The government has described youth-led entrepreneurship and innovation as a critical driver of Malawi’s economic transformation, saying young people are producing export-ready goods capable of generating much-needed foreign exchange.
Speaking during the Youth Enterprise and Livelihoods Forum in Lilongwe, Principal Secretary for Industrialisation in the Ministry of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism, Bright Molande hailed the creativity and innovation being demonstrated by young entrepreneurs across the country.
“We have witnessed products that are even possible for export. What it means is that there are some youth in this country that are so creative and innovative to the point that they are making products that can be exported out of Malawi for us to generate the much-needed forex,” said Molande.
He emphasised that the private sector remains central to foreign exchange generation, urging greater support for youth-led enterprises with export potential.
“First of all, we must remember that it is not government that creates or generates forex. Forex is largely created by or generated by the private sector when they are being productive and exporting,” added Molande.
The forum, organised by The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT through the Business Acceleration for Youth Project, brought together policymakers, entrepreneurs and development partners to discuss opportunities and challenges facing youth enterprises in Malawi.
Chief of Party for the Business Acceleration for Youth Project, David Slane said the initiative has made progress since its launch in 2022.
“So far, we have worked with young entrepreneurs in over 16 districts in Malawi. We have supported 500 start-ups with training and also provided grants worth 4.2 million approximately K8.7 billion to 200 start-ups,” he said.
Slane further called for reforms aimed at making business support programmes more inclusive, noting many entrepreneurs are excluded because of rigid requirements.
“There are lots of good business people in Malawi who have excellent ideas but are being excluded from opportunities presented by projects because of rigorous barriers,” said Slane.
Managing Director for Africa at The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Wanjiru Kamau Rutenberg, said youth entrepreneurship is essential if Africa is to turn its growing youthful population into an economic advantage.
“The size of our youth population can either catapult Africa into prosperity or really be what holds us back. The difference between that is whether we are able to leverage the energy and the talent and the innovation of our young people,” she said.
Rutenberg also called on financial institutions to develop innovative lending tools tailored to the realities faced by young entrepreneurs in Malawi.
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mami Foods, Akari Trigu, said the business has created opportunities for women, youth and smallholder farmers through agro-processing.
“We are able to work with over 21 different fruits within Malawi and our farmer network is about 500, and these are all smallholder farmers, the majority women and youth,” said Trigu.
The forum discussed the growing role of youth enterprises in job creation, value addition and export development, while also exposing persistent challenges such as high interest rates, limited access to finance and barriers to business formalisation.
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