Council
MR. MISHECK UGARO
PRESIDENT
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Misheck Ugaro is a practicing economist and financial management expert with 32 years of professional experience. He is the President of the Zimbabwe Economics Society. He holds two master's degrees and is currently a PhD candidate in Development Economics. His expertise bridges academic economic research and regional investment banking, having held executive positions across the SADC region (Mozambique, Tanzania, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe). As the President of the Zimbabwe Economics Society, he leads high-level policy dialogues and research-based solutions for economic development. He is a member of the economics cluster in the national tripartite negotiating forum which is the country’s policy dialogue platform bringing together business in Zimbabwe, Labour and the Government.
DR. EDMORE MAHEMBE
VICE PRESIDENT
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Dr. Eddie Mahembe is a seasoned Development Economist, socio-economic researcher, entrepreneur, and education advocate with over 20 years of diverse experience spanning academia, consulting, and socio-economic development. He is the Founding Director and CEO of multiple enterprises, including Underhill Corporate Solutions, UCS Chemicals Pty Ltd, Data Capture SA, and UCS Education and Training Services, where he focuses on driving impactful economic and social initiatives. Academically, Dr. Mahembe holds a PhD in Economics from the University of South Africa and his research interests include economic growth, panel data econometrics, poverty alleviation, inequality reduction, foreign direct investment, development assistance, and education, with a focus on developing countries, particularly in the SADC region.
MS. CHIDO PAM MAFONGOYA
VICE PRESIDENT
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Chido Pamela Mafongoya is a registered legal practitioner of the Superior Courts of Zimbabwe. She graduated from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and a Masters in International Trade, Investment and Business Law from the University of Western Cape in South Africa. Her interests are in international trade, investment and business law, particularly how these areas can be used as a tool to advance African economies. Outside of the day to day legal work, Chido is passionate about giving back to society by educating the community on legal issues.
MR. PAISON TAZVIVINGA
SECRETARY
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Paison is a hybrid professional whose work is at the intersection of economic policy and data systems engineering. With over 10 years of experience, Paison is passionate about bridging the gap between rigorous quantitative analysis and scalable technical execution. His expertise lies in turning abstract economic questions into concrete data problems - building the pipelines, models, and dashboards that deliver actionable intelligence for both business strategy and public policy.
MR. LAWRENCE NYATHI
TREASURER
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Lawrence D. Nyathi is an Economist with monitoring and evaluation experience gained at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce for the Government of Zimbabwe. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) in Economics (Midlands State University), Master of Commerce (Hons) in Economics (Midlands State University) and Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Lupane State University) To date he has published papers with his interest in Health Economics, Agriculture Economics, Behavioural Economics, Industrial Economics and Development Economics. As a staff member at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in the department with a flare of strong economics background his motto is “Economics is everywhere and understanding economics can help you make better decision and lead a happier life.”
MS. TATENDA PAMELA DANDA
COUNCIL MEMBER
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Tatenda Pamela Danda is a financial economics professional with nearly a decade of experience at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, where she currently serves. She holds qualifications from the University of Zimbabwe, including an Honours Degree in Economics and an Executive Certificate in Monitoring and Evaluation, and an MSc in Financial Economics from Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE). Tatenda is a member of the Zimbabwe Economics Society (ZES) and ACAMS (Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists), reflecting her strong interest in financial systems integrity, compliance, and economic policy. Her professional focus includes financial analysis, policy formulation, monitoring and evaluation, regulatory compliance, and risk-based supervision.
MR KUDZAI MUCHENA
COUNCIL MEMBER
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Kudzai Stephen Muchena is a Director at Farmvale in Juru. He has 17 years of experience in agriculture and finance. Prior to this, he served as an Analyst at Fronteras Capital, a SECZIM-certified advisory firm. He is a member of the Goromonzi Commercial Farmers Association. He writes frequently on agriculture and finance. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Economics and International Trade from Victoria University (Australia).
MR AARON NZOU
COUNCIL MEMBER
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Aaron Nzou is a strategic economic analyst and emerging thought leader with strong expertise in economics, finance, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. He is currently a PhD Candidate in Economics at the University of Zululand, South Africa. His academic background includes an MSc in Big Data Analytics, an MSc in Banking and Financial Economics, and an MSc in Economics, supported by a BSc in Agricultural Economics and Development, a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher and Tertiary Education, and EMS (AT/EMD) certification. His research focuses on systemic climate risk and financial contagion within interconnected financial networks in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), with growing emphasis on the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to model risk propagation, stress transmission, and systemic vulnerability. His work explores how climate-related shocks interact with financial interdependencies and how data-driven and AI-enabled tools can support early warning systems, regulatory resilience, and policy design in emerging markets. Aaron’s broader professional interests include economic policy analysis, applied econometrics, financial system stability, AI-driven risk analytics, and strategic data-informed decision-making. He brings a results-oriented, evidence-based leadership approach, with a strong commitment to institutional development, governance, and sustainable economic growth.
MR FRANCIS MAHOFA
COUNCIL MEMBER
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Francis MAHOFA spent more than 30 years in infrastructure development & operations and commercial/business operations in the ICT industry where he held engineering, senior and executive management roles in leading ICT companies in Zimbabwe. He is currently into Technology and Business consultancy. He is an engineer who transitioned into Commercial/Business management in the last 10 years. Francis is also a member of ZIM, IODZ, ZIE, ZICT and ECZ. He holds BSc (Hons) Electrical & Electronic Engineering (UZ), MBA (UZ), BSc (Hons) Economics (LSE, UoL), MSc in Finance (Economic Policy) (SOAS, UoL) degrees and many professional certifications.
