As one way of creating opportunities for fresh graduates, NICO Holdings Group has signed an agreement with the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) that will see the group provide business loans to fresh graduates with viable business ideas.
The agreement, signed Wednesday in Lilongwe, has been touted as crucial in assisting young graduates seeking to escape the shackles of unemployment.
The K519 million agreement will be split between NICO Holdings’ sister company NBS Bank which will be providing 10 percent of the loans while the rest will be provided by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
NBS Bank Chief Wholesale Banking Officer Alfred Nhlema has told ProjectM in an interview that the loan facility will help in providing fresh graduates with an opportunity to venture into entrepreneurship.
“We believe this agreement will in the long run provide the much-needed capital to help graduates turn their business ideas into successful ventures,” he said.
Nhlema said through the partnership, new graduates will be turned into productive citizens.
“So, what we are doing here will not only benefit the individual graduates but also contribute to the development of the country,” he said.
On his part, Coordinator for the Africa Centre of Excellence in Transformative Agriculture Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship at LUANAR, Felix Maulidi said through the initiative, more graduates will start applying what they were taught at the University on the ground.
“For us, what we are seeing here is a solution to unemployment which is plaguing the country a lot,” said Maulidi.
He has since called on other stakeholders to emulate what NICO Holdings Group has done for the nation to develop.
Caroline Linje, who graduated in 2024 from LUANAR, has welcomed the initiative, saying she will use the opportunity to boost her business.
