Our Team
The AEDS’ Board is made up of nine (9) polished professionals whose roles are to provide strategic guidance and oversight with a view to foster good governance and sustainable growth. The Board is made up of Dr Farai Matanhire (Chairman), Ms Latifa Kassim (Vice Chairperson), Dr Wonder Muchabaiwa, Mrs Abigail Nyahangare, Dr Nelson Chanza, Professor Laurine Chikoko, Professor Gift Mugano (Executive Director), Dr Tonderai Kapesa and Ms Rumbidzai Mashayahanya.
Dr Farai Matanhire is an accomplished international finance and administration executive with over 25 years of professional working experience in manufacturing, mining, FMCG, banking, technology, and media Industries. A corporate strategist and organisational performance advocate who develops and implements strategic and operational business policies and procedures. His wealth of experience was gained from working in Tobacco, Cement, FMCG and Media & Entertainment industries for reputable Stock Exchange-Listed companies that include BAT, Saralee H&BC, Lafarge, Dangote and Zimpapers. Over the years, he occupied various roles that had responsibilities in Finance and Accounting, Marketing, Performance Management, Legal, Administration, Supply Chain and Information Technology. He has been exposed enough to better understand the need for global competitiveness in a highly volatile global economy to ensure sustainable organisational performance. Over the years, he has been instrumental in some business re-engineering processes, total quality management systems and application of the Balanced Scorecard performance management tool to drive organisational performance. Therefore, the opportunity for competitiveness to maintain market dominance is my focus area as an executive to ensure the future growth of the organisation. Dr Matanhire hold Doctor of Philosophy degree in Corporate Strategy from Nelson Mandela University and other several qualifications which inter alia include MBA, B.Com, IoDSA, CA(ZA), FCMA, FIAC and ACTA.
Ms. Latifa Kassim is a Banking executive with over twenty years of experience. She is currently the Executive Head of Treasury, Marketing, and Corporate Affairs at Nedbank Zimbabwe Ltd. She holds a BSc. Honours in Economics, a Master of Science in Economics, and a Masters in Business Administration (Finance) from the University of Zimbabwe. Latifa is also a holder of a Nedbank-Gibbs (University of Pretoria) Leadership Development Certificate and holds other Banking, Treasury-specific, and Leadership certifications. Latifa is the immediate past Chairperson of the Treasurers Forum under the Bankers Association and also a member of the CZI Macroeconomic Committee. She actively contributes to key policy issues that affect the country, providing input in Monetary and Fiscal Policy formulation. She is Christian, a proud wife, and a mother. Latifa’s dedication to her profession and her community is evident in her active involvement in various fora and her commitment to mentoring the next generation of leaders. Her contributions to the banking sector and her efforts to support and uplift vulnerable groups make her a respected and influential figure in her field.
Mrs Abigail Nyahangare is the Chief Executive Officer of Golden E-Connect Finance and a finance expert with over 20 years of experience in financial accounting, grants management, and organizational leadership. Earlier in her career, Abigail spent 10 years at PG Industries in financial accounting and reporting and led the rollout of Navision accounting systems. Currently, she serves as Chairperson of the Finance, Audit, and Risk Committee at AEDS, where she oversees financial strategy, compliance, and grant stewardship. Previously, for a six-year period, she served as the Finance Director and was part of the Executive Committee of Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University. For 7 years, she was the Finance Manager at Forward in Faith International Church, managing the finances of a multi-million-dollar institution and leading the implementation of SAP accounting systems. She has successfully managed COVID-19-related grants totaling US$300,000 with the University of Nottingham, UK, and US$24,000 with the National Research Fund, South Africa. Abigail also holds an MSc in Accounting (Chinhoyi University of Technology), an MSc in Strategic Management (Chinhoyi University of Technology), a BCompt in Financial Accounting (University of South Africa), a BCom Business Management (Midlands State University) and other finance professional qualifications. Currently, she is pursuing a DPhil in Business Administration at the Durban University of Technology. Abigail combines technical expertise with practical leadership to build financial systems that are transparent, scalable, and audit-ready.
Tapuwa Mandimutsira is a visionary executive and consultant with over 20 years of experience driving revenue growth and market expansion through strategic leadership. His career is distinguished by a research-driven approach, leveraging market analysis, competitive intelligence, and empirical data to deliver measurable ROI, operational excellence, and digital transformation. His expertise spans executive leadership, business development and brand strategy. Currently, as the founder of a strategic consultancy, he partners with organizations to design, build, and execute data-informed strategies. He specializes in turning market intelligence into actionable plans for brand positioning, stakeholder engagement, and revenue growth, providing clients with a significant competitive edge and accelerating their visibility and growth. Tapuwa’s expertise is rooted in a diverse 20+ year career spanning the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Media & Entertainment industries. Tapuwa holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Business Studies Honours and actively shapes the media , marketing and advertising industry through key leadership roles, which included: Past President of the Marketers Association of Zimbabwe, Board Member of the Advertising and Standard Association Zimbabwe (ASAZIM). Past Board Member of the Zimbabwe Advertising Research Foundation (ZARF).
Tafadzwa Chiparausha is a highly experienced Finance, Operations, Business Development, and Health Financing Executive with a proven record of leading multimillion‑dollar portfolios across international development, social enterprise, and private‑sector partnership environments. As the Director of Finance and IT for Population Services Zimbabwe, she provides strategic leadership in financial management, governance, digital transformation, business development, and organizational performance. With extensive experience gained from senior roles at ECODIT LLC, TechnoServe LLC, YETT, Caritas International, and World Vision Zimbabwe. Tafadzwa has managed diverse portfolios supported by global funders including USAID, DFID, EU, SIDA, AUSAID, and multiple UN agencies. Her expertise covers financial strategy, resource mobilization, compliance, governance, enterprise development, and partnership management. Tafadzwa has also delivered national and international technical training through COLEAD (Belgium), advancing best practices in agribusiness, financial leadership, and enterprise management. She serves on the Board of the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Leadership, a BSc (Hons) in Banking and Finance, and a BSc (Hons) in Social Work.
Professor Laurine Chikoko (PhD) is distinguished scholar, with an established research and publication record in economics with over thirty articles in peer reviewed journals. Professor Chikoko has over 20 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. Professor 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, Professor 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).
Ms Cleopatra Mapanda is an experienced and highly dedicated senior legal practitioner with over 13 years of extensive experience in labour law, corporate law, corporate governance, ethical business operations and legal compliance. Over the years, she has demonstrated ability to apply her experience and legal mind on various legal issues in the field of labour. She has represented several employees from company level up to the Labour Court. Ms Mapanda is a polished leader who works well under pressure and understands the complexities of legal systems. Over the last 13 years, she has been working as a legal officer at the Zimbabwe Energy Workers Union. Previously, she previously worked as a researcher for Sinyoro and Partners, and Labour Law Trust. She is committed to uphold and utilize the full strength of the law to help those seeking justice. She holds a Master of Laws in Corporate Law (University of South Africa) and Bachelor of Laws Honours Degree (University of Zimbabwe).
Professor Gift Mugano (PhD) is a Professor of Economics and author with over 20 years of experience working on public policy, international finance, innovative finance, investment climate reforms, investment prospectus, regional integration, industrialisation master plans, special economic zones, value chain & trade analysis and academic work. He has consulted for the Governments of Eswatini, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe; over 60 private sector companies and international organisations including the World Bank; United Nations; UKAID, BRICS; FAO; ILO; USAID; GIZ; National Opinion Research Centre at the University of Chicago (USA); GFA Consulting Group (Germany); Integration Consulting Group (Germany); COMESA; British Council; Adam Smith International (UK); IMC Worldwide LTD (UK); Cardno Emerging Markets (Belgium); KPMG (UK); Palladium Group (UK); Ecorys (UK); Syngenta (Switzerland); National Research Fund (SA); Trade Policy Training Centre in Africa (Tanzania); Laws Africa (SA); and Transparency International Zimbabwe. He has published over 60 articles & book chapters with international peer reviewed journals and six (6) books with renowned international publishers [i.e., Taylor & Francis, Springer Nature and AOSIS]. Professor Mugano has supervised seven (7) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees to successful completion and examined 14 PhDs and several postgraduate theses. Over the years, he represented his country at various forums on trade negotiations, investment missions and conferences abroad (Heads of State and Government Summits, Council of Ministers, Senior Officials of Trade and Technical Committees) at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels in Belgium, Switzerland, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia, Botswana, China, South Korea, India, Tanzania, Thailand and Cameroon. Over the years, he acted as an external examiner for the University of Cape Town, University of Namibia, University of Western Cape, University of South Africa, North-West University, Durban University of Technology, Nelson Mandela University, University of Zimbabwe and National University of Science and Technology.
Servia is a seasoned Finance and Human Resources Professional with over a decade of experience in financial management, budgeting, forecasting, statutory compliance, and strategic business support. She served as Finance and Human Resources Manager at Electra-Air (Pvt) Ltd, where she provided strategic oversight of budgets, cash flow, financial reporting, cost control, audit coordination, and risk management, while ensuring alignment with labour laws and organizational policies. Notably, she successfully strengthened financial controls, improved cash flow management, supported clean audit processes, and streamlined HR and payroll systems to enhance operational efficiency and compliance at Electra Air. Her professional foundation was strengthened through hands-on accounting and administrative roles at MedTech Holdings and within the Ministry of Youth in the Government of Zimbabwe. She holds a Bachelor of Business Studies (Honours) in Human Resources Management and a Master of Business Leadership, enabling her to integrate financial discipline with people management, governance, and sustainable organizational growth.
Pretty is a proactive and dedicated Economist and committed Monitoring and Evaluation specialist with experience in facilitating both local and foreign investment, implementing, monitoring investment processes and development programs that qualify to enhance industrial development and livelihood programs. She has more than 10 years’ experience on economic assessments. She has vast experience in development initiatives, particularly in the areas of trade, economic integration, and industrial development in emerging markets, and frontier economies. She has carried out evaluation projects that include Multi sectorial needs assessment to establish the needs of the community, Mid-term review, Impact Assessment and End-line evaluation with non-profit making organization. Over the years, she has provided policy recommendations to promote industrial development, designed and implemented M&E systems to monitor the effectiveness of government programs. Pretty has an advanced command of Excel and data packages like STATA, SPSS, E-VIEWS, NVivo and other research tools like Kobo Collect, ODK, etc. She holds Master of Science in Economics, Bachelor of Science in Economics and Bachelor of Science in Monitoring and Evaluation. She is a finalist of a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Public Management at the Durban University of Technology.
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