By Chikondi Masache, LCC 4

While many students are busy joining the already long queues of job seekers after their graduation, the case is different for Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Energy Systems class of 2023.

The students finished their classes last year and they are waiting for their graduation but they have already demonstrated readiness to embrace entrepreneurship and use their acquired skills and knowledge to serve the world

They are proud owners of EarthWise Energy Group Limited, an ecofriendly energy services proving company, which has already been registered by the Government of Malawi under the Companies Act.

The owners, 14 classmates, said the company’s vision is to become the number one eco-friendly, efficient and effective energy services and technologies provider in Malawi and beyond. 

“Our mission is to use innovation in coming up with energy solutions that are sustainable through a spectrum of energy generation, transmission and consumption to cater for grid connected and off-grid communities in Malawi and beyond,” said James Kalawa, one of the owners and currently working as operations manager for EarthWise Energy.

He said they will work to find solutions for issues such as low access to energy-efficient technologies, poor energy management and auditing, carbon footprint and environmental effects, energy security and reliability, grid resilience and peak demand management, integration and optimization of renewable energy, high energy costs and consumption, and energy waste and inefficiency. 

 

“We’re utilizing locally available resources or materials for projects like briquette making. However, scaling up initiatives that require significant capital has been challenging. Currently, we’ve linked up with Cubix/Robotics to start producing our products. We are in the prototype stage of developing Earthwise bulbs, with plans to begin mass production soon. Once we reach that stage, we will seek support from sponsors and assistance in obtaining a MERA certificate,” said Kalawa.

 

The company consists of the whole BSc in Sustainable Energy Systems class of 2023. They have Chrispine Chimangeni as chief executive officer, Tamanda Zinyawo as company secretary, project manager Mphatso Paka, chief operations officer Augustine Muhekiwa, environmental compliance manager Ronald Rama, technical officer Arnold Jere, marketing manager Zaithwa Katuwa and Kalawa. 

The executive meets often for company decisions which they later present to the rest of the team for adoption.

According to Kalawa, the idea came up in 2023 but it was fully manifested in January this year after seeing how united and visionary they were as a class. 

“It has been easy because MUST, through the Energy Resources Department, taught us team work, unity, industrial management and entrepreneurship among others and the courses within the programme opened our eyes to the opportunity to help Malawi by venturing into this business idea,” added Kalawa. 

Currently operating without a physical office, members just choose a place to meet when physical interactions are needed otherwise most of the management issues are done online. 

“Plans are there to open an office at Thyolo boma with branches in other districts. If there are people or institutions willing to support us with an office, we will surely appreciate because the projects we are starting soon will need a permanent physical location,” said Kalawa, adding that most operations are currently running on their individual savings.

Last year the team developed the MUST energy policy, which is open to the public to appreciate what the team can do. The document is within the Energy Resources Department at MUST.

“Out here many graduates remain unemployed and yet we have the skills and knowledge which we can easily monitise and change not only our lives but also of many Malawians. That's why we made a decision to start this company,” said Kalawa. 

Earthwise Energy plans to focus on customer satisfaction in order to develop loyalty and retain the trust of its customers. 

“We want to adapt to the changing market trends and energy demands, optimizing financial management by making strategic investments, continuous innovation in our technologies which will make us beat competition. Partnerships and recruiting fresh minds will also be our priority,” explained Kalawa.

“On behalf of EarthWise Energy, we would want to urge all university students to start thinking outside the box when studying. They should have an entrepreneurship mindset, and use the skills and knowledge they get in class. Be creative and innovative. Believe in starting small and team work for this is the only strong way we can curb the unemployment issues while bringing development to our communities.”