By Doricah Mkwapatira

Machinga, May 20, Mana: The National Youth Council of Malawi (NYCOM) toured Machinga to celebrate and support youth-led innovations through Youth Innovation Fund (YIF), which is meant to drive Malawi’s economy.

The NYCM visited Community Change for Youth Development (CCYD), which is implementing an agro-based project at Paramount Chief Kawinga’s area in the district, where NYCOM Executive Director, Rex Chapota, lauded CCYD for being a model, a case of young people utilising their skills to drive positive change.

CCYD is a group of 26 members, comprising 15 females and 11 males, that grows rice, maize and tomatoes covering a total of 8 acres since 2021.

"We are very inspired by the agricultural innovations we have seen today. This shows that if youths are given a chance to participate in national development, they can make a difference. Our role is to scale up their work so that they can do more," he added

Chapota said that a tour of Machinga offered NYCOM an opportunity to appreciate the challenges youth organisations face in their strides for youth empowerment

He said there is YIF under NYCOM, which is meant to provide financial resources to youth organisations to meet their development aspirations in line with government development agenda.

“The grants are meant for the purchase of necessary machinery and warehouses for food manufacturing and processing,” he added and expressed hope that giving youth organisations grants through the YIF would empower young people in Malawi to become drivers of innovation, productivity, and economic transformation.

CCYD, Executive Director, Justin Chiwaya disclosed that the organisation will be given a grant meant to support the organisation towards economic empowerment.

"Our goals include increasing production capabilities to enable us to process, grade, and package high-quality products for major retailers in Malawi, ultimately export to global markets and generating forex,

"We, however, face challenges that hinder production and efficiency,” Chiwaya said, citing limited machines for food processing.

The YIF was launched at 2024 National Youth Summit at Bingu International Convention Center in Lilongwe to empower youth aged 10 to 35 years to drive innovation, job creation and economic transformation in agriculture, tourism, mining and manufacturing.