Kenya; (8) Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), Canada; (9) Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI), Namibia, (10) Underhill Capital Solutions, South Africa, (11) University of Mauritius (UoM), Mauritius; (12) Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA Secretariat, Zambia), 13) Oxfam, (14) COMESA Clearing House (Harare, Zimbabwe), (15) Ministry of Industry and Commerce (Zimbabwe), and (16) Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), (17)Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), (18) Trade and Development Studies Centre, Zimbabwe, among others.

Dr Roseline Karambakuwa (Ph.D)

Dr Roseline Karambakuwa is a distinguished scholar and Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Economics at Nelson Mandela University. She is also the director of NK Rose Consultants, a South African based company which majors in economic research. Before joining Nelson Mandela University, Dr Karambakuwa was a Senior Lecturer at Bindura University of Science Education in Zimbabwe. She holds PhD in Economics from Nelson Mandela University, MSc Economics from University of Zimbabwe, Master of Business Administration from Zimbabwe Open University and BSc Hon in Economics from the University of Zimbabwe. She also holds a Postgrad Diploma in Marketing of Services, a Certificate in Project and Programme Management and Administration and Advanced Management for Development Certificate from the Netherlands. Dr Karambakuwa draws expertise from over 20 years’ experience in research, lectureship, management, policy advisory, consultancy and leadership. She has 30 publications in peer reviewed journals and has presented at 7 international conferences. Dr Karambakuwa worked as a consultant to the following organizations: UNU-Wider where she completed consultancy on the role of Special Economic Zones in economic development, DANIDA, WWF, UN Women, SNV Netherlands, SOS Family Strengthening Programme and Hope Humana and Institute for Sustainability Africa. She has produced several technical and policy documents from the consultancies and has made significant contribution to national policy formulation. Dr Karambakuwa is also external examiner for University of Fort Hare, Zimbabwe Open University, National University of Science and Technology (NUST), ZIPAM, and Zimbabwe Institute of Management.

Dr Mabel Hungwe (Ph.D)

Mabel is a Rural Development Specialist and a Development Facilitator with a PhD degree in Development from Lund University in Sweden. She also holds a Master of Science degree in Policy Studies from the University of Zimbabwe and a BSc degree in Agriculture with a minor in Agricultural Economics from the University of Minnesota in USA. Mabel works in development facilitation in areas of agriculture, value chain development, food security, community development, governance, local economic development, livelihoods, gender, agricultural project management, land and agrarian issues, agricultural innovation systems, learning and knowledge management. Mabel was part of the Research team that conducted a regional study on behalf of the Economic Commission for Africa in 2017-2018 on Fostering Sustainable Transformation of Agriculture in Africa through the promotion of the inclusive green economy approach: The Case of Selected Livestock Value Chains in the SADC region. In addition, Mabel has conducted assignments in value chain development in dairy, horticulture, cotton, livestock and other high value commodities as part of local economic development, capacity (organizational) assessments; agricultural policy practice, innovation systems and many others. Mabel has worked extensively in value chain promotion in rural areas where communities are vulnerable in terms of limited livelihood strategies. Mabel works in (Policy and Programs) at Barefoot Education for Afrika Trust (BEAT) an NGO that specializes in agricultural policy, capacity building, land and livelihoods research and knowledge management. As part of consulting at BEAT, Mabel had been responsible for policy development, value chains, agricultural and rural development, land studies, systems development and learning and sharing platforms. Mabel Hungwe has had regional experience in consulting for various organizations such as FARA, NEPAD, CAADP, FAO, WFP, USAID (DAI), European Union, Food Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), OXFAM, the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) and the Initiative for Development and Equity in African Agriculture (IDEAA) in the following Southern African countries: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. In addition, Mabel has worked on policy and science innovation in Tanzania, Mozambique, Rwanda, Egypt, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Kenya and Malawi. In her work in development facilitation, Mabel has developed a flair in facilitation. She was the key facilitator for the USAID-ZimACP Program (2011-2016). In addition, Mabel has facilitated inter-continental workshops such as CAADP side event on behalf of AGRA in Accra, Ghana (2016); FARA Science Agenda, Rwanda (2016) and NEPAD Land Framework (2016); FARA Agricultural Innovation Systems (2017). She worked as a Director of the Centre for Rural Development whose role was in community development, policy research, family studies, capacity building in Zimbabwe. The key emphasis of the centre was in knowledge management and the promotion of healthy and strong families. The pilot outreach project was under the auspices of the offices of Vice Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe (2003-2009)

The project was established in Bulilima and Mangwe districts in Matabeleland South Province and Chimanimani district in Manicaland Province. The program explored various livelihoods promoted included art and culture as an economic driver, Community health awareness programs, rural communities’ income generating projects, youth programs, promotion of commodity associations and commodity value chains, policy dialogues with traditional, elected leadership and leadership development programs. Her 25 years of experience in development facilitation, local economic development, gender and promotion of healthy families, learning and knowledge management, agricultural value chain development and analysis, climate change and resilience, community development and monitoring and evaluation in Sub Sahara Africa together with a her involvement in the Centre for Rural Development with specific focus on areas under consideration by the LEAF programme is relevant and valuable for this programme.

Dr Richard Kamidza (Ph.D)

Dr Richard Kamidza has more than 22 years of professional experience in research on enabling environment policy reform, trade and investment policy and promotion, capacity building, regional integration, and donor coordination. In particular, he has more than 9 years professional experience in project cycle management, coordinating, assessing and monitoring, as well as evaluation of regional projects/programmes. For example, Dr Kamidza has 7 experiences of undertaking assignments in the Eastern and Southern African region as a Trade Expert including Mid-Term Review of SADC Regional Economic Integration Support Programme; Mid-Term Review of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Regional Integration Support Programme Phase 3; Identification of a programme in support of the implementation of Zimbabwe’s i-EPA regime, and assisting the Governments of Lesotho and Swaziland to develop a bankable proposal for the SADC Trade Related Facility (TRF) funding window. Dr Kamidza also spent 2 years with the Commonwealth Secretariat as the Regional Trade Policy Advisor (1 year) and Regional Trade Advisor (1 year) to SADC Secretariat, Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (TIFI) Directorate. Further, he has more than 12 years of experience in the EPA negotiations between the EU configurations in the East and Southern Africa (ESA) region, and written extensively on the subject. Dr Kamidza’s experience on trade issues in the context of SADC regional economic integration include enhancing trade and investment policy environment, trade negotiations, trade facilitation and investment promotion; trade-related matters (including technical barriers to trade, countervailing measures and trade defence instruments), and Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)-related issues (including Non-Trade-Barriers, market access, unresolved negotiation issues, and services & investment climate). Dr Kamidza has published widely on trade and development, and the latest title is “From Antagonism to Re-engagement: Zimbabwe’s Trade Negotiations with the European Union, 2000 – 2016 (2017), Langaa Research and Publishing Common Initiative Group, Cameroon. He is currently a Board Member of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD).

Prof Davison Munodawafa (Ph.D)

Davison Munodawafa is Professor of Community Medicine, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe and Visiting Professor of Global Health at Thammasat University, Thailand. He retired from WHO in 2017 after 12 years of service in Asia and Africa. He was Regional Adviser, Health Promotion and Social Determinants of Health. Prof Munodawafa led the WHO response during health emergencies including Ebola Outbreak in West Africa. He was Programme Coordinator for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) risk factors and their key determinants including urbanization and health; gender, equity and human rights, and employee wellness. He continues to serve as a Consultant for the WHO on NCDs and health emergencies including COVID-19. Prof Munodawafa taught at the University of Akron, Ohio (USA) from 1990 to 1997 and received Academic Fellowships from USAID, Rockefeller Foundation and The Jacobs Foundation. He is a recipient of Distinguished Scholar Awards from University of Akron (USA), Pennsylvania State University (USA), and continues to publish in peer-reviewed journals on health promotion, culture and development issues. He serves as reviewer for global health promotion issues.

Dr Luca Crudeli (Ph.D)

Chief Advisor

Dr Luca Crudeli is a recognised expert in market system development (MSD) with nearly two decades of experience in policy analysis and advising. He brings a proven track record in management, design, and evaluation of development programmes and projects. As a seasoned and empathic team leader, he has led projects and directed technical analyses to support business environment reform, multi-sector sector growth, and marine conservation. What sets him apart is his extensive international experience. He has led development projects for USAID, the World Bank, FCDO/DFID, and AusAID in more than a dozen countries which inter alia include Mozambique, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Somaliland, Zimbabwe, DRC, Uganda, Kenya, Tunisia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Nepal, Indonesia. Recently, that is, between 2017 and 2020, Dr Crudeli worked as a Chief of Party for the USAID’s US$20 million market system development programme which focussed on seven agricultural value chains and financial services for agriculture. In this programme, Dr Crudeli pioneered a first-of-its-kind approach for USAID to deliver flexible and responsive support to market innovators while fulfilling compliance requirements. He hold Ph.D. in Economics and Institutions, Master’s Degree in Economy, Innovation, and Change, Master’s Degree in Economics and Bachelor of Science in Political Studies.

Prof Gift Mugano (Ph.D)

Executive Director and Team Leader

Professor Gift Mugano (Ph.D) is a Professor of Economics at the University of Zimbabwe’s Business School, Visiting Professor of Economics at Durban University of Technology and Nelson Mandela University. He hold Ph.D in Economics from Nelson Mandela University, MSc Economics from University of Zimbabwe, MSc in Operations Research from National University of Science and Technology and BSc Hon in Economics from the University of Zimbabwe. He is a distinguished scholar and global authority on International Trade & Finance with over sixteen (16) years of extensive experience ranging from research & publications, policy advisory, trade negotiations, lecturing, administration, leadership and consultancy work. As an academic, he successfully supervised five (5) Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.,) degrees and other several postgraduate students in the field of International Trade & Finance, examined seven (7) Ph.Ds and published extensively in the field of international trade and finance. He has published three books with renowned international publishers, that is, Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan and AOSIS, respectively: (i) Trade Liberalisation and Economic Development in Africa; (ii) Special Economic Zones: Impact on Economic Development in Africa and (iii) Perspectives on Comprehensive Internationalisation of Higher Education. He is an external examiner at Nelson Mandela University, University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, Durban University of Technology and University of Namibia’s Business School and academic supervisor with Lund University (Sweden), National University of Science and Technology and the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education. Professor Mugano has done consultancy for National Opinion Research Centre (NORC) at the University of Chicago (USA), COMESA, UKAID/DFID, British Council, NIR Sweden, Adam Smith International (UK), IMC Worldwide LTD (UK), Cardno Emerging Markets (Belgium), KPMG (UK), The Palladium Group (UK), Ecorys (UK), Germany Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), UNFPA, USAID, International Labour Organisation (ILO), United Nations, World Food Programme (WFP), Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Government of Zimbabwe and the private sector. Over the years, he represented his country at various forums on trade negotiations and investment missions abroad (Heads of State & Government Summits, Council of Ministers, Senior Officials of Trade & Technical Committees) at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels in Belgium, Switzerland, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Botswana, People’s Republic of China and South Korea.

Dr Tonderai Kapesa

Programme Director

Dr Kapesa is a scholar, researcher, consultant, and financial expert with more than 14 years’ experience in the financial services sector, private consultancy, university lecturing and administration. His area of research focus is on innovative finance, infrastructure financing, green financing, public financial management and SMEs financing. He started his professional career as a banker and worked as a treasury practitioner in the banking sector in Zimbabwe for more than 5 years. As an academic, he has more than 9 years’ experience in university teaching at various levels in Zimbabwean Universities. During his university tenure he has held various administrative responsibilities including departmental chairperson for more than 3 years and acted as a Dean for the Faculty of Commerce at Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University for 1 year. Currently, he is a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe. Tonderai has done consultancy work for private sector organisations focusing on tax planning, business proposal writing and financial accounting. He has also consulted for the Government of Zimbabwe and government departments including preparation of the national competitiveness report, as a co-consultant and is currently a consultant in the development of a new city master plan by the Government of Zimbabwe. Tonderai has consulted for Zimbabwean Civil Society Organisations such as the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA), preparation of a Briefing Paper on Implementation of Section 315 of the Constitution to Promote Transparency in Mineral Revenue Collection, Generation and Economic Opportunities Funded by OXFAM. Tonderai has also consulted for International developmental organisations such as the World Bank’s Zimbabwe Reconstruction Fund (ZIMREF)- conducted the implementation completion review and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)- assessment of the Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) Private Sector Facility portfolio- Africa. Dr Kapesa holds a PhD in Accounting, a Master of Commerce in Accounting and Bachelor of Commerce in Accountancy.

Prof Nirmala Dorasamy (Ph.D)

Programme Coordinator (SA)

Prof Dorasamy is a Director at the Centre for African Governance and Development at the Durban University of Technology and a Full Professor in the Department of Public Management and Economics at the Durban University of Technology. She lectures in the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at DUT, Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy (PALAMA), the National Department of Defence and other departmental extended programmes.

The focus area of her research is ethics and public sector management, with an emphasis on enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of public service delivery underpinned by a strong sense of governance within a democratic dispensation. Her international linkages involve collaborative research with the Swinburne University of Technology, Federation University and Monash University in Australia, the American University in Cairo, MUST University in Kenya and Mendel University in Czech Republic . The focus of this international collaboration is linked to governance, leadership excellence and ethical practices. She has successfully supervised and graduated several Masters and Doctoral students, while being recognised as a local and international examiner for postgraduate research. She is an accredited evaluator for EDTP and CHE; and an editorial board member for several internationally acclaimed journals. Professor Dorasamy has developed resource material for government, and both local and international institutions of higher education. She has co-authored textbooks for senior secondary learners, books for higher education purposes and she has published in local and international journals as well as presented papers at national and international conferences. She has been a keynote speaker and session chair at several international conferences. Professor Dorasamy has also presented the conference communiqué for the African Association of Public Administration and Management (AAPAM).

She has been the recipient of the Top Researcher\Top Female\ Top faculty Awards at the Durban University of Technology. She was successfully nominated for the international staff exchange in the Faculty of Regional development at the Mendel University, Czech Republic, Federation University in Australia and the Department of Forestry in Nepal.

Dr Zondwayo Banda (Ph.D)

Programme Coordinator (Zambia)

Zondwayo Banda (PhD) is a Director at ZOGI Consultants Zambia Limited. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Development Finance Expert with over 17 years’ experience. He holds a PhD in Business Administration, Master of Philosophy in Development Finance, Master of Business Administration and full accounting qualifications - Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). He is an interdisciplinary researcher with a focus on finance, accounting, development, economics and governance. His experience spans from both public and private sectors where he has gained extensive financial and grants management skills through projects funded by different donors such as the Global Fund, USAID, UN among other major donors. He also serves as supervisor and external examiner for the Master of Philosophy in Development Finance at Nelson Mandela University. In his previous employment, Zondwayo has worked with CYMA Chartered Accountants and Management Consultants (Auditing), Africare Zambia (Forest Project), International HIV/AIDS Alliance (Health and Economic Projects) and Churches Health Association of Zambia (Health Programs). He has been involved in the country’s technical working groups for reviewing and developing national strategic plans in Zambia.

Peace Ametepi (CA)

Programme Coordinator (Ghana)

She is the Director of AEDS-Ghana and a Lecturer at the Department of Finance at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant (CA) and holds an MPhil in Development Finance, Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning and a Bachelor of Commerce. She is currently studying towards a PhD in Development Finance with Nelson Mandela University. Having worked with the College of Distance Education, University of Cape Coast for eight years, Ms. Ametepi presents very good administrative experience, resulting to her serving on various committees. Key amongst the committees is Financial Institutions and Service Trust Index (FISTI), which is a departmental research agenda to assess sentiments and confidence in the financial industry after the 2018 clean-up in the banking sector in Ghana. Peace Ametepi has since 2018 been supervising the project works of students at the undergraduate level. She has eye for details, results oriented and an ardent believer in best practices in whatever she does.

Dr Godfrey Chagwiza (Ph.D)

Research and Engagement Director

Godfrey Chagwiza is a seasoned researcher. He has vast experience in consultancy, grant management, fieldwork, data collection, verification, cleaning and analysis. Godfrey has extensive experience in report writing and has authored over 20 refereed journal papers, more than 10 technical reports. He has been providing consultancy services for several UN agencies such as World Bank, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA and developmental organisations such as USAID, NGOs, DFiD and SDC. He holds a PhD in Operations Research & Statistics, MSc Operations Research, MSc Biostatistics & Epidemiology, BSc (Hons) Mathematics and Diploma in Business Studies. Godfrey is also a Certified Analytics Professional and a Chartered statistician. In AEDS, Godfrey bring in vast experience in project management, research and knowledge management. He will be in charge with research, knowledge management, training and capacity building programmes with a view to cause replication.

Fortunate Mugano

Community Development Director

Fortunate Mugano is a development practitioner with more than 10 years’ experience ranging from research, community development and project management. Fortunate started her career as a researcher with Africa Economic Development Strategies (AEDS) in 2011. Over the years, she was involved in the organisation’s key research projects such as the Zimbabwe Agricultural Sector Surveys, Cooperatives Baseline Survey, wheat – flour value chain, local content policy, market surveys, state of the economy reports, baseline survey for the Livelihoods and Export Aid Programme (LEAP) and Community Based Health Financing (CBHF) programme. In addition, she took leadership in training SMEs on project management in Harare and training programmes on local economic development and participatory budgeting. Fortunate hold a Bachelor of Science in Development Studies and is currently studying towards a Master of Arts Degree in Development Studies with Midlands State University. In this programme, Fortunate’s role is to provide strategic leadership in community engagement, design, implementation and review of the LEAP and CBHF programmes.

Dr Nelson Chanza (Ph.D)

Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Management Director

Nelson Chanza (PhD) holds a PhD in Environmental Geography, MSc in Environmental Policy and Planning, and BSc Honours in Biological Sciences. He once served as Director (Non-Executive) in the Environment Management Board, responsible for giving policy directions to the operations of the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and to advise the Minister responsible for the environment in Zimbabwe. With country experience in Zimbabwe and South Africa, Nelson has greatly contributed towards advancing the knowledge of climate change, environmental and disaster mainstreaming in development programmes. He draws expertise from over 15 years of research and training in these fields, including poverty alleviation focused projects. He has knowledge and experience in participatory mapping and vulnerability assessment for managing adaptation barriers associated with environmental stress and climate change in Africa. He has participated in international and national development programmes in the fields of poverty alleviation, climate change adaptation, environment management and disaster management, including: 1) Indigenous Knowledge Systems for Managing Climate Change in Southern Africa, a project sponsored by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Wageningen, The Netherlands; 2) Development of Zimbabwe National Climate Policy, responsible for cross-cutting issues, a project supported by COMESA/UNICEF/UNDP; 3) Development of the Zimbabwe Youth Development Report, for the Zimbabwe Youth Council and co-sponsored by the African Capacity Building Foundation & UNFPA; 4) capacity building for CCARDESA staff on Monitoring and Evaluation of Agricultural Research and Development Projects as a co-consultant in Johannesburg, South Africa, targeting participants from Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique; 5) Capacity building for disaster management planning and risk reduction for UNICEF-Nigeria and government officials under the aegis of UNICEF; and many other development projects. Given the climate and environmental sensitivity of livelihoods targeted in this programme, Nelson will be responsible for environment, climate change and disaster mainstreaming.

Rumbidzai Matewe

Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Specialist

With over 10 years of progressive professional experience in executive and senior leadership roles sexual and reproductive health, family planning and HIV/AIDS programming, Ms Matewe brings extensive experience in SRH informed by her public health experience and leadership of large SRH programmes within Zimbabwe. She has a deep expertise with DFID and has delivered leadership and oversight over programmes funded by other donors including the Global Fund, PEPFAR and USAID. As a Zimbabwean, she has unparalleled insight into the contextual challenges facing clients and how to tailor approaches to ensure VfM and maximum impact. Ms Matewe is the Programme Director for Marie Stopes International Zimbabwe ( Population Services Zimbabwe), where she is responsible for driving and managing the organisation’s project management and business development. She is responsible for directly shaping and fulfilling the organisation’s programme strategies across its service delivery channels. Ms Matewe holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from Women’s University in Africa and a Bachelors of Social Sciences from Africa University. She has vast experience on gender equity and social inclusion (GESI), financial and budget management, programme planning and management and strategic planning. In this project, Rumbidzai will provide expertise on GESI and gender mainstreaming. Since this project places emphasis on the need to empower women, girl child and people with disability, special focus will be on mainstreaming women, girls and people with disability. In this regard, Rumbidzai will be responsible for mainstreaming gender and people with disability in all our programmes.

Abigail Tahwa

Grants and Finance Director

Abigail is an accountant by profession with close to 18 years of experience in financial accounting and overall management as head of finance. She is currently the Bursar at Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University (ZEGU). She has worked extensively for 6 years in Forward in Faith Church with its various entities around the globe and has successfully pioneered in setting up financial systems in over 20 nations amongst them, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other nations. She was the team leader in setting up the accounting system (SAP) at the FIF Head office in Zimbabwe. She has managed various church projects, amongst them is a project that was worth more than US$10 million that has seen one of the remarkable University’s in Zimbabwe (ZEGU) being constructed with good infrastructure and a full backup of solar system. She manages and approves over 30 bank accounts of the Forward in Faith church in Zimbabwe. She acquired 10 years of experience at PG Industries (PVT) Ltd in financial accounting reporting and was part of the team leaders in setting up the accounting system (Navision). In her 10 years at PG Industries, some of her duties were, preparation of management accounts, Inventory management, tax returns and reconciliations in payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable bank and the general ledger. Abigail hold a B Compt in Financial Accounting (University of South Africa, UNISA) and currently studying Master of Business Administration majoring in Finance (Midlands State University, Zimbabwe). Currently, she is managing COVID-19 related grants amounting to US$300,000 and US$24,000 with Nottingham University (UK) and National Research Fund (NRF), respectively.

Thabani Moyo

Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist

Thabani is a Programme Management, M&E and Learning professional with 15 years’ experience managing and providing technical, practical and strategic direction in areas of Food Security, integrated Agriculture, WASH, Livelihoods, Private Sector development, Economic Growth & Governance, Business Enabling Environment Programs, Gender and HIV/AIDS mainstreaming. He has used various approaches in Programme Management and M&E with a focus on Results Improvement and Knowledge gathering within a wide range of implementation approaches which include but not limited to; Issue based Programming, Participatory Market Systems Development, Value Chain Development and Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P). He has built, adapted and used Programme Management and Learning approaches that put emphasis on the use of results (evidence data) collected in real time and lessons learned to inform programming decisions and foster a Learning Culture within organisations and/or Implementing Teams. For the last three years (2017-2020), Thabani was involved in a German Government (BMZ) funded project being implemented by the Midlands AIDS Service Organisation (MASO) in Lower Gweru, Zimbabwe and Environment Africa in Kazungula, Zambia. In this project, Thabani designed the project’s combined Programme and MEL system used by both Organisations in conformation with the German Government’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) requirements guided by but not limited to the DCED standard for results measurement. He designed and led the project’s baseline study in both Zambia and Zimbabwe to finalise the designing of the overall project Logframe as well as measure and document the overall project indicators’ baseline figures. In addition, provided on-going coaching and training to both MASO in Zimbabwe and EA in Zambia in tool development, managing and implementation of the MEL system to encourage quality in data collection and ensure use of collected data to feed into programming design. He developed the project Knowledge management system which emphasised on cross learning between the two countries and adopting and implementing the best practices. He periodically conducted data quality assessments and consolidate the project performance reports from the two implementing partners in Zambia and Zimbabwe into one that is submitted to the donor (BMZ).

Dr Tenson Muyambo (PhD)

Senior Research Fellow

Tenson Muyambo is a Gender and Religion seasoned researcher. He has done a lot of research on women and development from a religious perspective. The role of religion (in its various forms) on development cannot be underestimated. Tenson has experience in consultancy, grant management, fieldwork, data collection, verification, cleaning and analysis. He has published more 20 refereed journal papers and book chapters on indigenous knowledge systems that can be tapped into for development projects with particular reference to the role of women as change agents in communities’ livelihoods. Currently, he has won a Nagel Institute of Calvin University (Nagel) in the United States of America on Engaging African Realities that runs from 2021-2024. He also chaired and led a Skills Transfer project funded by Culture Fund in Zimbabwe from 2020-2021 where a Chipinge Traditional Dance Group and Holland are training pupils at Nyaututu primary school one of the defining Ndau cultural dance, Mphongo. He also participated as a research fellow in a market survey done in Masvingo, Manicaland and Matabeleland provinces funded by USAID in 2019. He holds a PhD in Gender and Religion, MA in Religious Studies, Master of Educational Administration, Planning and Policy Studies, BA (Special Hons) in Religious Studies, Post Graduate Diploma in Education and BA (Gen). In AEDS, Tenson brings in a multi-disciplinary approach to research, especially from socio-cultural dimension, where communities utilize their situatedness and cultural capital to better their livelihoods.

Dr Wonder Muchabaiwa (Ph.D)

Senior Research Fellow

Dr. Muchabaiwa is a Sociologist and an educationist who has worked with communities on different livelihood projects. Currently, he is a lecturer in the Department of Policy Studies and Leadership with Midlands State University. He has published on the circumstances of women in economic development issues in African societies. Dr. Muchabaiwa has also published articles on Education and development with particular focus on the informal sector, the curriculum, Mentorship in Education and gender issues in education. He is a distinguished academic and scholar with vast experience in Teacher Development and Gender Studies. To date Dr. Muchabaiwa has published more than 15 articles in refereed journals. In AEDS, Dr. Muchabaiwa brings in an educational dimension to development considering the symbiotic relationship between education and development. He also enriches the team composition by bringing a sociological background amenable with development issues. Dr. Muchabaiwa has participated in the Market survey on Food Provisions in Masvingo, Manicaland and Matebeleland provinces in Zimbabwe sponsored by USAID. He holds a PhD in Sociology, MSc Sociology and Social Anthropology, MEd, Sociology; Ed and DipEd.

Dr Carren Pindiriri (Ph.D)

Principal Research Fellow

Dr Carren Pindiriri has over 10 years research experience and also possess vast research experience in the areas of agricultural, environmental and development economics. He is a holder of PhD in Economics from University of Zimbabwe, MPhil in Environmental Economics from the University of Oslo, MSc in Economics and BSc Economics from the University of Zimbabwe. In 2020, Dr Pindiriri successfully completed a World Bank task on data analysis and has been a consultant for UNECA with the task of measuring Harare City GDP. He has also worked as an advisor to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development under the World Bank in climate mainstreaming. In 2018, Dr. Carren Pindiriri successfully supervised and coordinated a national survey of the engineering sector (mapping, data collection and analysis) on behalf of national employment council for the engineering sector ((NECEMF). In 2014, Dr. Pindiriri worked as a researcher (supervising data collection process and analysis) in the informal metal and engineering sector for the IDRC project. The coordinator also coordinated and supervised SNV Youth Employment project in 2011 in Zimbabwe. Dr. Pindiriri has also worked as a consultant and coordinator for the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) business condition surveys which began in 2015. As a lead researcher, he successfully conducted the surveys on a quarterly basis from 2015 to 2018. In these surveys, Dr. Pindiriri, together with an international consultant, successfully conducted the baseline survey for formal manufacturing companies in 2015. He has also been a statistical consultant for the CZI’s Manufacturing Survey Mapping and Sampling. In addition, the coordinator has been a member of the national technical committee Census coordination team in 2012 and has also worked as a consultant in a number of national surveys, for example, IDRC survey on upscaling Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Sub-Saharan Africa (Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania) in 2017, ITC project on mapping women businesses in Zimbabwe in 2016, World Bank survey on assessing agricultural risk in 2018 and many others

Cornelius Dube

Principal Research Fellow

Cornelius Dube is an Economist by profession with more than 16 years of extensive research experience gained while working for different organisations in Zimbabwe, Zambia and India. Cornelius is currently working as a Senior Research Fellow at local economic policy think tank, Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Unit (ZEPARU). At ZEPARU, Cornelius undertakes policy research, advocacy and capacity building programmes aimed at providing evidence-based policy formulation and implementation in Zimbabwe. He is regularly involved in policy analysis with specific focus on fiscal policy, in particular, budget analysis, monetary policy and other macroeconomic policies, that is, national blueprints, industrial policy, agriculture policy, etc. Before joining ZEPARU, he worked for two years as an Economist in Jaipur, India and was later on transferred to Lusaka, Zambia where he worked for CUTS International, an international NGO which focuses on consumer rights protection. Over these years, as the expert on competition policy, he was actively involved in implementing a number of development partner supported projects on competition policy reforms and economic regulation in more than 15 countries in Africa and Asia. As part of his work, he was involved in organising and participating in national, regional and international forums on competition policy reforms in the African and Asian countries. He also worked for the Competition and Tariff Commission as a Chief Economist and was involved in the enforcement of the Competition Act with a view to ensure fair competition in Zimbabwe. Cornelius has published widely in local and international publishing institutions. He holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from University of Zimbabwe and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the same institution. He is a PhD economics finalist at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, in South Africa.

Dr Simbarashe Mhaka (Ph.D)

Senior Research Fellow

Dr Simbarashe Mhaka is passionate about investigating, analysis and economic research that transform the future of developing Southern African countries through the application of economic theories and statistical modelling. He enjoys making common sense to macro-economic challenges in order to make a visible difference. Dr Simbarashe Mhaka has over 3 years research experience with most focus on macroeconomics issues in the areas of International trade and Finance, Economic growth, Unemployment and Poverty. He however enjoys working in a challenging inter- and trans-disciplinary environment. He is a holder of a BCom Degree in Economics and Business Management (Nelson Mandela University, South Africa), BCom Honours Degree in Economics (Nelson Mandela University), MCom in Economics (Nelson Mandela University) and PhD Economics at Nelson Mandela university. Dr Simbarashe Mhaka has been employed as a lecturer/researcher in the Economics Department at Nelson Mandela University. As a lecturer/researcher, he was responsible for teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate modules such as Econometrics, International Economics, Macroeconomics, Economic history and Micro economics. He was also responsible with supervising and promoting academic research. He was a visiting lecturer at the Cape Business and Engineering College in Port Elizabeth. Dr Simbarashe Mhaka currently works as an Analyst in the retail sector. He has been participating in a group of researchers in the Department of Economics at Nelson Mandela University to write academic journal articles and has managed to publish over seven scholarly articles under the South African Department of Higher Education and Training accredited journals and many working papers. His research papers focus more on issues affecting international trade, economic growth, inflation, foreign direct investment, energy economics and agricultural economics. In all his years, he gained skills such as Business, Economic, Political trend Analysis and forecasting, data analysis, econometric modelling, proficient use of Eviews, STATA, Power BI, Mendeley and all Microsoft tools. Honours and Awards obtained includes Top student award (2013 & 2014 – Nelson Mandela University, Allan Gray Foundation), NRF Research Funding (2020), Team Player Award and Best Performing New comer (2020, Pick n Pay).

Primrose Moyo

Research Fellow

A research analyst with more than 3 years of experience in data collection, data entry, data analysis, report writing, and academic research, working with different organizations including Africa Economic Development Strategies (AEDS), Bureau of Economic and Social Research (BESR), ARUP and Ruzivo Trust. Currently, studying under Collaborative Masters in Agricultural and Applied Economics (CMMAE) with Shared Facility for Specialization and Electives (SFSE) co-hosted with the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Primrose is a holder of Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Agriculture from the University of Zimbabwe. She has done an economic profiling survey for ZimTrade, conducted econometric analysis for the Food and Nutrition Council (FNC). She carried out a survey to unpack the state of agriculture sector in Zimbabwe on behalf of Zimbabwe Agricultural Society (ZAS) and Financial Gazette. She also conducted a market analysis and a food security analysis in Manicaland, Masvingo and Matebeleland North provinces under National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago and USAID, Washington DC, USA. In addition, she also did data analysis and report writing with International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in conjunction with Faculty of Agriculture at University of Zimbabwe. She also worked as an Intern-Trainee in cattle and poultry management with deRust Farm Somabhula. Throughout the years of experience, she has gained a number of technical skills including Economic modelling, use of statistical tools like CSPRO, STATA, SPSS and excel.

Patience Mushayi

Research Fellow

An aspiring and highly motivated Economics captain of the industry from the valley of dreams Africa University. A recent undergraduate with a BSc (Hons) in Economics Degree hungry to learn as much as possible and a strong will to succeed in the field of research. Patience worked with various organisations for the past year participating in consultancy, community development areas and grant proposal writing, researches data collection in surveys, data entry, data analysis and report writing in organizations such as Bureau of Economic and Social Research (BESR), Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University (ZEGU) and Africa Economic Development Strategies (AEDS). She did her undergraduate attachment at Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI Mutare) which also made her gain experience in organizing meetings and workshops, managing financial records of a company, report writing and managing company database. As a researcher for BESR, she undertook economic profiling survey for ZimTrade.

Tsepeso Setoboli

Research Fellow

Passion driven, hardworking and committed young graduate and student of the University of Zimbabwe (UZ). Over the past four years has been involved and exposed to various research work doing tasks such as data collection in surveys, data entry, data analysis, report writing, and academic research in organizations such as BESR, ARUP, Ruzivo Trust, AEDS, NORC for USAID & IFAD. Graduated top of the class in 2018 with a BSc (Hons) Agricultural Economics and Extension Degree at the UZ and was recently the second-best student in the Shared Facility for Specialisation and Electives in the University of Pretoria organised by the Africa Economic Research Consortium (AERC). Did undergraduate farm attachment at Matopos Research Station in Bulawayo over which gained deeper understanding of farm operations and research aimed at benefiting smallholder farmers. He helped several colleagues and experts with data entry and analysis in SPSS, Stata & Excel during the BSc & MSc programs at the UZ. Prior to studying at the UZ, worked as a secondary school science teacher in rural areas of Gwanda and Beitbridge districts. Tsepeso is currently studying towards an MSc Agricultural and Applied Economics degree at the UZ with an agenda of enhancing knowledge and research skills jointly in the fields of Economics and Agriculture.

Nyasha Blessed Jura

Business Development Officer

Blessed N Jura is a marketer and a gemologist by profession with a vast experience in digital marketing and in the diamond industry. She is a highly resourceful, flexible, innovative, and enthusiastic marketer and gemmologist. Having an impressive track record in marketing and in the diamond industry and at Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti as the Marketing Assistant, she possesses considerable experience in marketing and business development. She has vast experience in digital marketing and developing marketing plans and strategies and managing budgets and marketing management systems, she also worked with Adrenalin Advertising, Diccomn Advertising, Visual point, Alutech and has worked at Aurex holding as a diamond polisher and evaluator. Prior to this, she worked as a Project director Junior Chamber International (JCI) where she gained experience in planning, executing and monitoring the projects from the beginning to the end. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce Honours Degree in Marketing (Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University), Diploma in LCCI Marketing, Diploma in Design for Print (Harare polytechnic college), GIA Diploma in Graduate Diamonds-(Dubai–UAE), GIA Applied Jewellery Professional (AJP). Nyasha is currently studying towards a Master’s in Commerce in Marketing (Midlands State University).

Wendy Jaibes

Administration and Finance Officer

Wendy Jaibes is an accountant by profession with close to 4 years of experience in financial accounting. She has worked at Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) as the Finance and Administration Officer. At ZFU Wendy’s duties inter alia include preparation of financial statements management accounts, inventory management, tax returns and reconciliations in payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable bank and the general ledger. She also worked at the Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti as the Accounting Assistant. She has vast experience in accounting packages like Pastel and university management systems. Wendy holds a National Diploma in ACCOUNTING FROM HARARE Polytechnic College and currently studying towards a Bachelor of Commerce in Financial Accounting.

Edgar Marume

Social Development Specialist

Edgar is a social worker by profession with experience and knowledge in community development and livelihoods, gender mainstreaming and human rights advocacy, socio-economic development, HIV/AIDS and Sexual Reproductive Health amongst others. He is an empathetic development professional with a strong coordination, project management, administrative and research skills. He graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work Honours degree and a Master of Social work degree from the University of Zimbabwe. Over the years he has acquired relevant experience from both governmental and non-governmental organizations/departments which inter alia include Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and Ministry of Health and Child Care particularly in the Department of Social Development and Department of Disability Affairs in the and Department of Child Protection and Probation Services. He conducted surveys with GALZ and Wilkins hospital targeting sexual reproductive health issues amongst key populations and just to mention a few. Edgar brings in wealth of experience and exceptional understanding of gender mainstreaming, socio-economic development and HIV/AIDS and Sexual Reproductive Health which are part of the LEAP and CBHF programmes being implemented by AEDS.

Yanai Chitumba

Training Officer

Yanai holds Master of Business Administration, Executive Diploma in Management from Women’s University in Africa and Diploma in Education from Belvedere Technical and Teachers College. She is currently studying towards the completion of a Diploma in Institute Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Zimbabwe (CIS). Yanai has been a High School teacher for 15 years. In the Livelihoods and Export Aided Programme (LEAP) and Community Based Health Financing (CBHF), Yanai will be in charge with the training programmes on financial literacy, business ethics and basic investments and wealth creation.