Bertha Bangara Chikadza, PhD. is a macroeconomist with over 17 years of Post Baccalaureate experience. She has a PhD in Economics from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, a MSc in International and Development Economics from the Australian National University in Australia and a Bachelor of Social Science Degree from the University of Malawi. Bertha’s research span areas of Public Revenue, Taxation and Public Finance Management, Commodity Pricing and Foreign Exchange Linkages, Current Account and Trade Balance. Bertha also has vast experience in budget analysis and Gender Responsive Budget Analysis. Bertha is currently a Senior Lecturer in Macroeconomics at the University of Malawi and the Acting President of the Economics Association of Malawi (ECAMA).
Hellings is the current Vice President of the Economics Association of Malawi (ECAMA). He is a seasoned economist and policy strategist with over 20 years of experience shaping policies and strategic initiatives in government and public-sector organizations. His career spans macroeconomic research, econometric modeling, forecasting, and policy analysis, with a focus on translating data-driven insights into actionable strategies for national and institutional challenges. He holds a master’s degree in economics and econometrics from the University of Southampton.
James is an Economist with vast experience in the public sector. He is currently working for the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) in Policy Planning and Research Department. His work involves policy formulation as well as monitoring policy implementation. Prior, he worked with Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development in Economic Affairs Department and Revenue Policy Department as an Economist tasked for the policy development. He also worked with University of Malawi, The Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) as Economics Lecturer and published several papers in international journals. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Yokohama National University.
Hamilton Kamwana, PhD is a Director of Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change. He has extensive experience in macroeconomic analysis, evidence-based planning, project formulations, and impact evaluations. He is a Treasurer General of the Economic Association of Malawi (ECAMA). Hamilton holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics and Natural Resources from the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR).
Hope Ephron Mfuni is a Senior Economist in the Economic Policy and Research Department at the Reserve Bank of Malawi. His work involves research and policy analysis on the economy of Malawi and beyond. His research interests are monetary and development economics, international finance and trade, gender and climate change. Mr. Mfuni possesses a Master of Arts in Economics (University of Malawi) and a Bachelor of Arts (Social Science) (University of Botswana).
Florence is an Economist with over 12 years’ experience of working within the banking sector. Over her 12 years of, she has developed expertise in treasury and capital management including asset and liability management and offering expert economic opinion. She holds a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Malawi, Chancellor College.
Mervis is an Economist working for the Reserve Bank of Malawi in the Economic Policy and Research department since 2016. Prior, she worked for the Economics Association of Malawi (ECAMA). Her interests include research and policy analysis with a bias in Macroeconomics, specifically, Monetary Economics, Public policy, national accounts, and gender mainstreaming. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in economics at the University of Malawi.
Emmanuel T. Muleso is a Principal Analyst at the Reserve Bank of Malawi with 13 years of experience in exchange control, investment and trade promotion, export and strategic sector development financing, and financial modelling. He holds master’s and bachelor’s degree in Economics from UNIMA and master’s degree in financial management from Exploits University. His research work is in financial crises in SADC; and structural transformation of economies.
Dr. Kanyumbu has 15 years of experience in financial economics, policy analysis, and institutional leadership. At the Reserve Bank of Malawi, she was pivotal in advancing financial markets analysis and development, liquidity forecasting, and designing policies to enhance financial inclusion and stability. She led technical analyses for the Monetary Policy Technical Committee (MPTC) on interbank markets, foreign exchange dynamics, and monetary policy frameworks. Her research contributions include financial product development, legislative reforms, and market diversification. Additionally, she developed capacity-building programs to support financial sector stakeholders. She holds a PhD in Financial Economics from Loughborough University, as well as a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree from the University of Malawi. As a prolific researcher and thought leader, Dr. Kanyumbu is affiliated with the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) and the Southern Africa Institute for Economic Research (SAIER). In 2018, she served as a Visiting Scholar at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She has collaborated with institutions such as Frontclear (Netherlands), SOAS University of London, and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), with expertise spanning interbank markets, green finance, gender-responsive financing, and monetary policy.
Lucious leads and facilitates economic research, networking, budgeting, and membership management. His expertise is grounded in a Bachelor of Social Science in Economics from the University of Malawi and a Financial Modelling and Valuation Certification from the Corporate Finance Institute (CFI). Currently, he is pursuing the Collaborative Masters in Agricultural and Applied Economics (CMAAE) program at LUANAR and the University of Pretoria. In his role at ECAMA, he compiled macroeconomic data, drafted research concept notes, wrote grant proposals, and administered the membership system while coordinating research teams and organizing events for a Public Finance Management project. Proficient in financial analysis and skilled in utilizing tools such as Stata, EViews, R, and SQL, he brings a unique blend of technical expertise and strong communication and leadership skills to the table.
Tadala Primrose Chikafutwa is an economist responsible for resource mobilization at the Economics Association of Malawi (ECAMA). Among other things she is responsible for promoting strategic partnerships, securing funding, and strengthening ECAMA’s position as a leading research policy think tank. She leads engagements with key stakeholders, including development partners, financial institutions, and research organizations, to advance evidence-based economic policy recommendations in Malawi. Before joining ECAMA in 2025, Tadala worked as an Associate Researcher at Makoka and Associates, where she was involved in development research, data analysis and visualization as well authoring of reports and policy briefs. She previously interned at Makoka and Associates and while in college, she served as Secretary of the Bunda Economics Association (BEA). Tadala Primrose holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Development Economics from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) Bunda College. Her expertise lies in development research, data analysis, and visualization, writing and resource mobilization through strategic partnerships.
Tandulechi is the Finance and Administration Officer at ECAMA Secretariat. Currently, she is working as a Finance Officer for the “Enhanced Evidence-based Research to Inform Policy Decision Making in Public Finance Management (PFM) project, which is being implemented by a consortium of ECAMA, Oxfam in Malawi, the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) with support from the Delegation of the European Union to Malawi. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Cyprus Institute of Marketing (BVI) – MIM.
Tadala Yvette Mauluka is the Economist responsible for policy and research at the Economics Association of Malawi (ECAMA) Secretariat. She is primarily responsible for collecting and analyzing financial, political, and socioeconomic data, drafting economic reports, providing economic advice to stakeholders, and initiating and conducting research on topical issues, among other tasks. In addition to her role as the lead Economist for Policy and Research, she is the Project Officer for the Transparency in Debt Accrued by State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) project which aims to increase public oversight of SOE debt in order to promote efficient management of SOE finances and reduce irresponsible accrual of SOE debt. She is responsible for overall coordination of the planned project activities and supports the management of human resources on the project. Tadala Yvette holds a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) degree from the University of Namibia.
Tamanda Pinifolo serves as an Accounts and Administration Intern (AAI) at ECAMA, where she assists in managing daily operations for the Accounts and Administration Department. Her responsibilities include supporting financial processes, administrative coordination, and ensuring completion of other tasks within her department. Before joining ECAMA, Tamanda worked as an Accounts Intern at Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture where she gained hands-on experience in accounting procedures, payment processing, and systematic document organization. Tamanda holds a Bachelor’s degree in applied Accounting, Auditing, and Information Systems from the Malawi College of Accountancy (MCA).
Joshua Thomson Chirambo is an Information Technology Technician Intern at Economics Association of Malawi (ECAMA) Secretariat. He is responsible for maintaining and updating the website, providing support to the staff on data backups and cybersecurity, advising on IT requirements for the institution as well as providing network, software and hardware support. Before joining ECAMA in 2025, Joshua worked at Lighthouse Trust as an Information Technology Intern. Joshua has also worked as a Data collector in the Digitally Enabled Resilience and Nutrition Policy Innovations (DERPIn) project which was being coordinated by Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) and Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM), a crucial project aimed at transforming Malawi’s agricultural sector using digital technologies. Joshua holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Systems and Security from Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST).
Andrew is the former Postmaster General and former Director of the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority. He has 18 years of working experience as a Chief Executive Officer in a number of organizations. He also worked in the banking sector as well as the civil service as an Economist. He holds a Masters of Economic Studies and a Masters in Telecommunication Management.
