Rewarding creativity
The Technical, Entrepreneurial, Vocational Education and Training Authority (Teveta) is associated with offering technical education to people.
Under their numerous Tevet programmes, the institution has helped kick-start careers and businesses in various trades such as carpentry, bricklaying, mechanical engineering and many other skills development programmes.
But across their platform there are also other forms of craftsmanship that are equally close to their heart and are part of their institutional objectives. These fall under the umbrella of creativity and innovation.
Teveta board chairperson Don Whayo said: “We encourage creativity and innovation. The aim of that is to make sure we are inculcating something that the young people will embrace and move forward with so they can be creators and innovators of different things.”
The third edition of the Innovation and Creativity awards organisation held last week to recognise 13 outstanding craftsmen in Blantyre bears testimony to the chairperson’s remarks.
The 13 were awarded under categories such as Masomphenya (Visionary), Mphukira, Luntha and Ngwazi Ya Luso. The awardees impressed the evaluation committee after their business ideas underwent evaluation and validation.
“We are awarding people who will soon be rich because they have started the journey to be rich. The Malawi 2063 strategy impresses upon us to embrace creativity and uphold innovation. We are also committed to that,” he said.
Among the awardees during the event was 37-year-old Grace Navaya from Mangochi. She is a former student at Mangochi Technical College where she did fashion and designing. Today, she is into custom-made attires, a trade which is earning her beautiful rewards.
“People come to me and explain what they want me to design for them. This is done without consideration of any fashion and design rules, so the products are unique. Some people can’t easily express themselves, they do that through what they wear,” she said.
Navaya said she started her business in 2017 and some of her customers are based as far as South Africa. She said when her business is at its peak, she is able to make a profit in excess of K750 000 in a month.
She said: “Sometimes when I am overwhelmed with work, I do invite some part-time partners to come and work with me. Mostly, these are people that I went to school with.”
As part of her award, Navaya received K800 000 and she said the money will enable her to transition from the manual single-stitch machine she was using to an advanced one.
Others who walked away with awards included 21-year-old Innocent Subiri from Phalombe, a tailoring and designing graduate from Naminjiwa Technical College, Ganeti Andrea from Thyolo and Hastings Mkandawire, who won the overall Ngwazi Ya Luso Award. He pocketed K1 million.
Whayo said the awards were designed to encourage young entrepreneurs, motivate them and help them actualise their ambitions.
“This is one way of motivating the young ones. Once they see what has happened here, they will gear themselves up.
The aim of the whole event is purely to make sure that young people are encouraged, motivated and they are able to actualise their ambition.
“Lack of capital has been a hindrance to Tevet entrepreneurship. But we have established a partnership with the Bankers Association of Malawi which is helping us lobby with banks for our graduates to access financial products to help them advance their dreams. With financial capital and the trainings from us, all will be well for our youth,” he said.
Ministry of Labour Principal Secretary Wezi Kayira said entrepreneurship is critical to Malawi’s development and stressed the need to enhance entrepreneurial investment which requires skilled and capable human resource that can compete at international level. He said: “As government we will continue to set policies and implement strategies for the operating environment to be conducive. One way through which we are doing this is encouraging public private partnerships. I am pleased with what Teveta is doing in that area.”
