Our Leadership and Technical Team

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Golden Mahove, DBA

A leading Independent Business Consultant and Subject Matter Expert in Inclusive Economic Development, Dr. Golden Mahove holds 27 years’ experience in market systems, agribusiness development, and value chain analysis. A leading and well-recognized global voice in inclusive agribusiness and enterprise development using the market systems development approach, Golden is an accomplished Technical Expert and Team Leader on numerous multi-million-dollar continental programs.

Current and past clients include DAI Global LLC; Adam Smith International, and indirectly the UK Department for International Development, Genesis, Ecorys, and LTS; the United Nations’ International Labor Organization (ILO), and Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO); the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA); the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), ILO International Training Centre (ITCILO), and CARE International, among many others.

With field experience across Southern, East, and West Africa, and the Middle East, he has operated and variously resided in Liberia, the DRC, Uganda, Nigeria, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya, Malawi, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini (previously Swaziland), and Italy.

A Member of the Southern Africa Institute for Management Scientists (SAIMS) and Certified Professional Facilitator with the International Association of Facilitators (IAF), he holds a Doctor of Business Administration in Business Model Innovation (BMI) Degree & Innovation Ecosystems, and a Master of Business Administration Degree with Enterprise Development specialization.

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer

Precious Nontsikelelo Mahove, BCom, MBA

An experienced business manager with a track record of over 20 years in diverse cross-cultural and cross-functional environments. Over the years, she has contributed to performing various tasks to ensure productivity and efficiency. She has proven experience in sales, and marketing [customer service, problem-solving, and customer support], finance [credit assessments, contract negotiation, deal structuring, and ensuring compliance], administration [office coordination, systems, and processes], human resources [recruitment, HR functions]. 

 

Furthermore, she has worked with private firms such as lending institutions -Nedbank, Standard Bank, FNB, and Absa, and for firms such as Bidvest Group, Motus Group, Combined Motor Holdings, and Telesure Investment Holdings, among others. Ms. Mahove has gained strong leadership skills, strategic thinking, and foresight through her work with various organizations. Ms. Precious Mahove has an MBA Degree and Bachelor’s in Economics and values continuous learning and self-development.

She is also a Java and Python programmer, which assists in strengthening the company’s information and technology department. In turn, it enhances productivity and communication across the business. Ms. Precious Mahove is fluent in English and most South African languages. She is learning French through the French Alliance of Pretoria.

Special Interest: Passionate about women’s empowerment in the community and the workplace and the advancement of the “African Girl Child” through social, political, and economic channels. She founded an NGO in 2013, “Talitha Kumi” – Girl Arise. She further focused her MBA dissertation on systematic challenges that women face in ascending to senior management positions, specifically in male-dominated industries.

Business Associate

Earnest Musinamwana, MSc, MBA

An Agribusiness & Market Systems Development SME, Mr. Musinamwana holds significant experience in designing, managing, and monitoring projects in agribusiness, enterprise and market systems development, and promoting sustainable trade. A proven Development Practitioner, he retains hands-on expertise in value chain analysis and financing strategy development, enterprise growth diagnostics, and managing multi-stakeholder project delivery platforms.

Mr. Musinamwana understands end-to-end development interventions as Utility Expert within the development realm. Having worked on multiple projects that straddle the private sector and development nexus, he brings a rich blend of perspectives and approaches from both domains.

With professional work experience spanning East, West, and Southern African regions, Mr. Musinamwana commands an advanced understanding of the African economic development landscape and work contexts. He holds an MSc Degree in International Development (UK) with specialization in industry, trade, and development and an MBA from the Swizz International Institute for International Management Development, IMD Business School. At an advanced stage of his Ph.D. studies with Wits University, his research focuses on informal entrepreneurship and agribusinesses’ social embeddedness in Africa.

Research Associate

Willie Bedell, BSc, MSc

Willie B. Bedell is responsible for managing strategic market assessments, empirical research, and project operations for corporate and public sector clients. He brings vast research experience with previous roles as a Graduate Research Fellow with the University of Kentucky in the Department of Agricultural Economics. Through that work, Willie was responsible for leading agricultural and environmental studies. 

He contributed to the literature on park amenities and housing values, water quality, and the chocolate market assessments. His prior research work involved hands-on research consultancy for Adam Smith International’s GROW project in Liberia. He was instrumental in the program’s strategic design, the implementation of agricultural portfolio activities in sectors such as vegetables, rubber, cocoa, and oil palm. He also has monitoring and results measurement experience in a market systems project. Willie holds an MSc from the University of Kentucky in Agricultural Economics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the United Methodist University in Liberia.

Business Associate

Lizyben Chidamba, PhD

Dr. Lizyben Chidamba is an Agribusiness specialist with extensive research experience in food systems, food security, microbiology, food safety, plant pathology and bioinformatics. He holds a PhD in Crop Protection from the University of Pretoria and an MSc Degree in Microbiology from the Northwest University. His background includes entrepreneurship in controlled environment agriculture, coupled with industry research on water quality, tree nuts and citrus fruits pack-house processing, plant diseases, pesticides and risk assessment.

Dr. Chidamba understands end-to-end research and development of intervention strategies to overcome agricultural production challenges for both startups and the established firms. Having worked on multiple projects spanning both government and the private sector, and from field production challenges to processing and packaging, Dr. Chidamba brings a rich blend of perspectives and approaches to innovation in agribusiness. In particular Dr Chidamba has played key roles in the development of several innovative technologies to reduce diseases and prevent product contamination.

The research work undertaken by Dr. Chidamba includes the role of irrigation water quality on the observed microbial quality of irrigated fresh produce. This research covers the detection, identification, and characterization of potential water/food-borne pathogens, including pathogenic E, coli, Salmonella spp. Listeria monocytogenes and Klebsiella Pneumonia, among others. Besides identifying individual pathogens, Dr. Chidamba’s work focuses also on total microbial community ecology through metagenomics, including the profiling of core microbiomes and the functional genomics responsible for the observed population dynamics. The metagenomics work covers water and food microbial ecology from a food safety perspective, soil health, and plant pathology, focusing on pesticide use implications and the potential identification and use of biocontrols. Overall, Dr. Chidamba’s work aims to improve food security by limiting the impact of foodborne diseases along the farm to fork continuum, improved soil health for increased yields, limiting the impact of crop diseases, and appropriate pesticide use to reduce crop losses including postharvest decay.Dr.

Chidamba has authored a number of scholarly articles in internationally accredited journals covering the nexus between research and industry application.

trade specialist

Moses Mfune, MCom

Mr. Mfune is an expert in international trade (law and policy) with 26 years of experience. In his most recent position as the Trade Advisor with the USAID Trade Hub, he led trade and trade reforms in Zambia by collaborating with the Ministries of Trade, Agriculture, Fisheries, trade regulatory agencies as well as the private sector in categorizing the disparate trade facilitation agreement (TFA) protocols and highlighting those that require improvement.

Moses led the design and implementation of the Zambia Trade Information Portal coordinating all 27 government ministries and agencies to digitalize their information for ease of trade and investment. As a Customs and Trade Specialist and in collaboration with the Zambia Revenue Authority and international organizations such as the World Customs Organization, he led the modernization of border management. He facilitated the designing and development of new custom customs training modules used across Zambian borders. As an Assistant Commissioner – International and Policy, Mr. Mfune was tasked to formulate policy for trade negotiations. He has worked with Customs in various capacities over the years. 

Moses has an MCom International Trade, University of Cape Town and an MBA from Heriot University, Edinburgh as well as a Bachelor of Economics, University of Lusaka and a post Graduate Diploma (Intermediate level) International Trade Law and Trade Policy. Moses is fluent in English, Bemba, Nyanja and Kiswahili.

Finance and Investment Specialist

Samki Koti, BCom, Executive Diploma

Samki Koti is a finance professional with over 20 years of experience in investment banking, asset management, and stockbroking in local and international markets. He started his career as an equity analyst at UBS Investment Bank before moving into corporate finance at Rand Merchant Bank, where he made proprietary investments on the bank’s balance sheet.

After a successful stint, he moved to Citigroup as a vice president in equity sales, where he was responsible for growing the footprint across sub-Saharan Africa. Throughout his career, Samki has dealt with sovereign funds, pension funds, asset managers, and regulators in market analysis, deal structuring, company valuation, and deal execution. He was also instrumental in bringing the first Middle East brokerage to open offices in South Africa and becoming a member of the JSE. Since then, he has established his own investment boutique advisory firm and launched a retail investment product for the mass market.

He is a finance and economics graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand and a member of the South African Institute of Financial Markets. He is currently registered for a postgraduate diploma in Banking with the University of London. On most mornings, Samki is a reluctant runner and has completed several half-marathons.

finance and investment specialist

Nico Christoforou, BCom, MBA

Mr. Christoforou is a finance and investment specialist with over 26 years of experience in the sectors of structured and corporate lending finance, venture capital and private equity, mezzanine debt financing to equity investment, capital raising, restructuring, and turnarounds, and real estate development finance. His focus over the past 10+ years has been on impact investing, financial inclusion, and agribusiness finance, particularly to businesses of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Mr. Christoforou gained valuable experience working with social impact investors USAID Southern African Trade and Investment Hub, Soros Economic Development Fund, and the Norwegian State Development Finance Institution Norfund by facilitating and funding debt and equity transactions to SMEs and corporate institutions based in Southern, Eastern and West Africa, US New York, Norway Oslo, India, and Eastern Europe. He has worked for Investment Banking institutions BoE Merchant Bank, Nedbank Corporate, and Rand Merchant Bank, the corporations of Deloitte & Touché, and Lord Securities New York special purpose vehicles. He has successfully completed contract work for Black Economic Empowerment consortiums and Workout & Restructuring with the Land Bank South Africa, among others.

He has intricate expertise in the origination process, detailed analysis and due diligence, finance and investment assessment, through to operationally managing investments to exit through board participation and executive and senior management team strategy, planning for sales and growth funding, risk and internal control management of systems and processes, restructuring and turnarounds, and legal and final negotiations. His knowledge over the years lends to generating innovative ideas, multifaceted problem solving, business structures, and strategies to improve and grow organizations and deliver return on investment to shareholders, the Board of Directors, the management and stakeholder teams, and the client he serves.

Mr. Christoforou holds a Master in Business Administration in finance and entrepreneurship, a Bachelor of commerce in finance and economics, and an Advanced Diploma in credit and risk management.

Finance and Investment Specialist

Melanie Lorraine de Nysschen, BA, LLB, MBA (in progress)

With a career spanning over 20 years, Melanie is a financial services industry professional with a legal background and extensive experience in the investment banking industry, specifically corporate finance and capital markets. Her roles have included advising and executing on local and cross-border transactions in the listed and unlisted space, namely mergers, acquisitions, and disposals; takeovers; listings, delistings (take-privates) and relistings; public and private capital raisings (primary and secondary, placements and accelerated bookbuilds), block trades and selldowns. 

She is currently focused on the venture capital and private equity industries with a strong emphasis on sustainable growth of emerging fund managers, investing for financial return in conjunction with the benefits to women, and support of an economy where both small and medium-sized enterprises can succeed.

agricultural economist

Nelson Chisenga, PG Diploma, MSc

Nelson is an agricultural economist currently working as a regional agribusiness consultant translating agricultural know-how into economic value through value addition, food security, food safety and improved nutrition in a wide range of frontier and emerging market countries. Over the last 26 years or so, he has been supporting smallholder farmers by identifying effective intermediaries and awarding grants to improve adherence to food quality standards, post-harvest handling and management, thereby integrating them into efficient supply chains.

Nelson has demonstrated project management leadership by showcasing best-in-class solutions on project cycle implementation & regional/global insights. He has also been directly involved in the development of agricultural trade policies across East and Southern Africa (ESA) through COMESA/ACTESA and SADC Secretariats, particularly as it relates to food trade, climate smart agriculture (CSA) harmonization of trade policies, effective integration of smallholder farmers and agro SMEs into regional and international markets. His assignments have involved working with both the private and public sector, capacity building of SMEs, smallholder farmers and cooperatives by proving them with technical assistance (TA) and grant s for the promotion of regional trade.

Education:

  • MSc in Agricultural Economics and Planning, University of Reading, UK
  • PGDip University of Reading, UK
  • Dip in Agricultural Engineering, University of Zambia/NRDC, Zambia


Countries/Regions of work experience: Angola, Botswana, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, SADC and COMESA.

Regional Portfolio Manager

Cosmas Mamhunze, Diploma, BA(Hons)

Cos is an international trade specialist with professional and practical experience spanning over 25 years in a mix of international trade, economic growth, enterprise development, and enabling environment areas. Most of his experience is with U.S and USAID-related projects in Southern Africa such as SelectFlorida (formerly Enterprise Florida), USAID TradeHub, USAID Global Trade Network (GTN), Southern Africa International Business Linkages (SAIBL).

Cos has significant experience supporting Southern Africa enterprises to export to the U.S., creating awareness about the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), developing national AGOA strategies, supporting market access, facilitating export linkages, and technology transfer.

In his most recent roles with USAID TradeHub and USAID Africa Trade & Investment (ATI), he played central role in leading trade show participation by regional firms at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York, resulting in over $200 million in reported exports.

Cos has sat on the Africa Big 7 (AB7) Advisory Board (AdBoard, the largest food and beverage expo in Southern Africa), Ahoyi Africa Board, and TrinityWealth investmento (TWi, a church-based investment outfit).

Cos holds a Diploma in International Trade Management (DITM), Honors in Business Studies, MBA and currently embarking on Leadership and Coaching degree.

 

Trade Advisor

George Makore, BTech, LLM-IBL, MSc PM & MBA

George Makore is a development professional with over 25 years’ experience working in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East African Community regions on multi-million, multiyear USAID funded economic growth programs aimed at enhancing regional integration and strengthening competitiveness focusing on market systems development (MSD), trade, investment, policy issues, standards, communication, and project management with over 15 years senior management experience.

His experience includes providing overall leadership and overseeing implementation of technical activities to increase global trade, particularly two-way trade between Africa and the United States. Over the years, Mr. Makore facilitated several Southern Africa firms to attend trade shows in the United States, organized buyer missions and created market linkages, which resulted in considerable deals for the participants.

Mr. Makore has successfully facilitated the development and implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Utilization Strategies for Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, and Zambia to support increased trade and investment, including value addition, improved sector-wide business practices and improved economies of scale. He has also successfully developed and managed the implementation of annual work plans for projects consisting of policy, trade and investment climate issues, gender integration and environment compliance, supervising teams of expatriates and local experts in achieving project results. In addition, he was instrumental in helping SADC Member States implement their commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreements, including helping seven countries to set up WTO TBT National Enquiry Points for standards and technical regulations under the Standards Alliance program in collaboration with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Mr Makore is currently the Chairperson of Pachedu Group (GP), a leading diversified investment and consulting firm that unlocks value in ideas, products, projects, and enterprises and deliver long-term capital growth.

He is a holder of an LLM in International Business Law from University of Cumbria, United Kingdom (UK), an MSc in Project in Management from University of Salford Manchester, Business School, UK, an MBA in Corporate Strategy from Nottingham Trent University, UK, and a Bachelor of Technology in Marketing degree from South Africa, among other qualifications.

Trade Advisor

Theodros “Teddy” Wossenyeleh, BA

Theodros “Teddy” Wossenyeleh Denekew has spent nearly two decades contributing to the growth of African exports, particularly in East Africa. He currently serves as a Trade Advisor at the USAID African Trade and Investment Activity (ATI), where he uses his experience to assist businesses and support economic development.

Teddy’s experience is diverse, having worked as an independent consultant, a corporate representative, and the Managing Partner at GloServ Plc. In this role, he played a part in promoting Ethiopian apparel and footwear exports to the United States, gaining valuable insights into international trade.

Throughout his career, Teddy has actively participated in both public and private sector initiatives. Since 2009, he has collaborated with development partners like USAID on various export promotion programs. International development organizations, World Bank-funded projects, regional sectoral associations, and corporate partners have also recognized his expertise.

Teddy’s dedication and proven track record make him a valuable contributor to strengthening trade ties between Africa and the global market. He is committed to supporting and empowering African businesses, fostering sustainable economic growth across the continent.

Trade Research Specialist

Christopher Knoetze, BA, Bachelor of Social Science (Honours), Master of Social Science

An experienced researcher and analyst of the economic, political, and operational contexts behind
trade and investment concerns, Christopher specialises in matters of international relations and
trade – specifically as it affects Africa. Over the last five years, he has been committed to improving
his understanding and knowledge of the investment side of trade and development, along with the
consequences for Africa’s efforts at industrialisation and development.

Christopher has done work for several international organisations and governments as a consultant
and analyst dealing with programs ranging from the Belt and Road Initiative to Africa’s burgeoning
AfCFTA.

specialised Transaction Adviser

Emile de Kock, BCom (Honours)

Emile is a specialised Transaction Adviser with 25 years’ experience facilitating land-based economic development, and pro-poor economic growth. As team leader for a range of high-profile South African programs, Emile has managed regional stabilisation interventions in the agricultural sector, district land reform dispute resolution in economically sensitive areas, and investment-led social-impact initiatives in the so-called Presidential Poverty Nodes.

Working as a planner to coordinate land acquisitions for marginalised communities in post-apartheid South Africa, Emile went on to manage the country’s first provincial management and mentorship program. Nearly a decade later, Emile was appointed to manage the South African Business Trust’s Community Investment Program – a project that would leverage over R1,5bn in private investment, stimulate market linkages for more than 250 small-holder farmers, and generate over 7,000 jobs in the agricultural sector. In the following years, Emile participated in Southern African research and planning programs for esteemed organisations like GIZ and Genesis Analytics, while holding a senior management position with a non-profit foundation.

 

Having completed his BCom degree with majors in Farm Management and Managerial Finance, Emile obtained a BCom Honours degree with a specialisation in Economics. His academic qualifications are supplemented by undergraduate papers in Social Welfare, and by postgraduate papers in Politics.

Senior Legal Counsel

Thamsanqa “Thami” Malusi BSoc Sci, LL. B, LL. M

Thami Malusi is an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa, Law Society of the Northern Provinces with ten years’ experience. His practice areas included mining, commercial litigation, and land reform and in this, he excelled – demonstrating a knack for assisting communities to corporatise their assets, negotiating commercial contracts and establishing governance systems. Thami’s professional and educational experience has spanned between South Africa and the United States. 

Thami holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree (majoring in Political Sciences and Law) and an LL.B degree, both from the University of Cape Town. He also holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Prior to enrolling at UCLA, he worked as an Attorney in a public interest law firm in Johannesburg, where he focused his practice on land reform, mining, occupational health and safety, consumer protection, constitutional and administrative law. Thami has extensive experience assisting mining communities and land restitution beneficiaries with settlement agreements, negotiations, commercial structures, and proceeds management with an eye to transparency and accountability. His legal career includes work on several high-profile South African cases, ranging from a class action lawsuit for victims of the listeria outbreak to litigation against South Africa’s gold mining industry, which culminated in the largest settlement in South Africa’s legal history.

Thami also worked as an Associate Attorney with Marler Clark LLP in Washington, practicing in class litigation before returning to South Africa in 2023 to take up year-long stint as a Law Clerk at the Constitutional Court of South Africa. 

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

Teboho Sejake B Th, MA Anthropology

Teboho Sejake is a Social Scientist who spent most of his career working with communities. In the stakeholder engagement, he interacted with the lowest in communities and the highest in industry and at different government levels. He assisted clients with mediating in volatile community situations. He worked with non-governmental organisations, government departments in all spheres, and Corporate Entities, particularly mining houses.  His main experiences are with South Africa.

Teboho Sejake holds a Bachelor of Theology (Hon.) from the University of Natal. He went on to do his Masters of Arts in Anthropology at the Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.  He also did M Comm in Business Management courses not for degree purposes at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

He started his career doing Socio-Economic Impact Assessments for large projects and Social Facilitation assignments. He also worked on the early pioneering Land Reform work in South Africa.  Early in his career, he learned an important skill of working within multi-disciplinary teams.

   

He managed multi-disciplinary Social Development Planning projects, to facilitate community development in divided communities. Within the mining industry, Teboho Sejake spent a considerable amount of time working on the Resettlement of Communities using the Performance Standard 5 tool of the World Bank. 

With dozens of social facilitation projects under his belt, Teboho Sejake’s responsibilities have typically included stakeholder management, community negotiation, community mediation, and participative community planning in both the rural and urban environments.

Project Manager

Orient Muloongo, Bsc Agric, BA (Honours), MBA

With over 15 years of professional experience in enterprise development, value chain analysis, research, and Science, Technology & Innovation, Ms. Orient Muloongo has contributed significantly to pro-poor developmental initiatives across Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Caribbean. Her career trajectory includes key roles at World Vision, the International Labour Organization, the World Food Programme, and the United Nations Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries. She has demonstrated expertise in strategic guidance, technical oversight, and mentorship, having led large teams and managed extensive programs focused on resilience, social cohesion, and sustainable development.

In the realm of market systems development, Ms. Muloongo has facilitated critical linkages between technology providers and users in sectors such as health, energy, and agriculture. She has spearheaded partnerships with private sector entities and international organizations to promote agricultural development, employment creation, and inclusive business models. Her efforts have resulted in the establishment of agribusiness development centers, enhanced access to agricultural credit, and strengthened market linkages for micro, small, and medium enterprises, contributing to rural economic development.

In addition to her programmatic expertise, Ms. Muloongo has a proven track record in resource mobilization, policy advocacy, and stakeholder engagement. She has successfully secured substantial funding, managed multi-million-dollar budgets, and influenced policy reforms at national and international levels. Ms. Muloongo’s ability to coordinate and foster partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders, including government bodies, private sector players, and development agencies, underscores her commitment to driving collaborative efforts for sustainable development.

Kgalalelo Lediga Communications Intern
Communications INtern

Kgalalelo Lediga, BA Journalism

Kgalalelo joins us as a  Communications Intern with a broad experience in digital advertising. With her on board, we can look forward to enhanced daily operations and clearer communication across all our projects. Kgalalelo will also spearhead the growth and engagement of our social media platforms, so keep an eye out for fresh, exciting content and be sure to engage!

Kgalalelo brings with her a wealth of experience as a Loerie-nominated copywriter and holds a BA in Journalism from Eduvos. Her time at Eduvos instilled a strong work ethic and a passion for continuous learning. Specializing in digital marketing, she excels at creating impactful digital strategies, managing social media, optimising websites for search engines, and crafting compelling copy. Kgalalelo thrives on diving into data and developing strategies that help brands position themselves effectively in the market. 

Outside of her professional life, Kgalalelo enjoys spending quality time with her family, immersing herself in a good book, and experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen. She’s also a fan of a good TV series, and her favourite colour is midnight blue.

BUSINESS ANALYST

Chris Muller, BA, MSC

Christopher Muller brings close to 20 years’ combined experience in a career that covers the tourism, higher education, and international development sectors. Across these sectors, he worked as translator, communications specialist, publications designer, project manager, networks manager, analyst, and program advisor. All his roles aimed to support teams to successfully implement multi-country, multilingual, and multimillion dollar projects.

His most recent experience in international development includes supporting climate smart agriculture programming in East and Southern Africa, trade and export programmes in Southern Africa, pan-African scholarship exchanges between multiple regions in Africa, and disaster risk reduction programming across African universities. His client experience includes USAID, UK-AID, GiZ, EU, and Hanban.

Christopher has a background in international relations, with a focus on political science and French. He is currently completing his MSc degree in Data Science.

Ndarama Works has a roster of associates in all the suite of service areas it offers deployed on a project basis.