Kundai Charmaine Makonese

Kundai Charmaine Makonese is a researcher, programmer and CAPSI doctoral fellow, specializing in youth entrepreneurship, skills development, gender equity, and social and financial inclusion. She is in her second year of her PhD in development studies at the University of Witwatersrand. Her doctoral research, “Nurturing Gender-Inclusive Youth Entrepreneurship: The Role of Non-Profit Organisations in Zimbabwe and Uganda,” explores role of non-profit organisations (NPOs) social and financial education programmes promote dignified and meaningful livelihoods for young women in Zimbabwe and Uganda. The study further explores how contextual factors such as political, economic, and socio-cultural environments shape NPO programme design, implementation, and outcomes. Kundai is committed to advancing gender-inclusive and sustainable pathways for development across the continent.