Nthanda Manduwi: creating jobs for youths

Over the past eight years, Nthanda Manduwi’s two companies have created jobs in the media and ICT industries for over 50 youth.

Her teams are completely youthful, 60 percent female, with the oldest expert being 32 years old.

Nthanda says there are several brands under Bien Corp which work together to create digital solutions for corporates and brands and as a ripple effect, jobs for youth.

She founded it in 2013 as a creative network then, working with fellow youths to build various businesses and solutions.

She started as a blogger by identifying gaps in digitisation and teamed up with ICT specialists to create digital solutions.

Her inspiration is a desire to contribute to the creation of a creative sector that actually rewards creative and talented people.

She thinks the youth can leverage their innovative talents to create jobs for themselves in the digital revolution.

“It is unfortunate that the onus of job creation has been placed on the youth. Job creation is a macroeconomic issue and government has to show some effort towards enabling the youth to create sustainable businesses that can create jobs.

“I have been fortunate enough to be in a sector of global interest, escalated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The world is digitising and due to the pandemic, even young children understand how vital using and knowing how to use platforms is.”

Nthanda observes that not all entrepreneurs have access to financing and resources to start and sustain businesses, hence, if the youth must create jobs for fellow youths, then government must put in place policies such as access to low interest loans and tax holidays, to enable them create and sustain those businesses.

She says one of the brands under Bien Corp Africa is Digi Savvy Africa, a learning management system built to help contribute towards the closure of the digital divide in Africa.

She observes: “About 50 million people worldwide live in areas without any digital connectivity and 3.3 billion people live in coverage areas, but do not use the internet because of lack of affordability and digital skills, according to the United National Development Programme-UNDP.

“Specifically, statistics show that Africa only has a one percent share of the world digital economy. One of the key issues is a lack of digital skills. Only 27 percent of the population has access to the internet, according to the World Bank Group.”

Her companies engage the youth through their two core training programmes namely the Nyenyezi Fellowship and the M’mawa Management Training.

She adds that 50 percent of Bien Corp and Ntha Foundation staff are alumni of these trainings where youths are recruited through calls for applications as publicised via the brand websites.

“A lot of efforts have been made by innovators, donors, non-governmental organisations [NGOs] and governments around Africa to close the digital divide. Some of the efforts made are by Google and IBM, programming courses in digital skills which are freely accessible to Africans. However, uptake of the courses by the most vulnerable populations is low, as they do not have access to digital devices and the internet,” says Nthanda.

She commends efforts by the World Bank, through the Malawi Government to this end by initiating the Digital Malawi— Digital Skills For All trainings happening countrywide.

Her other NGO— Ntha Foundation has set up two technology hubs countrywide.

It trains up to 500 young people in digital skills— specifically targeting girls— and trains up to 80 percent of girls in various training initiatives.

“We have an innovation hub in Lilongwe and are currently setting up a second one. Digi Savvy Africa ideally works as a bridge between these two efforts, offering a centralised platform where youths can access all open-source courses made for Africans, accessible through tech hubs around the country with unlimited access to the internet.

“It is our hope that through these efforts, youths are able to up their skills and compete for jobs in the digital revolution,” she says.

The other programme Ntha Foundation is currently rolling out is the Music4Malawi under the Kwathu Upgrade Project.

According to Nthanda, the platform was established with funding from Music in Africa Foundation and partners such as the German Federal Foreign Office, Siemens Stiftung and Goethe Institut.

This is a music and creative resource sharing platform for musicians and creatives based in Malawi.

In the field of digital skills trainings, business creation, innovation incubation and job creation, Ntha Foundation and Bien Corp Africa work closely with the Malawi Government through the Public Private Partnership Commission (PPPC), the World Bank, the Goethe Institut, Siemens Stiftung, the German Foreign Office, Music in Africa and young people around Malawi.

Nthanda holds a bachelor’s degree in social sciences, double-majoring in economics and demography, specialising in the socio-economic impacts of women’s empowerment.

She is pursuing a masters of Science in entrepreneurship at Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), specialising in digital information management systems.

The young entrepreneur has professional experience in research analysis, digital media, information management systems and business development.

When Nthanda is not working for Bien Corp or Ntha Foundation, she spends her time writing her business and lifestyle blog— “By Ntha” www.byntha.com— sharing business and lifestyle tips for young professionals looking to achieve excellence.

And if she could change the world, Nthanda says she would change how people utilise time as she believes that Malawi’s poverty can be attributed to how Malawians manage their time such as showing up for things on time, to ensuring each minute spent can be accounted for.

Her advice to the youths: “Start and keep trying. We live in a country where resources are limited and policies don’t always favour us to be able to create businesses and innovations.

“Apply for opportunities to upskill. Also be sure to make every hour you spend awake count. Boredom and time wasting should not be a part of your reality.