What if you could transform a small healthcare startup into a thriving clinic serving thousands, even amid a global pandemic? Hear from Lucy Msukwa, the inspiring Founder and Executive Director of Uchembere Wabwino Maternity in Malawi, who did just that. Motivated by her parents' health struggles, Lucy saved diligently for four years before launching her clinic in 2019. In our conversation, she walks us through the hurdles she faced, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the practical strategies she employed to turn challenges into opportunities. Lucy’s story is a vivid testament to resilience and community engagement, offering valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Lucy’s journey is a masterclass in overcoming financial and operational challenges. Discover how she raised initial funding through personal savings and a bank loan, and how her innovative use of social media and community-centered marketing helped her patient base skyrocket from 500 to nearly 3,000 within just two years. Lucy opens up about the unique hybrid model that allows her clinic to balance for-profit and non-profit services, ensuring both affordability and sustainability. She also shares insights from her experience with the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, revealing how continuous learning and adaptation have been key to her clinic's growth.
But Lucy's impact goes far beyond her clinic. As a Mandela Washington Fellow, she secured significant funding and channeled her success into mentoring over 120 female entrepreneurs in Malawi. She discusses her strategic focus on rural healthcare services and reflects on leading a team of 20 employees as a young woman defying traditional expectations. Lucy's passion for reducing high maternity and under-five mortality rates in Malawi is palpable throughout our discussion. Her story is not just about business success; it’s about making a tangible difference in her community and inspiring other women to chase their dreams with unwavering determination.
Lucy holds a bachelor's degree in nursing and midwifery. As an entrepreneur, she is a laureate for Women in Africa 54 (WIA54) 2021 from Malawi, an alumna of the African Women Entrepreneurship Cooperative cohort 3 (AWEC) and the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs Cohort 1(AWE). She is social Impact Incubator Malawi and Mandela Washington Fellow 2022 alumina.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hi there and welcome to another episode of African
Business Stories.
Africa is the only region inthe world where more women than
men choose to be entrepreneurs.
What this says to me is thatthe story of business in Africa
is the story of the Africanbusiness woman.
So we are on a journey ofdiscovery to find these women
(00:23):
and tell their stories.
So we're on a journey ofdiscovery to find these women
and tell their stories.
On the show, we will hear fromfemale innovators and
entrepreneurs building andrunning businesses in Africa.
They will share the highs andlows of their entrepreneurial
journey and lessons learnedalong the way.
Some of these women you mayknow, and many you may not, but
(00:48):
I assure you that all theirstories are inspiring in their
own right.
My hope is that these storieswill inspire you to reach for
your dreams and leave a legacyfor generations to come.
It makes such a big differenceto us if you can rate, review
and share our episodes.
You can do this mainly on ApplePodcasts, and you can find us
on all podcast platforms Ifyou're in Africa.
(01:09):
Spotify is now available, socheck us out there and don't
forget to rate, review and shareOn the show.
Today, I chat with Lucy Nsukwafounder and executive director,
uchemberwe Mwabino, maternity inMalawi.
Following the health challengesfaced by her family members,
(01:30):
lucy decided on a career inhealthcare from an early age.
She started this business inSeptember 2019, and we talked
about how she spent four yearssaving to start and the
challenges she faced as COVIDhit in 2020.
Her growth has been exceptional.
She has gone from offeringunder five healthcare and
(01:50):
maternity services only tooffering outpatient services,
laboratory services, maternaland childcare services and even
surgeries.
She has grown her patients from500 to well over 2,000,
leveraging social media andtechnology.
Lucy has invested a lot in herpersonal development, raised a
(02:13):
significant amount of moneythrough pitch competitions and
today is helping other businessowners in Malawi start and grow
their businesses, a country withone of the highest maternity
and under five mortality ratesin the world.
Lucy is on a mission to bringthose numbers down.
Let's get into it.
Hi, lucy, welcome to AfricanBusiness Stories, thank you.
(02:37):
Thank you so much.
You're my first guest fromMalawi, so excited to have you
on the show, excited to learnabout your business and a little
bit about Malawi from ourconversation today.
So I read that you were bornand raised in Brantai I don't
know if I pronounced it wellwhich is like the largest city
(02:59):
in Malawi.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Yes, I was born there and raised there in Blantyre.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
So what was it like growing up in Malawi?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Growing up in Malawi.
I was born in a family of fivechildren.
We are two girls and three boys.
I'm a third born.
So we grew up in Blantyre allof us.
We were staying with ourparents, and my education I did
(03:29):
it in a primary school we callit Mlambalala from one up to
eight.
So the environment is full of, Ican say most of the population
in Brandtire is full of peoplewho are in their youthful age
(03:50):
and it's a city which has got alot of industries that are
currently happening in Malawi.
I can call it.
It has got a lot of industrialarea with a good environment
Plantar.
Sometimes it's very cold,sometimes it's very hot, so
that's how I can put it in termsof weather.
But the food is also very nicein Blantyre and the prices for
(04:16):
the food in Blantyre, when wecompare them with other regions,
the prices are a bit lower thanin other regions.
Regions, the prices are a bitlower than in other regions.
So, yeah, I grew up with mybrothers.
My sister had uh was going to aboarding school, so most of the
times I was praying with mylittle brothers.
(04:36):
That's what I can say about megrowing up in Brantyne.
Otherwise, it's a good cityfull of people moving up and
down every day.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
So there was an experience that happened when
you were young that kind ofshaped the direction that your
life and your career took.
Do you want to share that withus?
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Yeah, I can share the experience because it's what
motivates me up to now.
When I was very young, I alwayswanted to do something
concerning health, because mymom was sick and my dad was also
sick.
So I remember one time when wewent to the hospital with her,
(05:24):
there was only one person whowas taking care of 20 people.
So during that time my mom hadhigh blood glucose and she
fainted For me to go and callthe other person who was working
there.
She was also very busy withother patients who were very
(05:45):
critically ill, so she couldn'tcome and help us on time because
her work was very overwhelming.
So it was very bad.
Despite that, my mom was okayeventually during that time.
Then the passion for me to dosomething concerning health
(06:05):
began to grow while I was young.
I remember that time it waswhen I was in standard five or
in grade five.
That's when the passion for mestarted growing into saying no.
If there were a lot of peoplewho were alone taking care of
patients, I think my momcouldn't take time to be sitting
.
So that's where the passiondeveloped.
(06:27):
So, as I was going to school,all the time, when teachers ask
us, what do you want to be whenyou grow up, I would either say
that I want to become an nurseor I want to become a doctor
Throughout of my life.
I was always saying that, yeah,yeah.
So that's really what happened,like a motivation for me to do
(06:48):
something concerning health, soyou then went on to study
nursing.
Yeah, actually what happened wasafter my mom passed away.
Then my dad also was also sick,and during that time my dad had
tuberculosis.
So I was also taking care ofhim, as my sister was at
(07:11):
boarding school.
So it was like me who is onlythere, who can take care of my
dad so.
I was going with him to thehospital, I was seeing that
there is still a gap in terms ofhuman resource and technical
staff in hospitals.
So that was still bothering me.
(07:33):
To say I think there are veryfew people who have done courses
in medical health or nursing.
So after I went to, after mydad also passed away that was
when I was in Form 3, then Isaid I think it's high time for
(07:54):
me to continue working hard andthen I should do something which
I want.
So I went ahead and applied forthe university interest and all
the choices.
We are given three choices toselect the schools which we want
to go.
So the first choice I selectedthat I wanted to do nursing
(08:15):
because I was looking at thepoints which I had.
I had 18 points.
So it was like a challenge forme to have more chance if I go
for a degree to become a doctor.
It was a very big challenge forme.
They would have not picked mebecause of the points which I
had.
So for me to increase mychances, I just applied for a
(08:39):
nursing school.
So my first choice was anursing school, nursing school
and Courage of Medicine.
So eventually they chose me togo to Courage of Nursing.
So that's when I started thejourney, focusing on my
education and everything.
So I remember I was talking tomy friend.
I said you know what?
(09:00):
I have a dream that I want tostart operating a clinic.
So she was laughing I know youare just joking.
So I said, no, this is deep inmy heart.
One day I will open a clinic.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
I'm sorry about the loss of your parents and it's
wonderful to see that thatmotivated you to try and solve a
big problem in your country.
So when you finished at theCollege of Nursing, were there
jobs readily available at thetime?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
OK, actually, when we finished at the university, we
were already given anopportunity to select three
regions.
It's either you want to go tothe South, or Central or
Northern region.
So because me I wanted to getcloser to other relatives, I had
(09:55):
to select to be in the Northernregion.
So I was selected to NorthernRegion Hospital where I was
working.
So, yeah, we had thatopportunity.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Is that how you moved to Musuzu?
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
And how long did you work at the hospital in Musuzu?
Speaker 2 (10:20):
So in Mzuzu, I worked there since 2014.
Okay, 2014, up to 2019.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
I see Okay.
And then it was in 2019, youdecided you wanted to start your
own clinic.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
I worked in Mzuzu Central Hospital for four years.
During that four years, I madesome connections with other
people in healthcare.
Profession was during that timeI was also coordinating online
courses, so I had a like anopportunity to meet different
people somewhere, lecturesomewhere professors so they
(10:58):
were the ones who guided methrough who say, if you want to
start opening a clinic, you needto have the following things.
So during that time, I neededto strategize.
That's what I did.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
So how did you come up with the name Uchembera
Wabuino?
Did I say it properly?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
I just have tried.
It's Uchembera Wabuino.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Uchembera Wabuino.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yes, uchembera Wabuino, you have tried.
It's uche mbira.
Yes, so I came up with the namebecause in english it's called
self mother.
Okay, yeah, in english it'scalled self-motherhood.
So in our local language, thenthe one which we usually use is
called uche mb Wabino.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Oh, that's nice.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Yeah, so I got the name looking backwards what I
passed it through with my mom.
So I said this could be a goodname for the clinic, because I
want people to have a good liketo promote self-motherhood.
Whether they are pregnant orbefore pregnant, their health
(12:07):
should be okay without havingany complication.
So that's where the name camefrom.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
That's a lovely name.
So how did you raise thefunding to start and what
initial services were youoffering when you first started?
Speaker 2 (12:21):
All right.
So when I started for me toraise funds as I said,
area-owned I had to make someconnections with other people
who are also in health care, soI had to ask for some ideas.
But then, because they had toldme that if you want to start
operating this clinic, you needto self-government for fears.
(12:43):
So, as I said earlier on that,and I had a dream, since I was
very young and I was growingwith that dream.
So once I just started the likemy first year at the Mzuzu
Central Hospital, I told myselfthat I need to strategize for me
(13:04):
If this dream has to come true.
I need to strategize.
So I had to start saving frommy salary.
I gave myself like a task tosay 20% of my salary is going to
be going towards the dream thatI have that I want to open a
(13:24):
clinic.
So I was saving.
Within three years I was saving.
I opened an account a fixeddeposit account where by that
manner was going there.
So I worked for four yearswhile I was saving the 20% of my
salary and then accumulatingsome resources.
(13:45):
Then I also applied for a bankloan almost 1,000 US dollars
from as we are talking now.
So that that was how I started.
I started with these savings myown savings and then plus a
loan from the bank.
So that's how I started.
I just got a few things that weneeded for me to with the
savings my own savings and thenplus a loan from the bank.
So that's how I started.
(14:05):
I just got a few things thatwere needed for me to start.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
That's fantastic.
So what services were youoffering then?
I know now you have a suite ofthings that you do, but when you
started, what were the initialthings that you were offering to
women and children?
Speaker 2 (14:25):
initial things that you were offering to women and
children.
So during that time we wereonly offering under five clinic
and maternity services.
That is all.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
And I also know that you opened this business just
round about COVID.
Yes, exactly Just in the middleof COVID.
So what was that like for you?
Speaker 2 (14:45):
It was very, very painful, because I remember when
I just started, we started inSeptember 2019.
That was already at the end ofthe year, so we started in
September 2019.
And then, 2020, covid came.
I tell you it was a very badexperience because medical
(15:09):
resources had gone up maybetimes 10.
The things that were buyingmaybe 1,000, they went to 9%.
I remember that time I had tocry.
I had to cry like literallycrying to say why is this
happening?
I'm not going to manage by thento find money, to find
(15:34):
resources to manage the clinic.
It was very hard.
Despite that, people weresaying no, this is your
opportunity.
Now you can make money becausethere is COVID.
But to me it was opposite,because I'm just starting, I am
not yet fully established, andthen COVID-19 is coming and then
the prices for medication ishigh, everything is high
(15:58):
concerning resources for aclinic.
So I remember I was telling bythe way, I'm married, I was
telling my husband to say I'mgoing to close this thing
because it's not working, likeit's not working.
So I I then sat down and said Ithink I will give myself three
(16:19):
months to wait to see if we arenot making any money for us to
buy resources or to pay salariesand lenders, then I'm quitting
this thing.
I think I will restart when Iam ready.
So surprisingly, during thatthree months we managed to
(16:42):
survive.
We managed to survive,everything was okay and things
were moving smoothly.
Then I told my team to say ifwe have managed to survive these
three months of COVID, then weare going to survive in the next
year.
Let's continue the journey.
So that was what happened.
We really survived.
Otherwise, when COVID came in,I was very frustrated and it was
(17:06):
hurting.
Yeah, it brought so manychallenges to us.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
That's incredible and in reading your story you know
I know those were hard times andyou pulled through, able to
increase your patients or yourclients from like 500 to over
2,000, almost 3,000 by 2021 in atwo-year period.
(17:31):
How were you able to do that?
Speaker 2 (17:33):
The reason why we were able to do this is because
we had to incorporate somemarketing strategies.
You know with this generationthat we are coming.
It's a generation that is moreinterested with technology.
So I had to leverage on usingsocial media by involving other
(17:55):
people in the community, tellingthem about our services.
So we were using social mediaadverts.
Of course, in the healthysector you are not supposed to
advertise about your services,but we are just using the social
media to inform them theservices that we are doing.
We are also doing free clinics,so with that it made us to have
(18:19):
more customers.
People were very interested tosee these people.
They are everywhere.
If you click on our website weare there.
If you click on any socialmedia, we are there.
So that made us to be knownacross.
So we leveled on more on usingsocial media because you know
(18:42):
hospitals they don't like tointeract people with on social
media.
They don't like interactingwith other people.
Maybe during the outreach theyjust go there and give the
service.
But we made it to be more acommunity-centered.
So the people when they aregiving us some, for example,
some advice, to say we aretaking the weaknesses from other
(19:06):
clinics, to say, other peopleare complaining that they don't
receive this from the otherclinic.
How best can we do it in ourfacility that we should be
having more customers, theweaknesses of other I can say
competitors, and then alsoleveraging on the social media
(19:26):
marketing, because now a newgeneration of people just search
online.
So that's what we did and, likeother people who are very old
maybe they are in sixth gradeand they are operating they
don't even know about socialmedia.
So using social media is theone thing that had made us to be
known more and have increasedin number of clients.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
That's fantastic.
So today, what services doesyour clinic offer?
Speaker 2 (19:56):
So currently we are offering outpatient medical
services, we are also offeringlaboratory services, we are
offering maternal and childhealth services, and now we have
also started conductingsurgeries.
So that's what we are doing now.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Oh, wow.
In preparing for this interview, I was just reading about
healthcare in Malawi and it wasjust shocking.
Apparently, malawi has one ofthe highest maternal mortality
rates and also high under-fivemortality rate.
So, what is it happening likeon the ground?
Speaker 2 (20:39):
So on the ground in Malawi we don't have adequate
facilities with good resources.
Okay, so the health centers, Iwould say health clinics.
They are very far for people toreach and we only have like
(20:59):
three main central hospitalsthat we depend on across Malawi,
in each region.
But then to find a goodhospital which is fully fledged
with everything, every resourcethat could help a person or a
woman, it's very tough.
You would find a hospital.
(21:20):
They don't have any medicine,they don't have any machine, but
yet it's a hospital.
So that's why we are stillhaving a problem in these
maternal dates and women.
They travel 10 kilometers to goto a hospital to access care.
So some they just opt to stayhome, to just deliver it home,
(21:43):
and some they just opt to go totraditional birth attendants in
their communities.
So this brings in morecomplications and eventually
people they end up dying, whichcauses high maternal mortality
rates.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
In terms of cost.
What does it cost to come toyou as opposed to going to?
I mean, it's not like there aremany hospitals to go to, so you
know people don't really have achoice.
But but is this a costlyservice for for the people in
muzuzu?
Speaker 2 (22:21):
what we did was, uh, we made the clinic to be a
hybrid, like a for-profit andnon-profit.
The for-profit side we use itto run for the other reasons,
like buying medicine, salariesand everything, and also the
profit made from the for-profitis used to the non-profit side,
(22:42):
whereby we go to communities inNsimba districts, whereby we go
and offer the services for free.
So when we were coming up withour pricing, we had to do
research to say how many clinicsdo we have in Mzuzu and what
(23:04):
are the prices that they areoffering?
And then we had to come with anaverage to say we shouldn't be
competitive but we shouldprovide an affordable price.
Somebody who is staying withinour catchment area should be
able to pay for the service ifthey are sick.
So that's what we did.
And then, if we compare withother among us as we are a bit
(23:28):
affordable, because we had tolook for those people with this
lower social economic statusbecause our green is closer to
those people who are very in thegroup of low social economics
to the market and sell tomatoesand they come back.
They sell vegetables.
So we had to put our pricing sothat those people we are
(23:51):
targeting, they should be ableto pay for this and then we
should survive.
So our price is affordable foran average person who is maybe
doing a small business, and theycan be able to pay that's.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
That's fantastic.
That's fantastic.
Thank you for the work that youdo.
So.
So, in terms of businessdevelopment, we've talked about
how you've used social media togrow your client base.
And then in terms of funding, Iknow that when you started, you
said you used some of yourresources and also took a loan.
I know that you've had accessto grants.
(24:29):
Can you talk to us a bit abouthow you came to get some of
these grants?
Speaker 2 (24:35):
All right, thank you.
After 2020, covid came.
Then I saw that there was acertain opportunity.
I was saying I am a healthcareperson, but I still lack
knowledge concerning business.
So I was asking myself to sayhow do I fill this gap that I
(24:58):
have?
I can provide good quality careto a client or a patient, but
then, in terms of business, Idon't have any information
concerning business.
What should I do?
That's when I started searchingonline to say which people
train people intoentrepreneurship?
What organization trainedpeople in entrepreneurship?
(25:21):
So my journey started.
When I enrolled for Academy forwomen entrepreneurs by United
States of America, I said okay,I'm going to apply for this
opportunity.
They are saying they trainfemales in business how to run
their business.
(25:41):
Me this information?
I don't have one.
I know it's about givingpatients medication or taking
care of them.
So I said let me give it a try,because I have a gap in this
thing.
So when I did that, it was asix-week training.
We did it online.
It was very interesting to learnthe concepts and, surprisingly,
(26:04):
during that time, it was thefirst cohort in Malawi to be
piloted.
Surprisingly, I was only theperson who was in the healthy
sector.
We were 90 females Only myself.
I was in the healthy sector.
I was like 89 in agriculture.
There was a very bigcompetition.
So even when they were givingexamples where we were learning,
(26:29):
I was like, how am I going toapply?
They are talking aboutCoca-Cola, they are talking
about Uber, what am I going todo with this information?
Me, I'm dealing with people.
So it took me some time to sayI think I can really apply this
information that they areteaching me when they are giving
the examples, I would still tryto use it to my business, to
(26:51):
connect to my business, becauseit's a service provision and
they are talking about they aretalking about Uber, they are
talking about Apple.
I was like, okay, I will stillremain in this cohort, let me
give it my best.
So I was using the knowledge andthen eventually, after the six
weeks training, they said youare going to pitch?
It was my first time to hearthe word pitch, okay.
(27:16):
So I said I'm going to pitch.
So we pitched and unfortunately, during that time it was for
for allegiance, so they hadselected some.
As I said earlier on that, eventhe judges couldn't understand
my business because I'm in ahealthy sector.
So they say I said, okay, fine,no problem, so long as I had
(27:39):
information concerning ourentrepreneurship.
So at the end of our journey ofthe course, they said, no, we
are going to give you anopportunity again for you to
write a proposal where you canreceive funding of 10,000.
I said, ok, I have a strengthin writing things.
So I said, let me use mystrength in writing the proposal
(28:01):
, because this is my strength.
We got the proposal.
We forgot about it A month in2021, I just received a letter
to say you are one of theawardees for the what For the
United States AfricanDevelopment Foundation grant.
I was like what?
I was very happy.
Out of the 94, we were only sixwho were selected in Malawi
(28:23):
Fantastic.
So that was the beginning of usto start growing because we
implemented the project verywell.
So you know when youimplemented the project very
well.
So you know, when you implementthe project very well, other
donors they are also interestedin coming in.
So whenever there was anopportunity for entrepreneurship
(28:44):
, I started telling myself I say, if I have made it this time, I
think the next time, if thereis another opportunity, I'm also
going to give it a chance.
So I have this passion ofalways wanting to learn more and
more and more.
So after that opportunity came,we do the project.
(29:05):
Opportunity had come with theSocial Incubator, malawi, the
GoFamily Foundation.
I said I'm going to give it atry again.
I gave it a try.
We went for an eight-monthincubation, so during that time
I was using the information thatI got from Academy for Women
(29:25):
and to transfer it to SocialImpact Incubator.
They also gave us anotherinformation that was very
beautiful, very relevant.
I learned a lot of things.
I started applying them andthen we were also given
opportunity.
Actually, when we were applyingfor social incubator, there
were 211 organizations.
(29:46):
Out of the 211, they onlywanted 10.
So we were among them.
So we went for the incubationprogram and then we were also
given an opportunity to do apitch.
So I had to work on the pitchand, fortunate enough, I was on
the first position.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
So I was given a grant $15, a grant of $15,000.
How much $15,000.
Who was running your businessin the eight months?
Because that's a challenge.
Sometimes there areentrepreneurs who want to go
away and do some of theseprograms but wonder what will
happen to their business.
So how was your businessrunning those eight months?
Or did you shut it down?
(30:28):
What did you do?
Speaker 2 (30:32):
eight months, or did you shut it down?
What?
What did you do?
No, I did not shut it down, butI have people, I have a team.
You know, most of the times, ofcourse, when we are the
founders of an organization, weare afraid.
We have this fear that thisorganization is going to fail.
But if you have trained yourteam very well, they always
manage it Despite that.
(30:52):
You are not there, you are notavailable, but they will always
manage it.
So it goes with the good team.
If you have a good team,everything is possible.
No need for you to worry.
I think the organization isgoing to go down.
So I have a good team, which Iselected.
We always take them on boardand explain everything.
(31:16):
The organization is going to godown.
So I have a good team, which Iselected.
We always take them on boardand explain everything, and we
usually look for people who havegot the same vision.
As we have to say you shouldincorporate your values with
that of the organizations.
They should be in line.
If they are different with theorganization's values, then that
person.
We don't select them because weknow that they won't be part of
(31:37):
us.
So that's what I did, yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
The various grants that you've been able to raise.
How have they been deployed inthe business so far?
Speaker 2 (31:46):
To be honest, the grants that we have been
receiving, they have pushed usvery much and sometimes people
they do wonder to say in justthree years you have done a lot
of things like this.
So it's because of the grantsthat we have been receiving and
we implement what we have saidwe are going to implement with
(32:08):
the donors, because most of theentrepreneurs, what they like,
they make a mistake when theydon't implement what they had
agreed.
So we usually um like the firstgrant, we used it for the
theater equipment.
The second grant, we used itfor the laboratory.
So we make sure that when we'reasking for the money, we should
(32:29):
really use the money for theintended purposes.
So that's what we do.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
You're also a Mandela , washington Fellow.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Yes, I'm a Mandela, Washington Fellow.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
How did that come about?
Speaker 2 (32:43):
It was my first time applying for Mandela Washington
Fellow.
I was just hearing peoplesaying, no, mandela Washington
Fellowship is a very goodfellowship, they do this and
that.
So I was just hearing peoplesaying, no, mandela Washington
fellowship is a very goodfellowship, they do this and
that.
So I was interested.
I was like, okay, I think if Ihave been able to move this
direction, I still also have thechance to participate in this
(33:04):
fellowship.
So let me try it before I reachmy age reaches 35 years old.
So I applied and, fortunateenough, I was selected.
When I was selected, we went todo the fellowship and, luckily
enough, when we went to theuniversity that I was selected
(33:28):
to go Iowa they have also thiscomponent for entrepreneurship,
so I said okay we are here.
Let us utilize this incubationprocess.
So they trained us, they gaveus certificates and, upon
(33:48):
completion, for our fellowship,we were also given an
opportunity to pitch our ideas,because they were training us
into Becoming someone inbusiness, like how the US is
doing, how in Africa we aredoing.
So they said at the end of thecourse.
They said we are going to giveyou an opportunity to pitch.
(34:10):
Of course we were 20 fellowsfrom different countries, so we
had a competition and, veryfortunate enough, I was also
selected to be number one.
So I received $8,000 for mypitch.
So they even took my pitchdecks.
They use them for trainingtheir students up to now.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
And so I see you've invested so much in your
personal development and also ingrowing your business and
attracting funding.
So, lucy, earlier you spokeabout supporting other female
entrepreneurs in Malawi.
How exactly do you do that?
Speaker 2 (34:48):
All right, thank you so much, akeel, for that
question.
The way I support other womenin Malawi is because I do
volunteer myself with otherentrepreneurship hubs.
So through thoseentrepreneurship hubs they
direct some women who are doingbusinesses.
(35:09):
So I act as their mentor.
So, like since in 23 I havemanaged to mentor 120 women,
what I do is I to like how bestthey can go about their
businesses.
I we start from scratch.
Maybe a woman even has got anidea.
(35:31):
I help them to how best theycan register their business or
how best they can first do themarket research about their
business if it's at an ideastage, so that they should be
able to know whether thebusiness is going to make profit
or not.
So far I have managed to mentor120 women through mentorship in
(35:52):
entrepreneurship.
I do have some experience inleadership and management
training, including how to pitch, so I use my skills to train
those women.
So since I'm an alumni forMandela Washington Fellow, we
(36:13):
are given an opportunity for aspace where I'm based.
So whenever I have meetingswith those women, usually I take
a cohort of 30 women.
So we meet maybe once in amonth and then I train them on
maybe how to search for grantsor how to teach how to come up
with a business plan.
(36:33):
So it's not only the women thatI help, even men, youths, who
are aspiring to be entrepreneursIf they reach out to me.
I also help them in terms ofgiving them the knowledge and
expertise on how they can starttheir startup or how they can
grow their business, or I givethem some resources or where to
(36:56):
find Some grants if it's anon-profit organization.
So that's what I do.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
So, lucy, in terms of growth, do you have any
expansion plans in Muzuzu or inMalawi as a whole?
Speaker 2 (37:09):
Initially I had plans to expand across Malawi, like
to have the organization in allthree regions.
This year I sat down and I wasreflecting and I was seeing that
majority of the people who needthe services are those who are
(37:30):
from rural areas compared tothose who are in urban areas.
So I have changed track.
The way I'm going to scale thisorganization is I'm going to go
in hard-to-reach areas in therural settings of Mzuzu.
So I'm going to open likesub-branches in the rural
(37:52):
settings of Mzuzu, because I seethere is a huge gap compared to
those who are compared to theother regions, because in the
regions we usually have got bighospitals.
So I want to cover the gap inthe rural areas whereby there of
course hospitals they are, butthey don't have enough resource
(38:16):
and equipment.
So I want to go in those areasand maybe have four clinics,
four more clinics in the ruralareas, in different areas, and
then put all the necessaryequipment so that those people
should be able to have access tothe care that they can be
(38:37):
looking for in an urban area.
So that's what I'm going to doand, in terms of pricing, it's
not that it's going to bestandardized, it's not going to
be like the way we check inurban area.
It will be a subsidized late sothat those people in the rural
area should be able to pay forthe service as well as they
(38:58):
should be able to have access tothose services.
So that's my plan in terms ofscaling up this organization.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
Fantastic and I wish you all the best with that.
As we wrap up, I normally askmy guests two questions.
One is a reflection and theother one is advice.
So, in terms of reflecting,what would you say has been the
most impactful thing for youthat you've achieved in building
this business in Malawi?
Speaker 2 (39:25):
So one of the most impactful things that I feel
like I have achieved in Malawiis starting the organization
itself.
As a young woman it's a bigachievement because in Malawi I
don't know in other countriesmost of the people they have got
a mindset to say it's onlythose people who have retired,
(39:48):
they are the ones who can openhospitals.
So I took a challenge to resignfrom my normal job in a
government sector and startedthis organization and in only
three years we managed to growto have everything.
So I feel that this is veryimpactful being a young woman
(40:08):
and running this organizationwith 20 employees.
So I feel pride in myself inwhat I have achieved so far.
Speaker 1 (40:15):
Yeah, yes.
Congratulations on that, lucy,big congrats.
What advice would you give toother women who are building
businesses in Africa?
Speaker 2 (40:26):
Thank you, akayego.
The advice that I can give toother women who are doing
business in Africa is to beresilient.
You know, in business it's notalways that you are going to
have money.
Sometimes there are toughsituations that you have to
overcome.
(40:46):
So they need to be resilientand to be able to make plans and
goals so that their businessesshould always continue growing.
And we need to dream big.
Like men, we need to dream bigIn business.
There is no simple path.
It's always you have tostruggle and then things work
(41:08):
out.
That's the advice I can give tomy fellow women.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
Thank you so much.
Thank you, lucy.
This has been a great interview.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, lucy.
This has been a great interview.
Thank you.
You're welcome, akego.
Thank you so much for listening.
If you're not alreadysubscribed, please do so on
Apple, spotify or wherever youget your podcasts, and don't
forget to leave us a review sowe know how we're doing.
I'm Akego Okoye and you havebeen listening to African
(41:35):
Business Stories.
Hi there and welcome to another episode of African
Business Stories.
Africa is the only region inthe world where more women than
men choose to be entrepreneurs.
What this says to me is thatthe story of business in Africa
is the story of the Africanbusiness woman.
So we are on a journey ofdiscovery to find these women
(00:23):
and tell their stories.
So we're on a journey ofdiscovery to find these women
and tell their stories.
On the show, we will hear fromfemale innovators and
entrepreneurs building andrunning businesses in Africa.
They will share the highs andlows of their entrepreneurial
journey and lessons learnedalong the way.
Some of these women you mayknow, and many you may not, but
(00:48):
I assure you that all theirstories are inspiring in their
own right.
My hope is that these storieswill inspire you to reach for
your dreams and leave a legacyfor generations to come.
It makes such a big differenceto us if you can rate, review
and share our episodes.
You can do this mainly on ApplePodcasts, and you can find us
on all podcast platforms Ifyou're in Africa.
(01:09):
Spotify is now available, socheck us out there and don't
forget to rate, review and shareOn the show.
Today, I chat with Lucy Nsukwafounder and executive director,
uchemberwe Mwabino, maternity inMalawi.
Following the health challengesfaced by her family members,
(01:30):
lucy decided on a career inhealthcare from an early age.
She started this business inSeptember 2019, and we talked
about how she spent four yearssaving to start and the
challenges she faced as COVIDhit in 2020.
Her growth has been exceptional.
She has gone from offeringunder five healthcare and
(01:50):
maternity services only tooffering outpatient services,
laboratory services, maternaland childcare services and even
surgeries.
She has grown her patients from500 to well over 2,000,
leveraging social media andtechnology.
Lucy has invested a lot in herpersonal development, raised a
(02:13):
significant amount of moneythrough pitch competitions and
today is helping other businessowners in Malawi start and grow
their businesses, a country withone of the highest maternity
and under five mortality ratesin the world.
Lucy is on a mission to bringthose numbers down.
Let's get into it.
Hi, lucy, welcome to AfricanBusiness Stories, thank you.
(02:37):
Thank you so much.
You're my first guest fromMalawi, so excited to have you
on the show, excited to learnabout your business and a little
bit about Malawi from ourconversation today.
So I read that you were bornand raised in Brantai I don't
know if I pronounced it wellwhich is like the largest city
(02:59):
in Malawi.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Yes, I was born there and raised there in Blantyre.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
So what was it like growing up in Malawi?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Growing up in Malawi.
I was born in a family of fivechildren.
We are two girls and three boys.
I'm a third born.
So we grew up in Blantyre allof us.
We were staying with ourparents, and my education I did
(03:29):
it in a primary school we callit Mlambalala from one up to
eight.
So the environment is full of, Ican say most of the population
in Brandtire is full of peoplewho are in their youthful age
(03:50):
and it's a city which has got alot of industries that are
currently happening in Malawi.
I can call it.
It has got a lot of industrialarea with a good environment
Plantar.
Sometimes it's very cold,sometimes it's very hot, so
that's how I can put it in termsof weather.
But the food is also very nicein Blantyre and the prices for
(04:16):
the food in Blantyre, when wecompare them with other regions,
the prices are a bit lower thanin other regions.
Regions, the prices are a bitlower than in other regions.
So, yeah, I grew up with mybrothers.
My sister had uh was going to aboarding school, so most of the
times I was praying with mylittle brothers.
(04:36):
That's what I can say about megrowing up in Brantyne.
Otherwise, it's a good cityfull of people moving up and
down every day.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
So there was an experience that happened when
you were young that kind ofshaped the direction that your
life and your career took.
Do you want to share that withus?
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Yeah, I can share the experience because it's what
motivates me up to now.
When I was very young, I alwayswanted to do something
concerning health, because mymom was sick and my dad was also
sick.
So I remember one time when wewent to the hospital with her,
(05:24):
there was only one person whowas taking care of 20 people.
So during that time my mom hadhigh blood glucose and she
fainted For me to go and callthe other person who was working
there.
She was also very busy withother patients who were very
(05:45):
critically ill, so she couldn'tcome and help us on time because
her work was very overwhelming.
So it was very bad.
Despite that, my mom was okayeventually during that time.
Then the passion for me to dosomething concerning health
(06:05):
began to grow while I was young.
I remember that time it waswhen I was in standard five or
in grade five.
That's when the passion for mestarted growing into saying no.
If there were a lot of peoplewho were alone taking care of
patients, I think my momcouldn't take time to be sitting
.
So that's where the passiondeveloped.
(06:27):
So, as I was going to school,all the time, when teachers ask
us, what do you want to be whenyou grow up, I would either say
that I want to become an nurseor I want to become a doctor
Throughout of my life.
I was always saying that, yeah,yeah.
So that's really what happened,like a motivation for me to do
(06:48):
something concerning health, soyou then went on to study
nursing.
Yeah, actually what happened wasafter my mom passed away.
Then my dad also was also sick,and during that time my dad had
tuberculosis.
So I was also taking care ofhim, as my sister was at
(07:11):
boarding school.
So it was like me who is onlythere, who can take care of my
dad so.
I was going with him to thehospital, I was seeing that
there is still a gap in terms ofhuman resource and technical
staff in hospitals.
So that was still bothering me.
(07:33):
To say I think there are veryfew people who have done courses
in medical health or nursing.
So after I went to, after mydad also passed away that was
when I was in Form 3, then Isaid I think it's high time for
(07:54):
me to continue working hard andthen I should do something which
I want.
So I went ahead and applied forthe university interest and all
the choices.
We are given three choices toselect the schools which we want
to go.
So the first choice I selectedthat I wanted to do nursing
(08:15):
because I was looking at thepoints which I had.
I had 18 points.
So it was like a challenge forme to have more chance if I go
for a degree to become a doctor.
It was a very big challenge forme.
They would have not picked mebecause of the points which I
had.
So for me to increase mychances, I just applied for a
(08:39):
nursing school.
So my first choice was anursing school, nursing school
and Courage of Medicine.
So eventually they chose me togo to Courage of Nursing.
So that's when I started thejourney, focusing on my
education and everything.
So I remember I was talking tomy friend.
I said you know what?
(09:00):
I have a dream that I want tostart operating a clinic.
So she was laughing I know youare just joking.
So I said, no, this is deep inmy heart.
One day I will open a clinic.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
I'm sorry about the loss of your parents and it's
wonderful to see that thatmotivated you to try and solve a
big problem in your country.
So when you finished at theCollege of Nursing, were there
jobs readily available at thetime?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
OK, actually, when we finished at the university, we
were already given anopportunity to select three
regions.
It's either you want to go tothe South, or Central or
Northern region.
So because me I wanted to getcloser to other relatives, I had
(09:55):
to select to be in the Northernregion.
So I was selected to NorthernRegion Hospital where I was
working.
So, yeah, we had thatopportunity.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Is that how you moved to Musuzu?
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
And how long did you work at the hospital in Musuzu?
Speaker 2 (10:20):
So in Mzuzu, I worked there since 2014.
Okay, 2014, up to 2019.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
I see Okay.
And then it was in 2019, youdecided you wanted to start your
own clinic.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
I worked in Mzuzu Central Hospital for four years.
During that four years, I madesome connections with other
people in healthcare.
Profession was during that timeI was also coordinating online
courses, so I had a like anopportunity to meet different
people somewhere, lecturesomewhere professors so they
(10:58):
were the ones who guided methrough who say, if you want to
start opening a clinic, you needto have the following things.
So during that time, I neededto strategize.
That's what I did.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
So how did you come up with the name Uchembera
Wabuino?
Did I say it properly?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
I just have tried.
It's Uchembera Wabuino.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Uchembera Wabuino.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yes, uchembera Wabuino, you have tried.
It's uche mbira.
Yes, so I came up with the namebecause in english it's called
self mother.
Okay, yeah, in english it'scalled self-motherhood.
So in our local language, thenthe one which we usually use is
called uche mb Wabino.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Oh, that's nice.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Yeah, so I got the name looking backwards what I
passed it through with my mom.
So I said this could be a goodname for the clinic, because I
want people to have a good liketo promote self-motherhood.
Whether they are pregnant orbefore pregnant, their health
(12:07):
should be okay without havingany complication.
So that's where the name camefrom.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
That's a lovely name.
So how did you raise thefunding to start and what
initial services were youoffering when you first started?
Speaker 2 (12:21):
All right.
So when I started for me toraise funds as I said,
area-owned I had to make someconnections with other people
who are also in health care, soI had to ask for some ideas.
But then, because they had toldme that if you want to start
operating this clinic, you needto self-government for fears.
(12:43):
So, as I said earlier on that,and I had a dream, since I was
very young and I was growingwith that dream.
So once I just started the likemy first year at the Mzuzu
Central Hospital, I told myselfthat I need to strategize for me
(13:04):
If this dream has to come true.
I need to strategize.
So I had to start saving frommy salary.
I gave myself like a task tosay 20% of my salary is going to
be going towards the dream thatI have that I want to open a
(13:24):
clinic.
So I was saving.
Within three years I was saving.
I opened an account a fixeddeposit account where by that
manner was going there.
So I worked for four yearswhile I was saving the 20% of my
salary and then accumulatingsome resources.
(13:45):
Then I also applied for a bankloan almost 1,000 US dollars
from as we are talking now.
So that that was how I started.
I started with these savings myown savings and then plus a
loan from the bank.
So that's how I started.
I just got a few things that weneeded for me to with the
savings my own savings and thenplus a loan from the bank.
So that's how I started.
(14:05):
I just got a few things thatwere needed for me to start.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
That's fantastic.
So what services were youoffering then?
I know now you have a suite ofthings that you do, but when you
started, what were the initialthings that you were offering to
women and children?
Speaker 2 (14:25):
initial things that you were offering to women and
children.
So during that time we wereonly offering under five clinic
and maternity services.
That is all.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
And I also know that you opened this business just
round about COVID.
Yes, exactly Just in the middleof COVID.
So what was that like for you?
Speaker 2 (14:45):
It was very, very painful, because I remember when
I just started, we started inSeptember 2019.
That was already at the end ofthe year, so we started in
September 2019.
And then, 2020, covid came.
I tell you it was a very badexperience because medical
(15:09):
resources had gone up maybetimes 10.
The things that were buyingmaybe 1,000, they went to 9%.
I remember that time I had tocry.
I had to cry like literallycrying to say why is this
happening?
I'm not going to manage by thento find money, to find
(15:34):
resources to manage the clinic.
It was very hard.
Despite that, people weresaying no, this is your
opportunity.
Now you can make money becausethere is COVID.
But to me it was opposite,because I'm just starting, I am
not yet fully established, andthen COVID-19 is coming and then
the prices for medication ishigh, everything is high
(15:58):
concerning resources for aclinic.
So I remember I was telling bythe way, I'm married, I was
telling my husband to say I'mgoing to close this thing
because it's not working, likeit's not working.
So I I then sat down and said Ithink I will give myself three
(16:19):
months to wait to see if we arenot making any money for us to
buy resources or to pay salariesand lenders, then I'm quitting
this thing.
I think I will restart when Iam ready.
So surprisingly, during thatthree months we managed to
(16:42):
survive.
We managed to survive,everything was okay and things
were moving smoothly.
Then I told my team to say ifwe have managed to survive these
three months of COVID, then weare going to survive in the next
year.
Let's continue the journey.
So that was what happened.
We really survived.
Otherwise, when COVID came in,I was very frustrated and it was
(17:06):
hurting.
Yeah, it brought so manychallenges to us.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
That's incredible and in reading your story you know
I know those were hard times andyou pulled through, able to
increase your patients or yourclients from like 500 to over
2,000, almost 3,000 by 2021 in atwo-year period.
(17:31):
How were you able to do that?
Speaker 2 (17:33):
The reason why we were able to do this is because
we had to incorporate somemarketing strategies.
You know with this generationthat we are coming.
It's a generation that is moreinterested with technology.
So I had to leverage on usingsocial media by involving other
(17:55):
people in the community, tellingthem about our services.
So we were using social mediaadverts.
Of course, in the healthysector you are not supposed to
advertise about your services,but we are just using the social
media to inform them theservices that we are doing.
We are also doing free clinics,so with that it made us to have
(18:19):
more customers.
People were very interested tosee these people.
They are everywhere.
If you click on our website weare there.
If you click on any socialmedia, we are there.
So that made us to be knownacross.
So we leveled on more on usingsocial media because you know
(18:42):
hospitals they don't like tointeract people with on social
media.
They don't like interactingwith other people.
Maybe during the outreach theyjust go there and give the
service.
But we made it to be more acommunity-centered.
So the people when they aregiving us some, for example,
some advice, to say we aretaking the weaknesses from other
(19:06):
clinics, to say, other peopleare complaining that they don't
receive this from the otherclinic.
How best can we do it in ourfacility that we should be
having more customers, theweaknesses of other I can say
competitors, and then alsoleveraging on the social media
(19:26):
marketing, because now a newgeneration of people just search
online.
So that's what we did and, likeother people who are very old
maybe they are in sixth gradeand they are operating they
don't even know about socialmedia.
So using social media is theone thing that had made us to be
known more and have increasedin number of clients.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
That's fantastic.
So today, what services doesyour clinic offer?
Speaker 2 (19:56):
So currently we are offering outpatient medical
services, we are also offeringlaboratory services, we are
offering maternal and childhealth services, and now we have
also started conductingsurgeries.
So that's what we are doing now.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Oh, wow.
In preparing for this interview, I was just reading about
healthcare in Malawi and it wasjust shocking.
Apparently, malawi has one ofthe highest maternal mortality
rates and also high under-fivemortality rate.
So, what is it happening likeon the ground?
Speaker 2 (20:39):
So on the ground in Malawi we don't have adequate
facilities with good resources.
Okay, so the health centers, Iwould say health clinics.
They are very far for people toreach and we only have like
(20:59):
three main central hospitalsthat we depend on across Malawi,
in each region.
But then to find a goodhospital which is fully fledged
with everything, every resourcethat could help a person or a
woman, it's very tough.
You would find a hospital.
(21:20):
They don't have any medicine,they don't have any machine, but
yet it's a hospital.
So that's why we are stillhaving a problem in these
maternal dates and women.
They travel 10 kilometers to goto a hospital to access care.
So some they just opt to stayhome, to just deliver it home,
(21:43):
and some they just opt to go totraditional birth attendants in
their communities.
So this brings in morecomplications and eventually
people they end up dying, whichcauses high maternal mortality
rates.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
In terms of cost.
What does it cost to come toyou as opposed to going to?
I mean, it's not like there aremany hospitals to go to, so you
know people don't really have achoice.
But but is this a costlyservice for for the people in
muzuzu?
Speaker 2 (22:21):
what we did was, uh, we made the clinic to be a
hybrid, like a for-profit andnon-profit.
The for-profit side we use itto run for the other reasons,
like buying medicine, salariesand everything, and also the
profit made from the for-profitis used to the non-profit side,
(22:42):
whereby we go to communities inNsimba districts, whereby we go
and offer the services for free.
So when we were coming up withour pricing, we had to do
research to say how many clinicsdo we have in Mzuzu and what
(23:04):
are the prices that they areoffering?
And then we had to come with anaverage to say we shouldn't be
competitive but we shouldprovide an affordable price.
Somebody who is staying withinour catchment area should be
able to pay for the service ifthey are sick.
So that's what we did.
And then, if we compare withother among us as we are a bit
(23:28):
affordable, because we had tolook for those people with this
lower social economic statusbecause our green is closer to
those people who are very in thegroup of low social economics
to the market and sell tomatoesand they come back.
They sell vegetables.
So we had to put our pricing sothat those people we are
(23:51):
targeting, they should be ableto pay for this and then we
should survive.
So our price is affordable foran average person who is maybe
doing a small business, and theycan be able to pay that's.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
That's fantastic.
That's fantastic.
Thank you for the work that youdo.
So.
So, in terms of businessdevelopment, we've talked about
how you've used social media togrow your client base.
And then in terms of funding, Iknow that when you started, you
said you used some of yourresources and also took a loan.
I know that you've had accessto grants.
(24:29):
Can you talk to us a bit abouthow you came to get some of
these grants?
Speaker 2 (24:35):
All right, thank you.
After 2020, covid came.
Then I saw that there was acertain opportunity.
I was saying I am a healthcareperson, but I still lack
knowledge concerning business.
So I was asking myself to sayhow do I fill this gap that I
(24:58):
have?
I can provide good quality careto a client or a patient, but
then, in terms of business, Idon't have any information
concerning business.
What should I do?
That's when I started searchingonline to say which people
train people intoentrepreneurship?
What organization trainedpeople in entrepreneurship?
(25:21):
So my journey started.
When I enrolled for Academy forwomen entrepreneurs by United
States of America, I said okay,I'm going to apply for this
opportunity.
They are saying they trainfemales in business how to run
their business.
(25:41):
Me this information?
I don't have one.
I know it's about givingpatients medication or taking
care of them.
So I said let me give it a try,because I have a gap in this
thing.
So when I did that, it was asix-week training.
We did it online.
It was very interesting to learnthe concepts and, surprisingly,
(26:04):
during that time, it was thefirst cohort in Malawi to be
piloted.
Surprisingly, I was only theperson who was in the healthy
sector.
We were 90 females Only myself.
I was in the healthy sector.
I was like 89 in agriculture.
There was a very bigcompetition.
So even when they were givingexamples where we were learning,
(26:29):
I was like, how am I going toapply?
They are talking aboutCoca-Cola, they are talking
about Uber, what am I going todo with this information?
Me, I'm dealing with people.
So it took me some time to sayI think I can really apply this
information that they areteaching me when they are giving
the examples, I would still tryto use it to my business, to
(26:51):
connect to my business, becauseit's a service provision and
they are talking about they aretalking about Uber, they are
talking about Apple.
I was like, okay, I will stillremain in this cohort, let me
give it my best.
So I was using the knowledge andthen eventually, after the six
weeks training, they said youare going to pitch?
It was my first time to hearthe word pitch, okay.
(27:16):
So I said I'm going to pitch.
So we pitched and unfortunately, during that time it was for
for allegiance, so they hadselected some.
As I said earlier on that, eventhe judges couldn't understand
my business because I'm in ahealthy sector.
So they say I said, okay, fine,no problem, so long as I had
(27:39):
information concerning ourentrepreneurship.
So at the end of our journey ofthe course, they said, no, we
are going to give you anopportunity again for you to
write a proposal where you canreceive funding of 10,000.
I said, ok, I have a strengthin writing things.
So I said, let me use mystrength in writing the proposal
(28:01):
, because this is my strength.
We got the proposal.
We forgot about it A month in2021, I just received a letter
to say you are one of theawardees for the what For the
United States AfricanDevelopment Foundation grant.
I was like what?
I was very happy.
Out of the 94, we were only sixwho were selected in Malawi
(28:23):
Fantastic.
So that was the beginning of usto start growing because we
implemented the project verywell.
So you know when youimplemented the project very
well.
So you know, when you implementthe project very well, other
donors they are also interestedin coming in.
So whenever there was anopportunity for entrepreneurship
(28:44):
, I started telling myself I say, if I have made it this time, I
think the next time, if thereis another opportunity, I'm also
going to give it a chance.
So I have this passion ofalways wanting to learn more and
more and more.
So after that opportunity came,we do the project.
(29:05):
Opportunity had come with theSocial Incubator, malawi, the
GoFamily Foundation.
I said I'm going to give it atry again.
I gave it a try.
We went for an eight-monthincubation, so during that time
I was using the information thatI got from Academy for Women
(29:25):
and to transfer it to SocialImpact Incubator.
They also gave us anotherinformation that was very
beautiful, very relevant.
I learned a lot of things.
I started applying them andthen we were also given
opportunity.
Actually, when we were applyingfor social incubator, there
were 211 organizations.
(29:46):
Out of the 211, they onlywanted 10.
So we were among them.
So we went for the incubationprogram and then we were also
given an opportunity to do apitch.
So I had to work on the pitchand, fortunate enough, I was on
the first position.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
So I was given a grant $15, a grant of $15,000.
How much $15,000.
Who was running your businessin the eight months?
Because that's a challenge.
Sometimes there areentrepreneurs who want to go
away and do some of theseprograms but wonder what will
happen to their business.
So how was your businessrunning those eight months?
Or did you shut it down?
(30:28):
What did you do?
Speaker 2 (30:32):
eight months, or did you shut it down?
What?
What did you do?
No, I did not shut it down, butI have people, I have a team.
You know, most of the times, ofcourse, when we are the
founders of an organization, weare afraid.
We have this fear that thisorganization is going to fail.
But if you have trained yourteam very well, they always
manage it Despite that.
(30:52):
You are not there, you are notavailable, but they will always
manage it.
So it goes with the good team.
If you have a good team,everything is possible.
No need for you to worry.
I think the organization isgoing to go down.
So I have a good team, which Iselected.
We always take them on boardand explain everything.
(31:16):
The organization is going to godown.
So I have a good team, which Iselected.
We always take them on boardand explain everything, and we
usually look for people who havegot the same vision.
As we have to say you shouldincorporate your values with
that of the organizations.
They should be in line.
If they are different with theorganization's values, then that
person.
We don't select them because weknow that they won't be part of
(31:37):
us.
So that's what I did, yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
The various grants that you've been able to raise.
How have they been deployed inthe business so far?
Speaker 2 (31:46):
To be honest, the grants that we have been
receiving, they have pushed usvery much and sometimes people
they do wonder to say in justthree years you have done a lot
of things like this.
So it's because of the grantsthat we have been receiving and
we implement what we have saidwe are going to implement with
(32:08):
the donors, because most of theentrepreneurs, what they like,
they make a mistake when theydon't implement what they had
agreed.
So we usually um like the firstgrant, we used it for the
theater equipment.
The second grant, we used itfor the laboratory.
So we make sure that when we'reasking for the money, we should
(32:29):
really use the money for theintended purposes.
So that's what we do.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
You're also a Mandela , washington Fellow.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Yes, I'm a Mandela, Washington Fellow.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
How did that come about?
Speaker 2 (32:43):
It was my first time applying for Mandela Washington
Fellow.
I was just hearing peoplesaying, no, mandela Washington
Fellowship is a very goodfellowship, they do this and
that.
So I was just hearing peoplesaying, no, mandela Washington
fellowship is a very goodfellowship, they do this and
that.
So I was interested.
I was like, okay, I think if Ihave been able to move this
direction, I still also have thechance to participate in this
(33:04):
fellowship.
So let me try it before I reachmy age reaches 35 years old.
So I applied and, fortunateenough, I was selected.
When I was selected, we went todo the fellowship and, luckily
enough, when we went to theuniversity that I was selected
(33:28):
to go Iowa they have also thiscomponent for entrepreneurship,
so I said okay we are here.
Let us utilize this incubationprocess.
So they trained us, they gaveus certificates and, upon
(33:48):
completion, for our fellowship,we were also given an
opportunity to pitch our ideas,because they were training us
into Becoming someone inbusiness, like how the US is
doing, how in Africa we aredoing.
So they said at the end of thecourse.
They said we are going to giveyou an opportunity to pitch.
(34:10):
Of course we were 20 fellowsfrom different countries, so we
had a competition and, veryfortunate enough, I was also
selected to be number one.
So I received $8,000 for mypitch.
So they even took my pitchdecks.
They use them for trainingtheir students up to now.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
And so I see you've invested so much in your
personal development and also ingrowing your business and
attracting funding.
So, lucy, earlier you spokeabout supporting other female
entrepreneurs in Malawi.
How exactly do you do that?
Speaker 2 (34:48):
All right, thank you so much, akeel, for that
question.
The way I support other womenin Malawi is because I do
volunteer myself with otherentrepreneurship hubs.
So through thoseentrepreneurship hubs they
direct some women who are doingbusinesses.
(35:09):
So I act as their mentor.
So, like since in 23 I havemanaged to mentor 120 women,
what I do is I to like how bestthey can go about their
businesses.
I we start from scratch.
Maybe a woman even has got anidea.
(35:31):
I help them to how best theycan register their business or
how best they can first do themarket research about their
business if it's at an ideastage, so that they should be
able to know whether thebusiness is going to make profit
or not.
So far I have managed to mentor120 women through mentorship in
(35:52):
entrepreneurship.
I do have some experience inleadership and management
training, including how to pitch, so I use my skills to train
those women.
So since I'm an alumni forMandela Washington Fellow, we
(36:13):
are given an opportunity for aspace where I'm based.
So whenever I have meetingswith those women, usually I take
a cohort of 30 women.
So we meet maybe once in amonth and then I train them on
maybe how to search for grantsor how to teach how to come up
with a business plan.
(36:33):
So it's not only the women thatI help, even men, youths, who
are aspiring to be entrepreneursIf they reach out to me.
I also help them in terms ofgiving them the knowledge and
expertise on how they can starttheir startup or how they can
grow their business, or I givethem some resources or where to
(36:56):
find Some grants if it's anon-profit organization.
So that's what I do.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
So, lucy, in terms of growth, do you have any
expansion plans in Muzuzu or inMalawi as a whole?
Speaker 2 (37:09):
Initially I had plans to expand across Malawi, like
to have the organization in allthree regions.
This year I sat down and I wasreflecting and I was seeing that
majority of the people who needthe services are those who are
(37:30):
from rural areas compared tothose who are in urban areas.
So I have changed track.
The way I'm going to scale thisorganization is I'm going to go
in hard-to-reach areas in therural settings of Mzuzu.
So I'm going to open likesub-branches in the rural
(37:52):
settings of Mzuzu, because I seethere is a huge gap compared to
those who are compared to theother regions, because in the
regions we usually have got bighospitals.
So I want to cover the gap inthe rural areas whereby there of
course hospitals they are, butthey don't have enough resource
(38:16):
and equipment.
So I want to go in those areasand maybe have four clinics,
four more clinics in the ruralareas, in different areas, and
then put all the necessaryequipment so that those people
should be able to have access tothe care that they can be
(38:37):
looking for in an urban area.
So that's what I'm going to doand, in terms of pricing, it's
not that it's going to bestandardized, it's not going to
be like the way we check inurban area.
It will be a subsidized late sothat those people in the rural
area should be able to pay forthe service as well as they
(38:58):
should be able to have access tothose services.
So that's my plan in terms ofscaling up this organization.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
Fantastic and I wish you all the best with that.
As we wrap up, I normally askmy guests two questions.
One is a reflection and theother one is advice.
So, in terms of reflecting,what would you say has been the
most impactful thing for youthat you've achieved in building
this business in Malawi?
Speaker 2 (39:25):
So one of the most impactful things that I feel
like I have achieved in Malawiis starting the organization
itself.
As a young woman it's a bigachievement because in Malawi I
don't know in other countriesmost of the people they have got
a mindset to say it's onlythose people who have retired,
(39:48):
they are the ones who can openhospitals.
So I took a challenge to resignfrom my normal job in a
government sector and startedthis organization and in only
three years we managed to growto have everything.
So I feel that this is veryimpactful being a young woman
(40:08):
and running this organizationwith 20 employees.
So I feel pride in myself inwhat I have achieved so far.
Speaker 1 (40:15):
Yeah, yes.
Congratulations on that, lucy,big congrats.
What advice would you give toother women who are building
businesses in Africa?
Speaker 2 (40:26):
Thank you, akayego.
The advice that I can give toother women who are doing
business in Africa is to beresilient.
You know, in business it's notalways that you are going to
have money.
Sometimes there are toughsituations that you have to
overcome.
(40:46):
So they need to be resilientand to be able to make plans and
goals so that their businessesshould always continue growing.
And we need to dream big.
Like men, we need to dream bigIn business.
There is no simple path.
It's always you have tostruggle and then things work
(41:08):
out.
That's the advice I can give tomy fellow women.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
Thank you so much.
Thank you, lucy.
This has been a great interview.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, lucy.
This has been a great interview.
Thank you.
You're welcome, akego.
Thank you so much for listening.
If you're not alreadysubscribed, please do so on
Apple, spotify or wherever youget your podcasts, and don't
forget to leave us a review sowe know how we're doing.
I'm Akego Okoye and you havebeen listening to African
(41:35):
Business Stories.
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