Dzuka Africa Organization in partnership with Zantchito Entrepreneurship and Access to Finance has launched the Zantchito program in Balaka with a call for young entrepreneurs and graduates to be innovative and not rely on job hunting but rather embrace a job creation spirit.
The program which is being financially supported and co-ordinated by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) aims at creating a vibrant ecosystem for emerging entrepreneurs to become job creators.
European Union team leader responsible for economy, trade and public sector, Bartek Studniarski, said there is potential in young entrepreneurs to turn around the economic fortunes of the country if given the necessary support.
“Young people make a greater proportion of the country’s population. It is therefore important that developing their skills will enable them to be job creators and not job seekers,” said Studniarski.
The program has unveiled a golden opportunity for aspiring young entrepreneurs with innovative ideas in sectors such as environmental conservation, construction, agriculture, information technology and many others will be taken through the business incubation support program, with a primary focus on growing their businesses through skills enhancement and access to finance.
Speaking in an interview with Malawi24, Dzuka Africa Organization founding director, Dineo Mkwezalamba expressed her excitement with the program saying that it will provide a golden opportunity for the growth and sustainability of micro and small medium enterprises (SME’s) hence contributing to the social-economic development of the country.
”As a country, we have dreams that we all building on. For instance, we are talking of becoming a producing, industrialized and commercialized nation. However, we cannot commercialize if we don’t know how mass production looks like,” said Mkwezalamba.
She added that it is important for a multi-sectoral approach through strengthening and enhancing partnerships.
Adding her voice, technical entrepreneur and vocational training authority (TEVETA) regional manager for the south, Conceptor Bamusi described the program as a milestone saying it will bridge the gaps which have always existed among the young entrepreneurs.
“These incubants are going to be a great changer in the country. In the meantime, we have been training students and lucky enough, some graduates have been doing well in their businesses but others have failed to grow their businesses. This program will provide them with hands-on experience to implement their ideas in their respective businesses,” Bamusi said.
The program is targeting young entrepreneurs and graduates within the age range of 18 to 35 years old.
Successful applicants will go into an intensive incubation program for 6 months.
