UK-based Malawian tells youth to exploit the Internet for business growth
By Blessings Kaunda……
United Kingdom (UK) based Malawian Danass Chirwa Maddison has challenged young entrepreneurs to use the internet to learn and grow their businesses.
She made the remarks in Mzuzu at one of her series of networking and entrepreneurship seminars with young entrepreneurs, previously held in Blantyre and Lilongwe, as part of her PhD research project in accounting.
Maddison said in today’s world the internet is key to networking and success describing it as a cheaper and readily available resource for young entrepreneurs to learn on how others run their businesses.
“We are living in a world of technology where the internet is the backbone of businesses. In Malawi young entrepreneurs fail to break the market because of a lack of internet knowledge.
“I have businesses in the UK, Dubai, and here in Malawi. I have grown all these businesses because I have knowledge of the internet which helps me to see others manage their businesses,” she added.
She urged the youth to seriously consider using social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok to promote their products and services as it is the case with the youth in many other countries.
She hailed government and Non-Governmental Organizations for investing in the youth but decried the lack of progress in some projects due to failure in making follow-ups.
“We have failed as a country because we train youth but we don’t make follow-ups to see the progress.
“Let me assure you that I will come back to follow up on how the youth will fare in their businesses before I take another cohort after one year,” she added.
One of the participants who is a Fashion Designer in Mzuzu, Christina Mbeye said the Networking and Entrepreneurship Seminar was an eye opener and that the knowledge she gained will help her to grow her business.
“From this meeting, I have realized that we lacked knowledge, as young entrepreneurs. Now I am eager to start using the internet to promote my business,” Mbeye said.
She called on fellow young entrepreneurs to embrace the change and do business the modern way.
In this first cohort, Maddison has targeted 150 youth from all the regions of the country.
