24/06/2026
YOUTH SKILLS ARE NEW ECONOMIC CURRENCY—SAYS Standard Bank Malawi CHIEF MADINGA
The Chief Executive of Standard Bank Plc Phillip Madinga says vocational skills have the power to transform Malawi’s economy.
He said at DAPP Mikolongwe College in Chiradzulu that vocational skill sets can contribute to economic growth through job creation, self-reliance and catalytic export of commodities, especially from agriculture. The bank has launched a K40 million Business Incubation program for agriculture graduates at the college run by the Development Aid from People to People (DAPP Malawi).
“Vocational skills by the youth drive productivity in key macroeconomic sectors of the Malawian economy such as agriculture, manufacturing, construction and services.
"The program we’re launching today with DAPP focusses on agriculture as the sector anchors the economy,” he said.
Madinga said the agriculture sector—which employs over 80 percent of the country’s total population— needs technical and vocational skills to improve agribusiness, food security and value addition.
In 2022, Standard Bank Plc contributed K53.4 million to DAPP Malawi, comprising of K31.7 million for ICT equipment and K21.7 million for the training of 30 vulnerable young women in tailoring and fashion design.
DAPP Malawi Country Director Moses Chibwana said the support from Standard Bank Plc is helping the organisation fulfill its mandate of contributing to the country’s economic development through vocational training, self reliance and job-market ready skills development.
“We are very grateful for the partnership with Standard Bank as it’s helping DAPP fulfill our vision and that of the nation by uplifting the youth who are our future leaders and the new economic growth frontier,” he said.
One of the incubates Alice Alufandika said during the course, the cohort learnt how to work with renewable agriculture methods such as the use of organic manure and recyclable soil treatment containers.
“We’re happy that Standard Bank has come in to give us a boost. Their support will help us achieve scale in our efforts,” Alufandika said beside her stall selling honey and vegetables.
