I had just recently started using social media… it was around 2013, when I quickly noticed that Malawi was not documented in the digital spaces.
I was seeing Kenyan and South African bloggers sharing about their countries, and, then a Bachelor of Social Science (Economics / Demography dual major) student, I set out to fill the gap for Malawi. The byntha.com blog was born – at the heart of it: digitizing the country that I SO LOVE: Malawi. I would share content about lifestyle and tourism in the gorgeous ‘Warm Heart of Africa’.
A few years and tens of thousands of followers later, I realized that it was going to take the efforts of more than just one Malawian to digitize Malawi. I graduated, and told my parents I was moving to the Malawi’s Capital City: Lilongwe – without a job or a plan on how I was going to make this work.
I remember walking into various businesses, leaving notes for the managers, proposing how we could help with their digital coverage. Often , brands would ask me why they even need a digital presence… but eventually, some (brands) started to see the vaIue of digitization, and I started to partner with various brands.
I, during that period worked with Malawi’s biggest hotel chain – what I believe was their first partnership with (then just) a content creator. I was also named the digital brand ambassador for DSTV, among other such enjoyable experiences.
Eventually, I was employed by the Malawi Revenue Authority and a Revenue Officer, and I started to think of ways I could expand my impact. This saw the birth of Ntha Foundation (derived from my blog name: By Ntha – my daddy, alongside all the people who love me, calls me Ntha).
I’d spend what was left of my public officer salary to organize events that would bring Malawi’s youth together – teaching digital, creative, advocacy and entrepreneurial skills. I started working on Digital Skills for Africa (then Digi Savvy) in 2019, to expand our efforts teaching Digital skills.
In 2021, the World Bank was launching the first phase of the Digital Malawi Project, and I, alongside other Malawian youth were invited to be sold on a dream of potentially establishing a tech hub. I bid fearlessly for it, and in the end, I was to find out that I was the only one of that entire group that had seen through the bidding process.
This saw the Ntha Foundation being awarded $250,000, to establish the first Kwathu Kowork(ing) Spaces, and train 500 youth in digital and entrepreneurial skills. Around the same time, the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, and all the businesses which were reluctant before, were now keen to get on digital platforms. Our client base grew. We were newly offering an array of digital services with Bien Corporation Africa.
Immediately, I started to experience the worst case of imposter syndrome – then now fully in the ‘tech’ space. I realized how underqualified I was to run such a big feat, and in a desperate big to cute my imposter syndrome… I applied to, and was admitted into the Master of Science in Entrepreneurship, offered by the Malawi Institute of Technology at the Malawi University of Science and Technology.
In the duration of pursuing that degree, I was employed by the United Nations, and I had to relocate to New York, to work with the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office. My lecturers were flexible and committed to helping me see this through. On most days, that looked like waking up at 1am to attend Statistics classes in Malawian time, as I was writing my thesis; before starting my day at the United Nations.
I know the flow of the story is yet to be perfect(ed). The stories have yet to settle… and I am yet to have time. There are so many narratives, still untold, in-between these stories. There will be days and years for writing (soon). For now, I am living, loving, and in this very moment, experiencing immense gratitude for having seen this degree through.
I completed my research on ‘The Entrepreneurial Opportunity in Malawi’s Digital Transformation: Modelling Public Information Management Systems for Development’, and today, I am proud to call myself not only a Master of Entrepreneurship, but also a Master of Digital Transformation. #MasteredIt
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