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It has been established that health institution Uchembere Wabwino Maternity Clinic, through its under-five services, has registered the highest number of people impacted since its establishment in 2019. Uchembere wabwino partnered with Mzuzu Health Center under the Ministry of Health to offer free under-five services to women within her reach, a baseline survey report has shown that so far 500-plus women have been impacted through the program.

Uchembere Wabwino Maternity Clinic is part of the ventures under the Growth Accelerator Cohort five Entrepreneurship Challenge being supported with co-financing of up to $40,000.00, mentorship, and technical assistance to help them grow and scale.

The program is run by MHub in partnership with GrowthAfrica – Growth Frontiers, with support from UNDP Malawi, #KFW, and the #RoyalNorwegianEmbassy.

Three of the eleven business ventures penciled in the Growth Accelerator Cohort five Entrepreneurship Challenge recorded the highest revenue amounts between March 2021 and February 2022. This has been outlined in the baseline survey report which has just been published.  The three are Trendsetters Shoes Manufacturing Company, Stuart M. Grant and Dairy Joy Limited. 

“The baseline revealed that 27% of the (eleven) entrepreneurs have the highest record of revenue in the past 12 months as compared to other ventures,” the report reads. According to a revenue chart attached to the report, Trendsetters raked in US$129, 529 baseline profit, Stuart posted US$ 87,360 and Dairy Joy Limited pocketed US$72,550.

Overall, the report has said that all the eleven ventures recorded a higher average annual revenue as compared to the average cost in the past 12 months under scrutiny. “From the baseline data collected so far, 64% of the ventures have recorded profit margins that range between 55% and 85%. The other four ventures have recorded profit margins that range between 35% and 50%. “This speaks to the financial capacity of the round five participants and showcases the investment readiness of the entrepreneurs,” further reads the report. 

The 11 ventures are 7th Logistics, Amazing Bakes, C&CM Enterprises, Dairy Joy Limited, EcoGen Limited, Mundawathu Garden Limited, Oak n Pine, SouthEast Group, Stuart M. Grant Limited, Trendsetters Shoe Manufacturing Company and Uchembere Wabwino Maternity Clinic. The enterprises form the round five cohort of the GA Entrepreneurship Challenge, a 12-month business acceleration initiative that provides mentorship, technical assistance and co-financing.

As a matter of recommendations, the report has called for establishment of partnerships with other entities. “(This) can help ventures grow and accelerate through attracting new customers and investments, scale innovation, addressing complex changes and enabling employee development through skills transfer. “Partnerships include investors, suppliers, and other companies. It is one of the indicators to measure the business and financial performance of the ventures. As of 28 February 2022, all ventures collectively have a total of 22 partnerships established in one form or another,” the report continues.

Meanwhile, the ventures have said they collectively plan to increase to over 100 partnerships by the end of the year. “(This) significantly exceeds the originally set target of just 11 partnerships,” the report further says. 

The survey has also revealed that there is limited financial management capacity of most of the ventures. “The programme will therefore fast-track capacity development on the financial management of the entrepreneurs to run their businesses more effectively and for provision of accurate data for reporting,” it concludes. Meanwhile, economic analyst Richard Mngomezulu has said that the eleven selected firms have shown great potential through their profit gains. “Every business, small or big, is making steady progress every time it posts profit. It doesn’t matter how big it is, a profit is a profit and it is a good sign in business operation,” he said in an interview.