Speaking during the project launch, which took place on Wednesday, 15 November 2023, at MUBAS, Vice-Chancelor for MUBAS, Associate Professor Nancy Chitera hailed the EU for initiating the Zatchito project. She said the entrepreneurship and business leadership skills that the incubates will gain from the project bode well with the   University’s vision and mission, which is centred on producing graduates who can bring impact and transformation to the country and beyond.

‘’As MUBAS, our vision is to produce innovative graduates that will drive the pace of transformation locally and globally,’’ Chitera emphasised.  Chitera further said MUBAS established the Business Incubation Centre in 2019 to impart skills and business knowledge to Malawians especially the youth, so that they become self-reliant and create employment for others.

EU Team Leader for Economic Cooperation, Bartek Studniarski said the project aims at supporting women and youth entrepreneurship to spur economic growth in the country. Studniarski hoped the project would help create decent jobs and promote exports to meet the country’s forex demand. 

Gillien Makondetsa, one of the selected candidates to undergo business incubation training at MUBAS through the Zantchito project, hopes to sharpen her business acumen in value addition through the training. 

Makondetsa explained: ‘’From this training, we are hopeful that we will learn to make products that have market value and make our business sustainable and that they can also compete on the global market.”

Over three thousand Malawians, mainly the youth, are expected to benefit from the Zantchito project. The first cohort has 30 incubates in the different focus areas. The project is being coordinated by UNPD Malawi and Malawi Government. The Project is being managed by NATHAN, a CADMUS Company. MUBAS Incubation Centre is one of the six incubators that are partnered to implement the Zantchito project.