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Michael Makanda

@michaelmakanda

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Enterprise Architect at Econet AI, where I built production RAG and agentic AI systems and directed 12+ AI initiatives.

Zimbabwe

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At Econet AI, I run architecture governance for the AI portfolio and established a Technical Debt Registry within the Architecture Review Board process. ROI-based refactoring cut long-term maintenance costs by 15%, and early design validation reduced architectural rework by 25% across 12+ enterprise AI initiatives.

At Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, I designed the commercial-technical framework for a national API marketplace and architected AI-driven workflows that automated 40% of manual enterprise processes. Earlier, as a Solutions Architect, I refactored 20 core applications into microservices and led a cloud migration strategy that saved $800,000 a year.

I also built LexiZW, an AI legal research platform over Zimbabwean legal documents, and Mudhumeni, a production-deployed multilingual agricultural assistant. My work spans enterprise architecture, integrations and cloud, with certifications including TOGAF 9.2, ArchiMate 3.1 and Microsoft Certified Azure AI Engineer.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Enterprise Architect

Current

Econet AI

May 2024 - Present (2 years 6 months)

Lead architecture governance for the AI portfolio, including establishing a Technical Debt Registry and running architecture reviews. Mentor junior architects and direct enterprise AI initiatives from inception to production.

Architecture Governance Architecture Review Boards Technical Debt Registry FinOps Cloud Cost Management AI RAG Agentic AI Microsoft Fabric Power BI ArchiMate BPMN Mentorship

Enterprise Architect

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe

Jan 2022 - May 2024 (2 years 4 months)

Led the digital transformation roadmap, converting AI mandates into actionable architectures. Designed the commercial-technical framework for a national API marketplace and architected AI-driven workflows that automated 40% of manual processes.

Digital Transformation Architecture ArchiMate BPMN AI API Marketplaces Process Automation Executive Communication

Solutions Architect

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe

Feb 2018 - Jan 2022 (3 years 11 months)

Led internal RFP procedures and standardized technical evaluation criteria for vendor selection. Ran TCO analyses, led cloud migration strategy, refactored 20 core applications into microservices, and engineered a 1PB corporate data lake.

RFP Vendor Selection TCO analysis Cloud Migration Microservices Data Lake Power Platform Cost Optimization

Technical Operations Engineer

Ecocash Holdings

Jan 2016 - Feb 2018 (2 years 1 month)

Integrated 8 local banks with Ecocash services using ISO 8583, onboarded international remittance partners, and led biller and merchant integrations. Led a critical database migration for a 16-million-user platform while maintaining 99.99% uptime.

ISO 8583 Bank Integration Remittances Payment Systems Database Migration Geo Redundancy UAT End To End Testing

Data Support Technician

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe

Jun 2010 - Jan 2016 (5 years 7 months)

Managed monthly data activations for 10,000+ subscribers at a 95% satisfaction rate. Built a customer self-service platform that deflected 60% of routine traffic.

Data Activation Customer Support Self Service