Business is going on well for Mrs Malinde
Knowing that poverty is a challenge communities face, the Girls Empowerment Network (GENET), with funding from EGMONT, provided seed grants to 32 beneficiaries to support their businesses.
The grants were provided to parents or guardians of beneficiary students from Chichiri, Manja and Mpapa primary schools, as well as Mpapa and Bangwe secondary schools in Blantyre. The recipients were guardians to orphans and other vulnerable children.
It was a success story for the recipients since 23 of the 32 businesses the grants supported were still running while only 8 were no longer running. One of the beneficiaries was robbed of the grant money while another one died.
However, the businesses faced some challenges, especially the cholera outbreak struck between March 2022 and March 2023. About 50,000 people contracted the disease while about 1,500 people died of the water-borne disease.
As if that were not enough, the country was also hit by Tropical Cyclone Freddy. Heavy rains washed away houses, roads, bridges, livestock and crops. About 1,400 people died, while over 500 are still missing.
The grant recipients were affected by the two tragedies. Yet, they present stories of hard work, since their business are still running.
One of the grant recipients, Felister Malinde, is a small business owner selling tomatoes, vegetables, fish, and livestock. She received a seed grant to invest in her business.
She said that the first three months after receiving the seed money, her business was thriving, making profits of about K15,000 a day.
This enabled her to provide for her family without worrying about her children going to school hungry.
Unfortunately, when the cyclone hit my business was destroyed. My livestock and tomato crops were swept away. One part of my house fell and I had to use my profits to buy a plastic sheet to cover the house and also cater for my family’s immediate needs
- Felister Malinde
Despite these setbacks, Mrs Malinde was determined to rebuild her business. She sold one of her remaining goats and used the money to buy tomatoes and other commodities to resume her business.
The business was back on track and received support from fellow grant recipients after noting her hard work.
Mrs Chiwale: They banned cooked food
Another recipient, Mrs Chiwale is a single mother of 3 who has faced numerous challenges in life. She dropped out of school when she was young due to financial constraints and had to start working to support herself and her family.
She became a domestic worker and later peeled potatoes who ran a chips frying business, before she received the seed grant to start her own business.
My dream was to start my own business and become financially independent. But I had no money being a single mother. The dream came true when I received the seed grant and training.
- Mrs Chiwale
Things were going on fine until the government banned the sale of already cooked food at schools due to the cholera outbreak. Her business declined as her customers, school children, could not buy from her. However, she did not give up.
I started selling chips and other food products to passers-by on the busy road. I also started cooking mandasi and samoosas. The business picked up and I started earning money again
- Mrs Chiwale
Her success has also had a positive impact on her children’s lives, who are now able to attend school and have a better quality of life.
Mrs Chiwale has become a role model for many in her community and has inspired other women to start their own businesses and become financially independent.
The two women are shining examples. Not only are they able to feed, clothe and send their children to school, they are also role models on how hard work pays. They are also an example to fellow women that they should start business to earn money to run their families.
