Mary chokani mphonda: founder skilled women artisans in Malawi

Skilled Women Artisans in Malawi (Swam) founder Mary Chokani Mphonda established the organisation in February 2022.

Its primary purpose is to nurture, enable and empower young women artisans in the construction industry and other trades.

Swam originated from Mphonda’s observation during her involvement in a construction project, where she identified gaps in the artisans’ working methods.

“They lacked some basic project management skills to plan their work well. They lacked soft skills to help them as professionals. I am passionate about continuous learning, entrepreneurship and women empowerment. So, naturally I am always looking at ways of improving the way things are done.

“That is one of the reasons that motivated me to start this programme. The initial target audience was male artisans. I didn’t know then that there are women artisans. It wasn’t until I met two young women artisans at our project site that the focus changed to them,” she says.

Mphonda met Mercy Kamwendo who shared some of the challenges they face as women artisans, including the lack of internship, formal employment, low or no pay during attachments, lack of funding for fees and living expenses.

Kamwendo also complained about lack of tools to work alone or start businesses, lack of protective workwear, sexual harassment and discrimination.

Mphonda’s biggest dream is to see all women artisans finding attachment, formal employment or establishing successful businesses.

“It is sad seeing these young women struggle and yet they have the qualifications. We want to have a profiling database for all our women artisans so that organisations can search for their expertise and offer them opportunities,” she says.

Her other dream is to roll out a digital skills and professional development training for 1 000 women artisans every year.

Mphonda also plans to have Swam hubs in all the regions in Malawi where young women artisans can access computers, drafting and drawing tables and any other items relating to their trades.

She dreams of the day when local artisans will go for international work exchange abroad.

Swam membership, which has grown from 120 members in April 2023 to over 400, also helps artisans share their experiences.

“Working in male dominated area is hard and they need a lot of support to keep pushing. The members have access to skills development workshops and incubation programme mentoring sessions. We distribute tools and protective work wear (PPE) to the apprentices,” she says.

Swam membership is free for any young woman enrolled in the Technical Entrepreneurial and Vocational Education and Training (Tevet) or other vocational programmes and those who completed their studies.

“We started by focusing on those entering the construction industry only, but changed to all artisans as there have been numerous requests from other trades to join us. We have members from Chitipa to Nsanje, connecting through our WhatsApp and Facebook groups,” Mphonda says.

The learning and development professional, who is also a digital specialist and a serial entrepreneur, is proud that the Swam journey is proving fruitful so far, with 10 of their young women artisans having completed Level Three of the Tevet programme at the end of 2023.

One of them joined the Financial Inclusion and Entrepreurship Scaling (FInES) project, a government project supported by the World Bank; while over 10 have found internships or attachments with some notable institutions in Malawi

Additionally, she lauds Illovo Sugar Malawi Limited’s donation of work suits and safety boots to 85 members in March, worth K7.5 million.

The mother of one was born at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre.

She left Malawi after sitting the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations to join her mother Nellie Chokani-Namame in Gaborone, Botswana.

While there, she completed a diploma in software engineering before relocating to the United Kingdom in 2000 for a work holiday.

Mphonda explains: “After one year in the UK, I moved to the United States of America, earning a Bachelor of Science in Computer and Information and Master of Science in Instructional Design and Development from the University of South Alabama.

“After my master’s graduation in 2008, I got employed as an instructional designer, then manager of instructional design with Strayer Education Inc in Virginia USA. In 2013, while still at Strayer, I became certified as a project management professional. In 2014, I resigned from my job and moved back to Malawi to join my husband Kena Mphonda. We met in Washington DC in 2009.”

From 2014 to early 2015, she worked for Standard Bank as the learning and development manager when she resigned to relocate to the United Kingdom again to accompany her husband for his posting.

While in the UK in 2017, she started consulting as a chief learning officer and went on to formally register her consulting firm Transform 2 Excel in 2018, a professional learning and development consultancy firm.

“The company focuses on collaborating with corporates, higher education institutions, governments, and non-governmental organisations in Sub- Saharan Africa to promote transformational learning and development, digital transformation, and the migration from traditional classroom learning to online platforms,” she says.

In recognition of her expertise and commitment to the learning and development profession, she was bestowed with a Fellowship Membership to the Learning Professional by the Learning and Performance Institute, UK.

She was also certified as a performance consultant with the Learning and Performance Institute.

Mphonda has continued her consulting work after moving back to Malawi at the end of 2021.

She enjoys doing house chores and cooking.

“There is nothing I find rewarding like cleaning my home,” she says.

Mphonda also loves going to church, being in fellowship with her Thursday Ladies International Bible Study group, spending time with her husband and their daughter Isabella Yankho .

Her advice to girls is: “It’s okay to fail. Take risks, learn from your mistakes, keep moving and hold your head up high. I wish I had known this earlier in life.”