Ecobank supports MUST Endowment Fund
By Antony Isaiah Jr:
Ecobank Malawi on September 28, 2022 contributed K5 million towards the MUST Endowment Fund at a function held at the university’s campus in Thyolo.
According to the bank’s head of commercial banking, Victoria Chanza, the contribution is in response to a request from MUST.
MUST launched the endowment fund last year to raise financial resources in a more sustainable way to support some of its activities, including provision of fees for needy students who risk withdrawal.
“This is not the first time we are supporting MUST. Around 2014 we brought furniture for the common room and two years ago we also provided resources towards purchase of laptops to support the university’s e-learning interventions during the Covid-19 period,” said Chanza, adding the bank is committed to more support wherever it can.
On his part, MUST Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Jonathan Makuwira thanked Ecobank for the gesture, saying the money will be invested in line with the objectives of the endowment fund and only a percentage of the return on that investment will be used.
“It is disheartening to see students withdraw due to lack of financial resources. This is why we decided to establish this fund. Our policy is that no student should withdraw due to financial challenges. However, asking for support every time we have a student in dire stress was not sustainable and you cannot go to organisations or individuals every year to ask for support. We needed to find a more sustainable mechanism of resource mobilization, hence the establishment of this fund,” he said.
Within two years of establishment, the MUST Endowment Fund is close to K2 billion but its proceeds will only be ready for utilisation after three years of investment.
To incentivize the fund, MUST offer several benefits to those that contribute based on categories.
The benefits include the right to name a fund, dictate usage and criteria of disbursement, access to training and other facilities on campus for free or at subsidized rates, research and consultancy services and many more attractive packages.
Source: MUST
