By Paul Madise
Lilongwe, December 19, Mana: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced the launch of a 2.2 million US Dollars (approximately MK3.8 billion) Tchova Njinga Innovation Challenge to support innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs in the country.
Organized under USAID’s Innovation Design, Execution, and Acceleration Support (IDEAS) mechanism, the challenge which has been launched in Zambia and Malawi, targets creative minds that can contribute impactful solutions to improve transportation, health, economic growth, and access to services in the two countries.
Speaking at the roundtable, Ben M’bwana, Director of Administration at the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare hailed the challenge, underscoring the transformative potential bicycles have when it comes to economic empowerment, improved health outcomes and education access in Malawi.
“Bicycles are not just a means of transport; they are a transformative tool for development and empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa, where over 78% of the population relies on walking to access work and essential services as well as significantly enhance mobility and economic opportunities,” he said.
The initiative comes in as good news for innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs to come up with bicycle-related solutions to address key social and economic needs from healthcare access to economic mobility.
The challenge which is promoting open innovation, offering financial and non-financial support to develop and scale creative solutions consists of two streams which includes Developing Innovations for early-stage ideas ready for field testing and selected applicants will receive funding between $25,000 and $100,000, with support from June 2025 to May 2026.
Furthermore, through the second stream called Transition to Scale, will allow young innovators that have shown small-scale success and need further validation and partnerships to scale up will receive funding ranges from $200,000 to $400,000, with support from June 2025 to November 2026.
In addition to financial support, successful applicants will receive non-financial support, both virtually and in person, the support includes group training sessions on key themes related to the Tchoova Njinga innovation challenge, mentoring sessions with tailored support with mentors to guide project development and engagement events to foster networking and peer-learning opportunities with key stakeholders.
The Tchoova Njinga Innovation Challenge is open for submissions from 09th December, 2024 and closes on 20th January, 2025 at 11:59 PM.
