UASAD Disburse Grants To Mzuni Graduates
People of the United States of America through the USAID project Strengthening Higher Education Access in Malawi Activity (SHEAMA) have capacitated graduates from various public universities with seed money that will help them to venture into entrepreneurship.
Through the project SHEAMA has given the university students short and full learning courses in different public universities in the country with K 2.1 million as seed money.
Presiding over the Dream Youth Entrepreneurship Initiative Grant Awards – 2023 presentation ceremony the Deputy Director of Higher Education in the ministry of Education DR Valentino Zimpita said they need inclusive Malawi that is why SHEAMA project has managed to capacitate these youths with seed money in line with the Malawi 2063 agenda.
“One of the components of this project was to capacitate the team builder youth entrepreneurship so today we have come to award the successful youths in entrepreneurship with capital which is a seed money, “said Zimpita.
He further said that for sustainability if the project which phases out in December this year (2023) there is already another project in pipeline which will help to evaluate and continue where SHEAMA has stopped.
One of the grant awardees, Mastano Msiska who is studying Bachelors of Arts in Agriculture Economics at Bunda College of Agriculture said it feels good to be part of the recipients having submitted a comprehensive proposal in a competition of 900 youths students from various public universities.
Commenting on the SHEAMA project, Mzuzu University deputy Vice Chancellor, Wapulumuka Muluafu and USAID director of Higher learning, Dr Valentino Zimpita commended government for increased access to education by among others providing universities with transformative and innovative programs as outlined in the Malawi Education Strategic Plan 2021-2030.
“This K 2 million will be invested in honey production which will be done in Rumphi Ntchenachena considering the market possibility which is viable having consulted various corporatives in honey producing like Mzuzu Coffe Cooperative which have been doing the same business for a long time,” Msiska said.
30 awardees have gone away with K2.1 Million after passing their business proposals and these are; 5 from Mzuni, 9 from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and National Resources (LUANAR) and 16 are from Malawi University of Applied Sciences (MUBAS) which makes 7female and 23 male.
The United States government is assisting the education sector in Malawi starting from primary, secondary through institutions of higher learning with emphasis on inclusive education on adolescent girls and marginalized groups of people in order to achieve prosperity through all the enablers as outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals .
