In Malawi’s growing innovation landscape, young entrepreneurs are stepping forward with practical solutions to everyday community challenges. One such innovator is 23-year-old Leonorah Mahata, an ICT student at Daeyang University, who has developed a bottle-filling machine designed to improve efficiency, hygiene, and productivity for small-scale beverage producers.
Mahata, currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) with a major in Software Engineering, combines her academic training with a strong entrepreneurial drive. Her invention, called Campopi, was inspired by her aunt’s struggles running a small freezes business.
Mahata.
“My aunt used to run a freezes business, but the process was very hectic and labour-intensive compared to the money she was making,” Mahata said.
Witnessing these challenges pushed her to think about how technology could simplify the process. The idea for Campopi took shape in 2022 during a conversation with a colleague about the difficulties faced by small beverage producers.
“We thought of building a solution after discussing the problems my aunt was facing,” she explained.
Campopi is designed to tackle common issues in informal beverage production, including poor hygiene, slow processes, and inconsistent filling standards. Many small businesses rely on manual methods, using cups or jars to fill bottles, which are not only time-consuming but also unreliable.
“The problem we wanted to solve was hygiene, time management, and standardisation,” Mahata said.
To address this, she and her team worked to automate part of the process while keeping the solution affordable and accessible.
Developing the machine required persistence, teamwork, and creativity. Mahata credits collaboration and support from c o l l e a g u e s and other contributors for turning the concept into a w o r k i n g prototype.
“It took dedication, focus, and hard work, plus support from my colleague during the design process and others who helped with building it,” she said.
The system is powered by an Arduino microcontroller, which automates the filling process by controlling components such as sensors and pumps to ensure accuracy and consistency.
One of Campopi’s key advantages is speed. The machine can fill five bottles in about 50 to 55 seconds— far quicker than traditional manual methods.
“With Campopi, it takes less than a minute to fill five bottles,” Mahata said.
By contrast, manual filling can take up to seven minutes for the same number of bottles. This difference can significantly boost productivity for small businesses that depend on daily beverage sales.
Like many innovators working with limited resources, Mahata faced challenges during development. However, she remained determined.
“As we say, muchipululu simofera—you don’t give up in the wilderness. We kept pushing until we built it,” she said.
Des p i te t h e s e hurdles, Campopi is already gaining traction. Some local businesses and communities have started using the machine, indicating growing demand for practical, locally developed technologies.
Experts describe such initiatives as grassroots innovation—solutions created within communities to address local problems affordably. These innovations often rely on locally available materials and knowledge, making them both accessible and sustainable.
However, challenges remain. Ma n y grassroots technologies are not fully developed to market-ready standards and may lack sufficient safety considerations. Limited access to financing and weak support systems also hinder their growth.
To strengthen Malawi’s innovation ecosystem, experts highlight the need for improvements in technical capacity, infrastructure, intellectual property protection, and commercialisation pathways. Without these, promising ideas like Campopi may struggle to scale.
Even so, Mahata’s work reflects a broader trend of young innovators using technology to solve real-world problems. Her bottle-filling machine demonstrates how simple, targeted solutions can make a meaningful difference in small businesses and communities.
As grassroots innovation continues to grow, efforts to support and refine such ideas could play a key role in driving inclusive economic development in Malawi.
