My Thoughts

Date: Feb 2, 2006

My Thoughts

game · Guru

Another widespread problem I've noticed is the perception of investment as a tool for charity and not as a business activity first.

well, you are entitled to your opinions and i do agree with some points raised,my problem though is that malawi compared to india,indonesia and malaysia has a higher rate of corruption cases which has resulted in gross economic inefficiency,malawi does not use a doctrine of economic,technological and scientific specialisation and never proposes a system of intermediate technology.

you are right we have to do research,planning speak to the right people and be creative but many people in malawi dont realise where their interests lie,why?because most of their intelligence has been dimmed by greed and envy,this is a grave social disease that has infected our society today,if only malawi could get a really able government our economy can match up to that of countries like india and china,like you said malawi could be a potential gold mine only if.

Mulopwana · Veteran Member

On research I agree with you. In most of the big organisations in Malawi, you will find that there are no research departments. How do you think they can survive in a competitive environment no wonder they are winding up.

Thabwa · Newbie

True true.

abre les ojos · Guru

Well awmygawd playing Devils Advocate. Even though I perfectly understand the notion, I myself am completely incapable of playing it.

I have first hand experience in the futility of such a venture so I can only speak from my personal experiences.

It might not look like it but we all are aware that there is a difference between investment and charity - actually I found that charge quite patronising to say the least.

Now my argument is that ever so often you get folks coming here saying that we should invest in Malawi. What a profound Idea! But the big flaw in such an idea is that they never seem to suggest anything. If I had £1 million today, tell me what would you propose that I invest in... It's gotta be something that has rapid returns because I'm not a natural born businessman. Anything short of that would be a "charity" to me as far as I'm concerned.

So you see the dilemma here. Patriotism has nothing to do with it. You cannot be patriotic without being practical. You say that Malawi is a potential gold mine. Well show me some evidence for it and I might just take you up on it.

Till someone can come up with an economically viable investment plan (or even just a concept for crying out loud) this topic as far as I'm concerned is closed.

game · Guru

well abre..

to invest in malawi with so much money like that would be a big gamble unless if you are a risk taker,i for one used to be in this field of study the only problem in malawi is that most big companies dont fall in the time frame which reports the financial affairs of the business,like malawi stock exchange,and the fact that there is no going concern concept which assumes the business will be in operation in the forseable future.

look at internet cafes,someone started it and right now from what i hear there is an internet cafe at every street corner,putting each other out of business along the way,these businesses do not apply any accrual accounting concepts,not even consistency.i know that profit motive dominates our market economy,but there is often lack of transparency in recruitment measures,most people get jobs not by merit.

people just come here and say lets invest in malawi,well.its easier said than done,they dont look at long term prospects,look at what happened to finance bank,if banks can get closed just like that it means there is a serious economic flaw dont just give a blind eye,think of companies affected due to the closure of the bank.

Date: Feb 3, 2006

Game , some of the biggest companies in the world have expanded (and succeeded) by concentrating on developing markets eg SAB Miller (the worlds 2nd largest brewer), Old Mutual (big insurer, listed on the LSE), TATA.... The list is endless. If you play your cards right, the risk does not have to be that high.

-- Edited by awmygawd at 11:29, 2006-02-03

Date: Feb 3, 2006

abre les ojos wrote:

If I had £1 million today, tell me what would you propose that I invest in...

That's exactly what my point is, I can't! That's where your resourcefulness would come in. Good business opportunities don't just lie around waiting to be picked up. They must be looked for or even created. Especially in places like MW

Dzimveremuntolo · Newbie

The problem with most of us who are afraid to invest is pure lack of entrepreneurial skills. I would not blame anyone who would be scared to invest where he has a faintest idea of where the profits would come from. We have an education system that does not take into account that not no matter how vibrant an economy is, not every one will be in paid employment and it therefore prepares us poorly when faced with unemployment dilemna. That's where our western and asian friends ralised that there should also be emphasis on entrepreurship in their education system where certain people have to take calculated risks so that others can work for them. If someone does not take the risk then who is going to create jobs which will make a real change for lives of ordinary malawians?

Of-course I also agree that setting up a venture in a country like MW may be risky considering that macro-economic conditions are always changing making it difficult to chart the direction of your start-up. At least knowledge of such economic short-comings is a step in mitigating possible sources of business failure. But hey we take risks everyday without realising it. At least you learn as go along. If you don't get up and try, then say bye bye to where real money is!

Mulopwana · Veteran Member

Dzimveremuntolo

You are really intelligent. Risks in business are everywhere. Its not only in Malawi. I hope Abre has read your contribution. What you have said is exactly what Bingu is telling Malawians at the moment. 2, 3, 4 graduates can team up and start a business and be very successful. There is need for an overhaul of the whole education system.

-- Edited by Mulopwana at 21:48, 2006-02-04

sibweni · Senior Member

if someone is able to make a million pound the guy should be clever enough to know what to invest into,however while talk about investment in MW have we considered other factors before even we talk of taking risk?

things like communication networks i know most of you guys will tell me about celtel beingavailable throughout the country but how reliable is?
transport networks? railways and siku siku i mean how cordnated the system is?
political stability of the country do we really try to think about those things kapena tikufuna bizimis wa mandasi ndi mipani ya mbewa. how i miss them. do we think how reliable the work force is back home? what about securitypopeza a police ndi a army nde oyambilira kuyashamula mudzi nanji amve mwachokela ku britainor usa these things you need to think about them before you even think of taking risk.

you cant take all your money you`ve worked your ass out to save put it there buy your goods or employ service providers and the next thing you hear is bwana katundu wabwerera chifukwa tinchedwa mafuta anatithera pa njira or akuti amaimbba phone koma simumapezeka.

if we can do some soul searching how many of us have a personal solictor or lawyer whatever we call them very few do have. how many have registerd a business backhome very few all we know is ndatumiza truck kumalawi nde jaspora yonse ma truck. ndayamba babashope nde mtundu wonse babashop.
even anthu amene tayendako its like sitinaseguke mmaso.
we need to use our imaginations and create something. malawi is not yet exploited.

if i remember ku lilongwekumaminibus there used to be twin brothers who made a lot of money by controlling minibus touts inde inali mafia style but the guys atleast creative.but some have spent four years kuyenda mumakolido a chanco cant think how to make money koma kuthamangila uk, usa kuzaseta nafe i mean its pathetic.

this doen`t mean am not for investing the system back home is the main draw back. our president is trying hard to shape our nation but we are busy holding him back.

Date: Feb 5, 2006

The Malawi business climate is anything but ideal, but that shouldn't worry anyone who can think outside the box. Well said Sib'.
Many consider the Malawi business climate hostile, I consider it merely unconventional, requiring an uncoventional approach. What's percieved as risk can be bypassed with a clever business model. Class 1 rail networks didnt make Google what it is today, innovation did.

Ngwazi · Guru

sibweni wrote:

.but some have spent four years kuyenda mumakolido a chanco cant think how to make money koma kuthamangila uk, usa kuzaseta nafe i mean its pathetic.

Sibweni,

you have written a very good piece and brought up some nice points only to ruin it here!What you have to remember is that creativity does not necessarily need one to go through UNIMA,it is inborn,going through UNIMA only helps you to understand the workings and the concepts of the business world and more especially the Malawian model.It is because of this understanding of the economics(macro and micro)of the country that many left the country.Simply put,microeconomics helps people make decisions as to what they want to achieve or where they want to be say in x years time given the economic growth/downturn in a country.One thing for sure is that you have to have connections in Malawi before you can even think about starting any business.The risk(s)involved when you start a business and dont have the connections are not worthy taking especially when you look at the returns to your business.An investment has to pay itself quickly for you to start enjoying the fruits of that investment but when the payback time is over 5 years then for an IBO thats a long time and too much a risk to take but with the right connections the payback period reduces drastically to about 6 months and there is nothing creative about this,you dont have to be an ex-chancol,poly or MIM to know about this,its rather your own walk into the world of murky bribes and shady politics and deals.

I can give you examples of people who never went beyond Form 4 but seem to be doing fine,people like Jack Kamwendo,Matumula and Chris Chisesele,these guys are doing well because of connections and you cant blame them,its about survival and if they have the means to do so then fair and fine.I have also worked in a purchasing department of a very large company and saw it with my own eyes that orders for goods were not given to people based on competitive price offered or lead(delivery) time but managers had their own preferences,it did not matter to them how much discount one could give.

I do like this topic,its helpful but lets leave out this finger pointing,lets look at the business/ investment opportunities back home without talking about what people are doing outhere in these parts.The only worthwhile investment opportunity I can think of especially with enough capital is into real estate,property development especially in low density areas.At least you might bribe one or two people at the early stages but thereafter its plain sailing,you just sit back and watch your investment grow,remember houses with proper care can only appreciate whilst motor vehicles even with 100% care,will always depreciate.Tiye nazoni!

sibweni · Senior Member

i hold no vandetta against the college graduates but its the talk on forum that seems to be trying to divide contributors into two. read most of postings and you will vindcate me.

the thing with most of us is we very happy to get praises but when critcised we seem not to be but in life we are supposed to take as much as we give.

Ngwazi if a graduate and a nongraduate say apply for a loan from a bank who is most likely to be givfn first priority in an ideal world. what about if you have say a chance to meet joe millionaire and propose to be his agent in malawi who is likely to get a deal ofcourse a graduate has an upper hand this is a fact.

however i do agree with you thatyou dont need to be a graduate to make it in business but chances of survival are very slim. just imagine you`ve found a potential loaded partner and he asks you, you dont have enough qualification how are we gonna manage this or that.and you tell him dont worry i will bribe my way. what picture will you be giving to your parner. unless its a russian you stand no chance. the other thing most of non graduate successifull african biz pple are crooks corrupt and ruthless they operate in societies and for you to break through you should have ironballs.

yes i might have gone over the top but truth hurts though worthy.most of you guys graduate thinking having a degree means goodjob nice pays etcmost of you never even try to get less paying jobs or the ones that looks to not what you specialised. ive known some guys here who have 2:1 degrees but are brick layers. they know you start frrom bottom and make your way to the top and on top of that they are managed nongraduates.koma amalawi angaimve imeneyo. mfana wa poly managed by lilongwe technical? you are joking arent you?

that way of thinking is the one that brings us down.

Dzimveremuntolo · Newbie

Well said Ngwazi,

The problem with ventures in Malawi is that people try to do what they see as tried and tested ventures and no wonder you see businesses offering undifferentiated products/services and that leads to competition based on price. It's only those who have bigger capital who survive because these individuals are able to change the rules of competition, say through bribes.

On the other hand creativity and innovation is very difficult to imitate because innovators are always ahead of the game. If people can try to be different in their ventures, i do not see why their ventures should not be more competitive and even grow to unimaginable levels. I would give an example of minibus business. If someone would say, offer more comfortable seats and not let people sit in crumpled position, no overloading etc, how many would soon recommend your minibus line to others. You could also introduce a system where regular customers are given incentives for using your buses. You could soon start to build a regular customer base that would ensure that you have more realistic forecasts on costs, revenue etc. The more you start to understand your business, your customers in particular, the more creative you can become and by the time someone wants to imitate your style, you would have moved to the next level. You will always be ahead of imitators. I will give you an example of Tesco's club card program and others who have tried to imitate tesco on this front but miserably fail to maintain a strong customer base.

The idea of quick returns on your investment not only threatens the very idea of investing. If you want quick returns then there are other less risky options like investing in money markets etc and settle for lower margins. But if you want your investment to stand the test of real competition, then it comes down to you understanding what you want to do, who your prospective customers are, what kind of environment your business will be operating in and who your competitors are and how they compete. Equipped with this knowledge then you can start planning your venture. If there certain gray areas you cannot answer, then these could be possible sources of failure for your venture. Each and every question about your venture must have an answer and this process of planning is not going to be easy. Hey its better to meticulously plan each and every step than to fail miserably.

Dzimveremuntolo · Newbie

Sibweni,

Indeed being a graduate does not necessarily mean that you will become a highly paid manager or you would get a good paying job. Ideally, it is supposed to make one more adaptable to different challlenging situations, but in reality it does not always work like that. Either some graduates take a long time to smell the coffee or others find themselves in situations where those people who have been around the organisation see them as threats to their positions and what you see is graduates being trumpled upon and made to believe that university education is a waste of time. Who does not want to be educated anyway? If you have just graduated say in engineering and you join a company, the possibility is high that your immediate boss will have a city and guilds diploma. Instead of being negative about such a situation, these graduates could try to learn as much as you can from this guy because for him to be where he is, someone had confidence in his abilities. When you have learned enough then don't just sit waiting for this guy to meet some kind of fate for you to take his position. It doesn't always happen. Be realistic. Move on. With your experience and your degree you stand to get a position of your dream. Ofcourse there isn't much choice in MW in terms of jobs but I know of chaps who have changed jobs after getting the experience they need and right now they are better placed wherever they are. I also know of chaps who have wasted time hoping that they will be considered and end up in supervisory roles for ages.

It may be necessarily true that lending insititutions would prefer to lend money to a graduate rather than a non-graduate. If being a graduate means that you could present your case better than a non-graduate then this could be the case. However a non-graduate may realise his short-comings and team up someone who would articulate his case such that a lending insititution would prefer to lend him the money. In this case it's not being a graduate but rather how you present your case to those who will take the risk of lending you money.

Ngwazi · Guru

sibweni wrote:

if a graduate and a nongraduate say apply for a loan from a bank who is most likely to be givfn first priority in an ideal world. what about if you have say a chance to meet joe millionaire and propose to be his agent in malawi who is likely to get a deal ofcourse a graduate has an upper hand this is a fact.

Sibweni,

My point is/was that in business,nothing is straightforward.With the ever changing operating environment,the way business is conducted changes rapidly.Its no longer"this is how we do things here"anymore,you need to be flexible and adapt to changes quickly otherwise you will be left behind.So if you feel your friends are getting most of their business because of bribing some officials and decide not to follow suit,then you will have yourself to blame because survival is about adaptation and evolving,this is a real world and in areal world,only the strong and the clever survive.

On your assertion that a graduate is more likely to be given a loan from a bank or be chosen as an agent in preference to a non-graduate in an ideal world,I say this is shallow thinking.What you have to remember is that in such an ideal world the bank will not look at the person but his income and business proposal and its viability. They look at whether he is going to repay the money or default and based on their assessment on his conduct they might give him such a loan whether one is a grad or not.A loan application form does not require one to fill in his qualifications but rather his proposal,surety or income and the same applies if you meet joe millionaire and offer to be his agent,he will look at your connections and potential to make his business grow and not how many degrees you have.You should be aware that most of the people who have made it big in the business world are mostly college drop-outs,talk about Bill Gates and Richard Branson!Even in Malawi you might be interested to know that the General Manager of Commercial and General insurance company,Ian Kumwenda never went to UNIMA but look at what he has done,look at how he has run the company!

Its not always or everytime that people(grads)look down on non-grads at work,circumstances differ in every workplace.It would be absurd and testing a graduates patience,in your case a Poly electrical engineer if on joining a company he is told to report to a guy who has just joined the company from a technical college.But upon joining such a company with your electrical engineering degree and you are told to be reporting to someone with 3 years+experience but from a technical college then If I were the graduate then I would not complain,nothing replaces practical experience and knowledge.

But one thing,those who want to invest back home then do so regardless of how far you have gone with your studies,as said at the moment the best area to invest in is real estate.Thank you.

-- Edited by Ngwazi at 20:13, 2006-02-05

Ngwazi · Guru

Dzimveremuntolo wrote:

If people can try to be different in their ventures, i do not see why their ventures should not be more competitive and even grow to unimaginable levels. I would give an example of minibus business. If someone would say, offer more comfortable seats and not let people sit in crumpled position, no overloading etc, how many would soon recommend your minibus line to others. You could also introduce a system where regular customers are given incentives for using your buses. You could soon start to build a regular customer base that would ensure that you have more realistic forecasts on costs, revenue etc. The more you start to understand your business, your customers in particular, the more creative you can become and by the time someone wants to imitate your style, you would have moved to the next level. You will always be ahead of imitators. I will give you an example of Tesco's club card program and others who have tried to imitate tesco on this front but miserably fail to maintain a strong customer base. The idea of quick returns on your investment not only threatens the very idea of investing. If you want quick returns then there are other less risky options like investing in money markets etc and settle for lower margins. But if you want your investment to stand the test of real competition, then it comes down to you understanding what you want to do, who your prospective customers are, what kind of environment your business will be operating in and who your competitors are and how they compete. Equipped with this knowledge then you can start planning your venture. If there certain gray areas you cannot answer, then these could be possible sources of failure for your venture. Each and every question about your venture must have an answer and this process of planning is not going to be easy. Hey its better to meticulously plan each and every step than to fail miserably.

Dzimveremuntolo,

well written and presented,intelligent and easy to understand.couldnt't have said it better myself.Anthu anzeru chonchi mumabisala kuti kodi?Thanks man,I am starting to enjoy this!These are those postings that make you feel proud to be amember of this place!

sibweni · Senior Member

well i do get your point but what you are forgetting is there will alwaysbe a check on the xfactor in who you lend your money and if the plan fails what are chances of coming up with plan b. take those two presenting equally excellent bizplan then look at risks of failures to their plans and who has got extra skills ofrecovering if anything goes wrong. the truth the graduate will have an upper hand. i dont know about malawi but sure if you want a business loan say in england your qulificatoins i do think matters as those lenders look at otherthings apart from your proposal.

about bribes this what these guys who wont invest back home dont wantand you cant blame them for that. just imagine a person who have lived abroad for 12yrs competing with one who has lived in mw all his life with the same amount of money. the chances is the local lad has a n upper hand and its more likely they are friends with the main man and the local lad has cemented his connectins and if you tamper with them you are likely to be taken care in no time. would you try to take on say bakil on terms of katangale hell no unless you are going to finish up all your money on bribes.

guys as of now you cant go to malawi with your £5000 and hope to compete in malawi on all fronts including bribes you want stand a chance thus a fact call it shallow. things on paper seems simple but the battle field is different.who r we to compete with the rogga brothers? i mean no chance even if you bribe you will be told to keep your money if you happen to meet a nice man otherwise angokudyelapo ka million kakoko.

ngwazi if you cantry to find out what it takes to open up a pharmacy in malawi.definately even if you have a lot of money if you donnt hold a degree in phermacy you have no chance now how many graduate pharmacists malawians we have? ibet you not more than 10 and not all are in malawi see what am about
i

game · Guru

gentlemen,i stand to be corrected but i thought banks give out loans according to your credit rating not because you are a graduate or non-graduate,i dont know in malawi but here in england its either you are a home owner or someone with a good credit score will you be elligible for a bank loan.

on investing in malawi ngwazi suggested real estate and property developing as worthwhile,my arguement is that,will this conceavably deal with the problems malawi is facing right now?i dont think this kind of investiment can fit into the finite environment, we must therefore study the essential nature of the private enterprise system and the possibilities of evolving an altenative system which might fit the current situation.if you want to sit back and watch your investiments grow will mean not taking responsibility to safeguard consumers.

Ngwazi · Guru

sibweni wrote:

well i do get your point but what you are forgetting is there will alwaysbe a check on the xfactor in who you lend your money and if the plan fails what are chances of coming up with plan b. take those two presenting equally excellent bizplan then look at risks of failures to their plans and who has got extra skills ofrecovering if anything goes wrong. the truth the graduate will have an upper hand.

Sibweni,

My talking about bribing your way is not supposed to be taken as the approach you have to take immediately you arrive in Malawi,no but its the means of survival if others are doing it.Remember for one to survive in a cut throat world of small scale business(briefcase businesses),adaptation and innovation are the keys.Dzimveremuntolo talked about an understanding of your business and your customers.Once you understand your business then you will also understand the type of competition you face or will face and analyse your response based on your strengths and weaknesses.Malawi unfortunately is one of the worst places to do small scale business without you having the connections and if anyone wants to prove it then go ahead and you will come back to confirm how hard it is to operate in the country.

One thing I can say to you is that for a person to get into business in a specialist area like pharmacy,its very important to have that"specialist knowledge".Actually specialist businesses require a lot to set up especially in terms of registration,capital and manpower.It is just so cumbersome that it is not even worth it if you or your partner dont have that knowledge.keep away from such ventures!

I dont understand you when you say if a biz plan A fails,a graduate will have an upper hand in coming up with plan B,I thought if you are going into business you always have a contigency plan?Banks always ask about your contigency plans before they can lend you the money because they dont want to lose their money,so both a grad/non-grad will be competing at equal footing when it comes to such things.

sibweni · Senior Member

equal footing is the one am talking about.surely my point is with finer knowledge the graduate will have an upper hand coming up with convincing answers. we are talking of successifull guys like branson and others well then why do they employ graduates to handle their businesses? its bcause of knowledge expertise and capabilities to make important decisions that will make sense.

to say graduates and non graduates should compete no equal footing i thinkcan be catastrophic to the business environment as it has proved even on our goverment. for example debate in our parliament are just chaotic as some of the mps are just jc holder who like me cant understand motions being debated and will just vote for what what big boys tell them to vote for

as for loans i still believe thoud your qualifications is not a must still itplays a part in decisions being made. may be i dont know am hear to learn why do lenders ask you what are you gonna do with the money if they really dont care wht you are made of. do you know that most lenders are being sued for tricking people who couldnt understant the contracts they signed and they were simplifyed by sweet tongued agents and call centre workers and sweet adverts. for all those duped how many graduate are found in the situation where they entered into agreement without knowing what they are getting into? yes they say ignorance is no deffence but an unlearned is prone to be duped as compared to the leaned ones especially on matters involving reading complicated literature as fincial contracts. so if you go apply for bigger loans you have to show that you understand what you are getting yourself into or you have a team to support you and i dont think there education wont play a role.yes credit score for loans to buy tv cars etc not things like american express black cards which you apply but you are invited caused they know you inside out most of the time the holders have overwhelming team of learned guys behind them

koma ngat tikuwinda malo ophunzitsana ndi omwewa sinchonchi
okay i gave example of setting pharmacy business. that one i can come to it later but it has to do with malawian legislature which has proved to be unfair.

Ngwazi · Guru

sibweni wrote:

we are talking of successifull guys like branson and others well then why do they employ graduates to handle their businesses? its bcause of knowledge expertise and capabilities to make important decisions that will make sense. to say graduates and non graduates should compete no equal footing i thinkcan be catastrophic to the business environment as it has proved even on our goverment. for example debate in our parliament are just chaotic as some of the mps are just jc holder who like me cant understand motions being debated and will just vote for what what big boys tell them to vote

Sibweni,

you seem to be losing the plot,your first posting which has taken as this far talked about people being creative and attacked graduates that you said just comes to the UK or US "kuthamangila kuseta nkhalamba"as you put it without being "creative"and thinking of ways of making money despite spending years at University.I came in to say you dont have to be a graduate to be creative,it is an inborn quality and I have numerous examples to back up my position.

Now, move away from this bank loan example,it is narrowing your scope of thinking and look at the wider picture,dont be confined to just one example that can easily be defeated and you cannot support it with real examples,creativity does not necessarilly mean writing a business proposal,no,it is about thinking differently from the rest of the people,bringing out new and groundbreaking ideas,it is about offering a different product to whats being offered by others in the marketplace,a product or an idea that will stand out and be hailed by both your peers and critics.Creativity is not an exclusive tool for the educated only,intelligence is yes but creativity and wisdom is for all.

By the way,the guys you talked about from Lilongwe,the ones that organised the mini bus touts and made money from such a thing,wasn't that being creative?Where they from Chancol or Poly or probably University of Mzuzu?

-- Edited by Ngwazi at 15:15, 2006-02-06

-- Edited by Ngwazi at 15:17, 2006-02-06

sibweni · Senior Member

now you see the difference between us? ma guy osaphunzira ngati ife ndi mmene tilili.dikira ndikkabande kaye mwina nzeru zina zibwera

game · Guru

sibweni wrote:

now you see the difference between us? ma guy osaphunzira ngati ife ndi mmene tilili.dikira ndikkabande kaye mwina nzeru zina zibwera

sibweni

dont be hard on yourself,so far this is the most educative piece on this forum.i think awmygawd deserves credit,many people cant contain an intellectual debate without mudslinging,bring it on and lets learn.

Pope · Guru

awmygawd wrote:

This is a very popular topic at the moment, I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and share a few of my thoughts. I've noticed two distinct groups emerge from the ongoing discussion; The blindly Patriotic and the just as blind rationalists. I think both of them are being very unreasonable, here's why; The first group needs to realise that a lot of Malawians (myself included) left the country out of the need to solve some very practical problems, not for a lack of patriotism. Postings in the other threads have made that point quite clearly so I will not explain it any further. Another widespread problem I've noticed is the perception of investment as a tool for charity and not as a business activity first. This applies to both groups. Group 1; You don't just invest to "give back". At the end of the day, you must get something in return for putting down your money. Group 2; YOU DON'T JUST INVEST TO "GIVE BACK". AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU MUST GET SOMETHING IN RETURN FOR PUTTING DOWN YOUR MONEY! What entails a good investment opportunity is entirely up to you. Don't expect it to be handed over on a silver platter. You have your education. Be creative! Do your research! Plan! Speak to the right people! Work with the right people. DO SOMETHING! Malawi is a broke a** country, blah blah blah. We know that. But that doesn't mean it's absolutely devoid of business opportunities. For those with the right mix of creativity and reason, Malawi is a potential gold mine. Is the place a dump? Sure it is. Will I ever go back? Of couse I will. But not before I,ve accumulated a skill set that gives me unrestrained international mobility (we all need insurance!) and the ability to make the life I want for myself possible. I know people who would kill to have the wasted opportunites and resources we have access to. Countries such as China, India and Malaysia wouldn't even be close to where they are today if they were as defeatist as some of the folk in group two (and naive as those in group one).

Can you enlarge your font please

Pope · Guru

Ok, I can read now after quoting it.