Umodzi Consultancy Managing Director Tione Kaonga says youths in the country have the potential to do great in their endeavors if they are equipped with prerequisite skills on how to manage business and have capacity in developing business plans as key in securing loans and contracts with organization.
Kaonga was speaking this at the end of the three-week training that was organized under the Ministry of Labour in Lilongwe for the 70 youth from various districts of the country.
Kaonga further called on youth to form partnership and share etiquettes on how the partnership can survive the test of time by among others avoid outshining and fighting for superiority in the business.
“It is the expectation of Umodzi that the skills shared during this training will be put to maximum use and that all we expect is the growth of their business. The knowledge into business plan will help them attract funding from outside sources not only banks. These could be donors and others investors that may wish to have shares in their business “said Kaonga.
One of the participants, Martha Chilongo, who is founder of NICHE Beehive in Mzuzu was elated that the training has equipped them with principles of business that will enable them manage their upcoming businesses.
Chilongo said her company was registered in 2021 to train rural bee farmers in the country by using old car tyres as one way of protecting the environment.
She cited lack of funding as one setback hampering her progress in the process of training farmers.
“We have currently trained 30 farmers in bee keeping, but our goal is to train more from across the country. The challenge has been funding as such we are glad that we have learnt relevant things on how one can develop a business plan. As a group of participants we thank Umodzi Consultancy for coming up with pragmatic solutions to most business problems that most youth face,” said Chilongo.
The training was designed by the Ministry of Labour with three components. Umodzi Consultancy facilitated the training under the entrepreneurship education and sustainable enterprises through its subcomponent ‘ entrepreneurship training’ in which it picked manufacturing under the banner of “Job For the Youth”.
The project is funded by the African Development Bank