Agribusiness Entrepreneurs shine at the 4th Edition of Lilongwe Pitch Night

On Thursday 25th February 2016, all roads in Lilongwe led to Crossroads Hotel where the fourth edition of the popular Lilongwe Pitch Night was was taking place. By 6:00pm the Auditorium was filled to capacity with people from all walks of life ready to listen to the presentations from 3 agribusiness entrepreneurs.

The pitch night, which was sponsored by African Agribusiness Academy, attracted pitches from Frankie Washoni of Hortinet Entreprise, Frederick Mattress of Honey Products Ltd and Ngaba Chatata of Thanthwe Entreprises. They are all agribusiness entrepreneurs focusing on Bananas, Honey and Horticulture respectively.

Lilongwe Pitch Night was developed to establish a vibrant and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem in Malawi. It was launched to combat the rising unemployment crisis being experienced by a population of over 16 million of which the majority are young people. It also provides a platform to expose emerging entrepreneurs to investors, potential clients, media and fellow entrepreneurs.

The fourth edition was also graced by the Chief executive Officer of National Association Smallholder Farmers of Malawi (NASFAM) Mr Dyborn Chibonga who stressed on the importance of agriculture to Malawi's ailing economy. Chibonga also highlighted the problems smallholder farmers are facing in Malawi. He cited the lack of good farming extension services in Malawi. Currently 1 extension worker looks after over 3000 farming families.

Lilongwe Pitch Night also managed to achieve one of its objectives of facilitating linkages between emerging entrepreneurs and established business person's, financial experts and technocrats in various trades. Pitch Night is supported by mHub, Maestros Leadership, Eye Level Art, Avante Garde, Nthalo, Language Training and Consultancy Services and Innopreneur Magazine.

Here are some pictures from the event:

Photo Credits: Eye Level Art Malawi

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