Malawi: More than 150 youth from Chiradzulu have successfully completed the ‘Luntha ndi Chuma’ Digital Skills Development and Innovation Training Programme. The initiative was being run by Public Private Partnership Commission (PPPC).
The training programme was a part of the Digital Malawi Project in collaboration with Rydberg Starck Limited. It is designed to equip young people across the country with digital and entrepreneurial skills.
The programme has been successfully completed by cohorts under different tech hubs in different districts across the country. It serves as a springboard for young people to have a transformative impact on their lives and their communities in line with Malawi 2063.
Tacreema Chikwatu, Business Development Officer for Rydberg Starck Limited, spoke about the progress of the initiative. He claimed that the graduates completed training in digital skills, which comprised:
- Introduction to computers
- Software (System and Application Software)
- Microsoft Office
- Internet (Networks, Web Browsers, Search Engines)
- Email and Social Media
- Data Collection comprising of Introduction to Survey and Questionnaire
- Data Types
- Designing Questionnaires
- ODK and Kobo Toolbox
- Basic Data Analysis and Statistics
- and Data Visualisation
Further, the youngsters also received training for Entrepreneurship in areas such as: Budget plan,
- Business model canvas
- SWOT analysis
- Cash Flow Projection and Procurement
She disclosed that apart from the training, the tech hub also works with the graduates to find different work opportunities, including internships and attachments.
“Apart from the training, we are also giving the participants a jump-start into the field by helping them to find attachments to different institutions, we also encourage them to create business plans which we evaluate and provide seed capital to those that are successful,” Chikwatu said.
Speaking in an interview, one of the graduates, Olivia Fostino, described the programme as transformative and empowering. She said that the initiative has changed and equipped her with skills that will help her, especially in the modern and fast-changing digital world.
“The digital skills I have gained and the certificate I have received will help me find employment while the entrepreneurial skills I have been taught will also help me to start my own business, maybe start an ICT business where I can do printing and other ICT services,” she said.
On the other hand, Aubrey Jafali, another trainee of the programme, said that the initiative will benefit not only him but his family and community as well. He, therefore, urged young people across the country to take advantage of such projects to develop themselves and inspire their communities.
“I am going home with skills that I will definitely use, I had friends who passed on this opportunity and I hope I will inspire them,” he said.
The ‘Luntha ndi Chuma’ Digital Skills Development and Innovation Training Programme is being implemented across the nation by the PPPC under DIGMAP in collaboration with technical hubs (tech) hubs and it is funded by the World Bank.