One of the business moguls in the country, who is also the Chief Executive Officer for Mkaka Construction company, Newton Kambala, says entrepreneurs and aspiring business people need to explore international markets as one way of growing their ventures.
Kambala said this yesterday at a business conference which took place at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar)- NRC campus in Lilongwe.
According to Kambala exploring international markets should be the starting point for a change in mindset.
“A lot of people think the available market is just Malawi, which has a population of 20 Million people, but yet we know there is an integration in the region where people can do business freely in Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, you can also do business with China, India and European countries.
“So we need to have a mindset change with Malawian business people, where they need to understand that the market is bigger than Malawi,” he explained.
Kambala also encouraged the students to venture into business after graduating, even with a small capital and not feeling too proud because they have papers.
“We would love to turn this economy around and it’s necessary that we are not too poor. Even with a degree, we should be able to start small. It’s wrong to think you can only start a business because you have a lot of money. It doesn’t happen that way. You can still start a business and start small. If you think too big before you are big you are making a mistake,” he explained.
Speaking on behalf of Luanar-NRC students, Aubrey Dolol, who is also the vice president of the NRC student union council, said they have learnt a lot from Newton Kambala, and they would utilise the knowledge shared so that they can succeed in business.
“We have indeed learnt a lot from the business mogul and what made us organise this business conference is the high rate of unemployment that most graduates face. We noted that there is a huge gap so we thought that if they can have a mindset of starting something like business, they should first learn from other people who are doing well in business,” he explained.
The conference, themed “Transform and Thrive: The Future of Business,” was organised by LUANAR students with support from Mkaka Construction.
