About BESR

Bureau of Economic and Social Research (Private) Limited — an active and hands-on Policy Research and Capacity Building institution in Zimbabwe.

Our Vision

BESR aspires to become a leading, credible and respectable centre of excellence on critical and strategic matters relating to policy research and capacity building for the economic development of African economies.

Our Mission

To enable and support economic development, strengthen the capacity of African governments to deliver public services and ensure development at the local level as a vehicle for improving the quality of life of local communities in Africa.

Our Objectives

  • Provide a platform for analysing, debating and promoting economic policies that lead to positive development outcomes as well as effective and efficient provision of public services by African Governments.
  • Build capacities of African Governments, the private sector and civil society.
  • Act as a catalyst for improving communication and generating consensus among African institutions, civil society and international development partners.
  • Complement and support regional development and trade initiatives relevant to the enhancement of the development of African economies.
  • Manage and disseminate good economic development practices and initiatives.

About BESR

BESR's mandate is to promote alternative development strategies to dealing with problems and issues that affect African governments by placing emphasis on capacity building and having activities identified and conducted by African experts and institutions in collaboration with developmental partners.

BESR works with governments, private sector, non-governmental organisations, the civil society and communities in various areas including policy issues, trade, corporate governance, local economic development, small enterprise development, agriculture, environmental issues and poverty alleviation.

Our activities include training, research, knowledge management and advocacy, consultancy and advisory services. Our research programs are either demand driven or proactive-supply driven.

BESR is also a full-service research agency with capabilities of carrying out market surveys. Our policy research and capacity building programmes and projects are designed to fill the fundamental void in economic policy research, policy analysis and capacity building for effective in-country contributions to Africa's policy and development processes.

Dr Emmanuel Tendai Nyahangare

Dr Emmanuel T. Nyahangare

BESR Director

Sustainable Livestock Systems, Agriculture, Value Chains

Email: nyahangaree@gmail.com

Phone: +263 773 528 824

Based: Harare, Zimbabwe

Director's Profile

Dr Emmanuel Nyahangare is a senior lecturer and researcher at the University of Zimbabwe with over 10 years research experience in sustainable livestock systems focusing on heritage based livestock interventions and livestock value chains development.

Most of the research which formed the basis for his Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degree programs were on the utilisation of indigenous plants in the control of ticks and other ecto-parasites in EU and SADC funded projects. Between 2006-2009 he was involved in the regional EU funded Southern African Pesticidal Plant project (SAPP) focusing on the livestock component.

He was instrumental as a research fellow in the follow-up projects OPTIONs (Optimisation of Pesticidal-plants: Technology Innovation, Outreach & Networks) and ADAPPT-Zimbabwe (African Alliance for Dryland Pesticidal Plant Technologies), both funded by the EU.

Dr Nyahangare has also received research funds as the Principal Investigator from the International Foundation of Sciences (IFS) (2012-2014) and University of Zimbabwe Research Board (2011-2012). Together with others they successfully bid and hosted the 2nd International Conference on Pesticidal Plants in Victoria Falls.

Currently he is the leader of the University of Zimbabwe Animal Science team involved in the government program Adoption and Scaling of Improved Livestock Production Systems in Zimbabwe (ASLIPS-Zim) focusing on improving livestock productivity in 10 provinces of Zimbabwe, and research fellow with Welthungerhilfe MELANA Project on scaling up communal farmer resilience using heritage based animal health care products in Matabeleland.

To date, he has published ten (10) peer reviewed journal articles including a book chapter in Elsevier and successfully supervised numerous BSc students and 5 MSc students in Animal Science, featured on radio and online magazines talking about livestock issues and made several international presentations in Africa.

BESR Associates & Experts

A multidisciplinary team of researchers, economists, and specialists across Africa.

Dr Takawira Mumvuma

Dr Takawira Mumvuma

BESR Associate

Development Economics, Industrial Economics, Policy Reforms, SMEs Development

Senior lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe teaching Development Economics, Social Economics and Microeconomics. Extensive consulting and research experience locally and regionally, including work with the World Bank, GDN, UN Habitat, UNDP, and ZNCC. Key contributor to participatory budgeting training manuals used worldwide. Has authored many book chapters on municipal service delivery, local economic development, and economic policy reforms.

Dr Nyasha Kaseke

Dr Nyasha Kaseke

BESR Associate

SMEs & Business Advisory, National Competitiveness, Business Linkages

Economist, Author and Expert in Competitiveness with over ten years of experience in research, workshop facilitation, lecturing and consultancy. Director of Graduate School of Management at the University of Zimbabwe. Part of the team developing Zimbabwe's first National Competitiveness Report. His PhD thesis recommendations have been adopted by the Ministry of Energy and Power Development.

Prof. Albert Makochekanwa

Prof. Albert Makochekanwa

BESR Associate

International Economics & Trade, Applied Econometrics, Climate Change, Monetary Economics

Economist with close to 10 years of experience across Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana and Ethiopia. PhD in Economics from the University of Pretoria. Consultant to the World Bank Institute, UNCTAD, AusAID, Center for Global Development, UNICEF, AERC, and many others. Published extensively on economic issues in Southern Africa.

Prof. Macleans Mzumara

Prof. Macleans Mzumara

BESR Associate

International Trade, Macroeconomics, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Regional Integration

Held positions across Africa and North America including NAFTA Secretariat, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and Massachusetts Port Authority. Member of Technical Working Group in Regional Integration under the World Bank, IMF, African Development Bank and EU. Prolific author of four books used as textbooks internationally.

Dr Nelson Chanza

Dr Nelson Chanza

BESR Associate

Climate Change Adaptation, Environmental Management, Disaster Management

Member of the Environmental Management Board of Directors at EMA. Senior Lecturer at Bindura University. Co-author of Zimbabwe's National Climate Policy. Authored 11 peer-reviewed articles, 3 book chapters and 2 books. Active trainer in disaster management and policy development. Has graduated at least 25 MSc students.

Dr Roseline Karambakuwa

Dr Roseline Karambakuwa

BESR Associate

SME Development, International Trade & Development, Project Management

Economist with over ten years of experience in research, lecturing, workshop facilitation, and consultancy. Lecturer at Bindura University teaching International Trade and Finance. Completed consultancy assignments for SOS Zimbabwe and SNV Netherlands. Training from MDF Training and Consultancy, Netherlands.

Dr Mabel Munyuki-Hungwe

Dr Mabel Munyuki-Hungwe

BESR Associate

Rural Development, Agricultural Economics, Management, Governance

Rural Development Specialist and Policy Analyst with a PhD from Lund University, Sweden. Programs Director at Barefoot Education for Afrika Trust (BEAT). Regional consulting experience with NEPAD, CAADP, FAO, USAID, EU, SADC-FANRPAN, OXFAM, SACAU across multiple African countries. Extensive work in value chain development, governance, and community development.

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Dr Godfrey Chagwiza

BESR Associate

Operations Research & Statistics, Data Analysis, M&E

PhD in Operations Research & Statistics with 9 years university teaching experience across multiple Zimbabwean universities. Commissioned research for Ministry of SMEs, World Bank Enterprise Survey, ZERA, and Millennium Challenge Account. Expert in quantitative and qualitative data analysis using multiple software platforms.

Joseph Tinarwo

Joseph Tinarwo

BESR Associate

Social Science Research, Monitoring & Evaluation, Knowledge Management

Experienced Social Scientist and M&E specialist with more than 8 years in M&E systems strengthening, research and knowledge management. Work includes assignments with UNICEF, WWF, USAID, FAO, and ZIMVAC. Strong field experience in qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Currently pursuing PhD in Public Management at University of Johannesburg.

SM

Sibusisekile Moyo

BESR Associate

Policy Formulation & Analysis, Socio-Economic Research, Fiscal Policy, Capacity Building

Economist with over seven years of experience. Formerly Senior Economist at SAPST working with Parliaments in Zimbabwe and SADC region on fiscal policy analysis, gender budgeting, and pro-poor budgeting. Previously Chief Economist at Ministry of Macroeconomic Planning. MSc and BSc Honours in Economics from University of Zimbabwe.

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Thabani Moyo

BESR Associate

Results Measurement (M&E), Agriculture, Private Sector Development

Over 11 years as an M&E practitioner and expert in integrated agriculture, private sector development and business enabling environment programs. Experience with USAID program cycle, DCED standard for Results Measurement, and Complexity Aware Monitoring approaches. BSc Honours in Agriculture from University of Zimbabwe.

Tonderai Kapesa

Tonderai Kapesa

BESR Associate

Developmental Finance, Innovative Finance, Tax & Social Impact Investments

Researcher, academic and consultant with experience in accounting consultancy and capacity development of micro and small enterprises. Chairperson of the Department of Accounting and Finance at Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University. Four articles in international peer-reviewed journals. Background in banking, treasury and finance.

Farirepi Mugozhi

Farirepi Mugozhi

BESR Associate

Corporate Governance, Financial Transparency & Compliance

Academic with over five years tertiary education experience. Coordinator in the Faculty of Commerce at Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University. Research interests in Corporate Governance, Financial Transparency and Compliance. 5 articles in peer-reviewed journals. MComm Accounting (MSU) and BAcc (UZ).

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Boikhutso Kgwadi

BESR Associate

Data Analysis, M&E, ICT for Development

Over eleven years experience in data analysis and M&E with Catholic Relief Services, World Food Programme and World Vision. Expert in ICT4D technologies including mobile data collection, PDAs, and GIS mapping. Developed proposals for USAID C-SAFE, PRIZE and DFAP interventions.

Our Values

African-Led Solutions

Activities identified and conducted by African experts and institutions in collaboration with developmental partners.

Evidence-Based Policy

Research designed to fill the fundamental void in economic policy research, analysis and capacity building for Africa.

Capacity Building

Strengthening the capacity of African governments to deliver public services and ensure development at the local level.

Partnership

Collaborative approaches with governments, private sector, civil society and international development partners.

Excellence

Aspiring to be a leading, credible and respectable centre of excellence on policy research and capacity building.

Community Impact

Improving the quality of life of local communities in Africa through evidence-based interventions.

Work with BESR

Let's discuss how our team of experts can support your research and development goals.

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