Lusaka Entrepreneur Wins K1 Million in Zanaco Kweza Challenge

26-year-old Lusaka Entrepreneur Wins K1 Million in Zanaco Kweza Challenge

By Bwalya Chanda

MWALA MOOTO, IS the 26-year-old entrepreneur who won the K1 million fi rst prize of the Zanaco Kweza challenge.

The Kweza Challenge ran for over 2 months with 50 entrepreneurs pitching various aspects of their businesses. Congratulations to our top winners, letf to right: 1. Barry Ilunga Kyembe - WOTA Soap

Industries Ltd. - K100,000 2. Muzalema Mwanza - Seafood Fisheries Ltd - K500,000 3. Rodgers Siwila - Rodevesi Industrial

Flooring Ltd - K700,000 4. Rhoda Phiri - Koyebless Farms - K200,000 5. Mwala Mooto - Maima General Dealers -

K1,000,000

Mooto, through his Maima General Dealers, pitched a business model of building a stable value chain in the agricultural sector that incorporates smallholder farmers.

“We have opted to be part of the solution by setting up a 20 million kwacha fi nancial instrument that will be used to build a stable value chain in the small livestock sector.

In a country where more than 60% of the population are small holder farmers, there is a great need for us to build a stable value chain that incorporates smallholder farmers and provide them with a stable market access, capital and capacity building. A total of 3,750 smallholder farmers clustered in 75 cooperative societies consisting of 50 each from Western, Central and Northern provinces are ear marked to benefi t from the instrument through capacity building, value addition, market access, input supply, working capital and business development support. The instrument has so far attracted a total investment of 5 million which includes the 1 million prize from ZANACO, 2 Million from the African Development Bank and 2 Million from Mooto Holdings Ltd our private equity investment fi rm. We are actively engaging more fi nanciers to raise the 15 Million kwacha balance and we are at an advanced stage,” he wrote after his win.

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