In 2024, our Muomboli project with Foundation For Education And Social Development (FESODEV) trained 50 women in Malawi in their choice of trade, either Tailoring, Hairdressing & Cosmetology or Solar and Electrical Installation. Having recently graduated, the women now face the challenges of building their businesses against the backdrop of the Malawi economy.
Our Transition to Work follow-on project will support our graduates on this journey. Working as solo traders or forming business groups with fellow graduates, our newly qualified women will bring together all their skills and experience to achieve financial resilience and personal wellbeing.
Malawi remains one of the least developed countries in the world, ranking 170 out of 188 on the Human Development Index. Over 70% of the population live below the income poverty line and an estimated 18% of young people are underemployed – 21% women and 16% men.
The country has a small and underdeveloped industrial sector, limiting employment opportunities and resulting in a highly competitive job market. Many young people lack the necessary technical and soft skills required by employers, or lack practical work experience, making it harder to secure formal employment. For entrepreneurs wanting to start businesses, strict lending requirements make access to funding and financial support extremely difficult. Young women often face additional barriers to working, such as cultural expectations, early marriages, and workplace discrimination.
Working in partnership with FESODEV, we are addressing these challenges by providing 50 women with skills development training, practical work experience, community sensitisation, entrepreneurship support and access to micro-finance and business start-up capital.
The Muomboli Project launched in February 2024, to deliver vocational training in trades that offer genuine opportunities for women to succeed in business. In addition to learning trade skills and undertaking work-placements, the women were introduced to basic business management concepts and received Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) training so they could both contribute to a communal fund and benefit from small loans to meet financial challenges or invest in their business enterprises.
Muomboli participants at the start of the vocational training project
A year on, the women are starting to build their savings and are reporting improved financial wellbeing. They have been able to buy farm inputs like fertilizer (which is out of reach of many local people), materials such as sheet iron for future home improvements, school uniforms and school stationery, and food and clothing for themselves and their families. For many participants this was almost impossible before they joined the project, but now they are able to earn an income, the women are starting to be self-reliant financially and economically.
However, the post pandemic economy in Malawi remains competitive and inflation currently stands at 32.4%. This means the cost of food, materials, transport and renting a shop are high, making it even harder for people trying to establish a business to succeed.
To ensure the women are equipped to succeed in their trades, we are offering our follow-on project to all 50 graduates, with the aim of supporting them as they transition from training into the workplace.
Our project is located in Kanengo, a peri-urban district of Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe
Our Transition to Work project will provide a further 12 months of support as the Muomboli graduates seek formal employment or begin building up their new enterprises. The FESODEV team will provide career guidance, signposting to job-finding services, facilitate direct employment linkages with local businesses and generally support the women with their business development.
Trainees will receive monthly visits from staff to conduct individual needs assessments and implement targeted top-up vocational training to fill any gaps in the women’s technical knowledge. In addition, the women will receive mentorship support to work through any difficulties they encounter, and guidance and strategies for moving forward.
A major component of the project is the disbursement of a business start-up grant to each graduate to invest in their business, whether to buy more tools or equipment, help with premises overheads or purchase materials and stock.
Tailoring trainees made uniforms for students at the nearby school
Trainees on the Muomboli project undertake activities that benefit the local community. This is also an opportunity for the women to showcase their talents, inspire others and potentially secure new customers.
During their vocational training, Hairdressing & Cosmetology trainees were mentored as Trainer of Trainers (TOTs), to impart their skills and knowledge to a new generation of young girls in the community and demonstrate that there is a pathway for more women to establish a livelihoods in this trade.
Tailoring trainees produced school uniforms for students in the nearby community primary school.
Solar and Electrical Installation trainees installed solar electricity at the nearby Luwela Primary School which will have a hugely beneficial impact for students and teachers alike. The Solar and Electrical trainees were also contracted to a project with the Malawi Rural Electricity Project (MAREP), giving them valuable on-the-job experience and showcasing their abilities with a major employer. Solar and Electrical installation is still a predominantly male-dominated trade in Malawi; securing work with a high profile company has elevated the women’s confidence, future employment prospects and status in the community.
As the graduates move into their second year they will complete additional community-focused work as a prerequisite to securing their business grants.
Tailoring trainees receiving their sewing machines
As our graduates complete the Transition to Work phase of our project, it is anticipated that they will::
We look forward to brining you updates of our trainees’ progress on their journey to building successful businesses.
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April 2024
