Lizzie Msowoya Kuntambira is a representative of the Viphya Highlands Coffee under Cohort five Growth Accelerator Challenge. Viphya Highlands Coffee located in Nkhatabay district, is a specialty coffee that will hit the market sometime in September this year. The business was founded in 2008 and they specialize in growing and processing coffee and are now moving into adding value to their coffee and selling the finished product.

Viphya Highlands Coffee’s participation in the Growth Accelerator Challenge has been quite rewarding because, since its establishment in 2008, they have been selling coffee as green bean which is a raw material that is further processed into the coffee that is easily consumed. The coming in of Covid-19 has been challenging for Viphya Coffee, the market for green beans plummeted and their business was on the verge of collapse says Lizzie “coffee shops were closing up and people preferred taking coffee in the comfort of their homes yet we only sold green bean that could only be processed in Coffee shops”.

Coming across the Growth Accelerator Challenge call of application was an opportunity that they would not allow to slip their fingers. “I was so excited because this was the answer that we had been waiting for” Said Msowoya. Being chosen as one of the ventures under the fifth cohort of the Entrepreneurship Challenge has helped Viphya Highlands move into a higher value market that is processing the coffee from green bean to a ground product that can be sold directly to the consumers at a better price.

Viphya Highlands Coffee is receiving funding of $40,000.00 that is going towards the establishment of a processing plant including buying specialized machinery to roast, grind and package the coffee. “The Growth Accelerator Entrepreneurship Challenge has really propelled our growth and moved us towards that high-value market” said Lizzie.

Growth Accelerator Entrepreneurship Challenge supports high-impact post-revenue businesses 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 Growth Africa, with support from UNDP Malawi, KFW, and the Royal Norwegian Embassy.