Youth programmes, which promote skills development, mentorship and access to grants and soft loans can boost Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which are key to promoting economic growth as well as alleviating poverty.
Business Acceleration for Youth project, funded by USAID is one of the programmes transforming lives of the youth in the country such as that of a 26-year-old Trust Majamanda from Thyolo District.
With the grant, skills and knowledge acquired through the Business Acceleration for Youth Incubation, Trust ventured into entrepreneurship under the brand of Majamanda Enterprises which manufactures fortified porridge called Trust Porridge.
She received a grant amounting to K4,250,000 (about $2,500) which supported her to set up a small manufacturing company (Majamanda Enterprises) which has grinding and product branding (sealing) machines, and business certification.
Since then, she has been producing quality fortified porridge, which is serving a lot of people in her community and beyond.
Trust Porridge comes in different packages such as 1kg, 2kgs and 5kgs which are sold at K4,,000, K7,000 and K15,000 in that order.
Trust Porridge, which has aromatic ingredients like Vanilla flavour, is a unique brand which does not only support Trust to meet some of her financial needs, but also solves malnutrition challenges among people.
“As a young woman, I am thankful to the USAID-funded project for empowering me by sharpening my skills and supporting me with a grant to set up a small business, Trust Porridge. This has transformed my life in a number of ways such as gaining financial independence.
It is important for young women like me to gain financial independence because it prevents us from Gender Based Violence. Many young women in the country are vulnerable to violence due to idleness or poverty,” said a 26-year-old.
Her entrepreneurship journey started in 2022. She was inspired by her mother’s story to focus on Agro-processing related business.
“My mother’s health inspired me a lot to choose fortified porridge business because I witnessed her struggling financially to afford nutritional foods such as fortified porridge to maintain her health. Until today, I am happy that Trust Porridge serves many people, including children, nutritionally,” she said.
At first, she used a public maize sheller to grind raw materials such as yellow maize in order to make Trust Porridge. But she expressed gratitude to the grant she received from the Business Acceleration for Youth project which supported her to purchase a machine as well as getting certified from the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS).
“The grant transformed my business from zero to great heights, including building a small factory with grinding and branding machines which are used to produce high quality Trust Porridge,” said Trust who produces and supplies over 400 packets of Trust Porridge per month.
Attesting to the allure of Trust Porridge, Priscilla Jana a resident of Thyolo said the porridge is delicious.
“Trust Porridge is nutritious and has an appetizing aroma. My family fell in love with it from the day it was introduced to us. It’s lovely porridge so to speak,” said Jana.
Speaking during one of the learning events for the Business Acceleration for Youth project Director of Youth in the ministry of Youth and Sports Judith Msusa described youth entrepreneurship as one of the keys to unlocking the country’s economy.
On her part, USAID Mission Director, Pamela Fessenden highlighted domestic small and medium businesses as key drivers to economic growth.
She said: “Young people in Malawi have countless great ideas and innovations waiting for the opportunity to take off. To succeed, they need an enabling environment that equips them with the skills to manage their businesses, financing to help them grow and a transparent and fair playing field on which to compete.
That is why USAID is working with the Alliance of Biodiversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) to accelerate and invest in the incubation and growth of youth-led Start-ups and SMEs.”
Meanwhile, the Business Acceleration for Youth Project has equipped over 250 youth start-ups with mentorship, industry skills development and essential entrepreneurship management skills through the business incubation program in Thyolo, Chikwawa, Mangochi, Zomba City, and Zomba Urban.
