Emerge Livelihoods recently had the honor of welcoming the UN Resident Coordinator in Malawi, Rebecca Adda-Dontoh, and her team for an official familiarization visit.
A Tour That Told Its Own Story
The delegation was taken through our premises, where they explored the Emerge Gift Shop operated by Emerge Ventures, a space showcasing locally made, handcrafted products by entrepreneurs within our communities.
They also spent time in our computer lab, where a cohort of Digital Skills Alumni were midway through a Python and End User Computing refresher course.
From there, they heard directly from youth leaders about the inspiration driving our youth leadership program before interacting with four entrepreneurs running successful enterprises in agriculture, honey production, fertilizer and organic manure, and HIV health advocacy.
First Impressions — and an Honest Reaction
From the moment she stepped into the space, Ms. Dontoh made no effort to conceal her admiration. Speaking after the tour, she said:
I am out of breath!
To find a space full of very young, vibrant, innovative, creative people who are not waiting to be employed by anyone. Who are here to acquire skills, to share their knowledge but also to start and grow their businesses.
And these are the skills that I just observed where entrepreneurs and the youth are here. They are co-creating and they are showcasing their businesses. They are eager to succeed by themselves.This is genuine inspiration.
Inside the computer lab, the delegation heard two stories that captured the full spirit of what Emerge Digital Skills training is about. One young man, Baston Mfune explained how his Python training had enabled him to build a website that now showcases his business and is able to track progress for his beekeeping business and the community impact he has achieved. Across the room, a young woman beamed as she described how the skills acquired are also helping in her agribusiness. End-user computing training had also inspired her to open her own computer lessons centre where she now passes that knowledge on to other young people in her community.
Reflecting on what she had seen and heard, Ms. Dontoh captured the breadth of what Emerge offers:
“I think Emerge Livelihoods is about so many things. It’s about the social sector. It’s about human development. I’ve seen young people here, whether learning ICT skills, learning how to market their produce, learning how to code, or learning how to exhibit and sell, and that is creating visibility for themselves.”
Innovation With Purpose: The HIV Platform
One of the most compelling moments of the visit came during the showcase of MSMEs, when a team of young innovators/entrepreneurs, William Soko and Chimwemwe Mwale presented a digital platform designed to build community and reduce stigma for people living with HIV called YaziHealth Vercel App. The app is built for HIV clients’ reminder through an SMS system that helps HIV clients to stay on medication, improve their adherence and reduce stigma through health education messages. Recognizing that not everyone has access to smartphones or internet-enabled devices, the innovation also features an offline version with a command-line tool that sends discreet, coded medication reminders in both English and the local language, crafted so that only the person living with HIV would understand the message.
“We also have a mock-up and an offline version for those who do not have access to smartphones or internet-enabled gadgets. It’s more like a command line, where you can send medication reminders when they have to get their medication or when they have to take it. We send them in the form of an encryption, something like ‘it’s a good day’ or ‘start your day with confidence.’ You can send them anything, in any language. It will be like a code that only the person living with HIV will know.”
The UN Resident Coordinator responded with both admiration and a clear commitment to take the idea further:
“Look at the young people we saw who are creating a website to help people living with HIV. It is really interesting, and I am going to share this with my UNAIDS colleagues, they may contact you to have a conversation about how they can partner with you. Information sharing and creating awareness are very important for all of us and there is no need anymore to feel stigmatized about this.”
The Emerge Gift Shop: Local Talent on Display
The visit to the Emerge Gift Shop offered another dimension of what Emerge Ventures is building. Browsing through locally made and handcrafted products, the delegation saw firsthand how young Malawians are creating durable, quality goods from local raw materials and in doing so, generating meaningful employment for themselves and their peers.
Ms. Dontoh summed up what the space represents:
“This is a one-stop shop and an all-in-one shop where young people are innovating, they are co-creating, they are starting businesses, and they are marketing their businesses, but they also have space to sell and exhibit their things. This is the kind of impact that we want to celebrate in this country, because economic empowerment and livelihood transformation starts from such initiatives.”
A Word From Our Managing Director
Closing the visit, our Managing Director, Wangiwe Joanna Kambuzi, expressed her heartfelt appreciation for the time the UN delegation took to engage directly with the young people at the centre of our work
“Such visits from development partners actually mean that we are fostering innovation and impact that people out there are able to recognise. Our work is at the centre of the community, and when such young men and women are bringing about change, we are happy that the outside world is able to see and hear their stories of transformation.
This visit was more than a courtesy call. It was an affirmation that the work happening at Emerge Livelihoods is visible, meaningful, and worthy of the attention of national and global partners. As Ms. Dontoh herself noted, impact is only real when entrepreneurs take it to the community. At Emerge, that is exactly what we are doing every single day.
