Kwithu Kitchen creating market and job opportunitues

Kwithu kitchen owned by Dr Anne Msowoya Keys got a loan from Malawi Agricultural Industrial Investiment Corporation. Kwithu has created a market for smallholder farmers 4,500 in tomato value chain and 3000 farmers in honey value chain. 60% are women and 40% are women. The FInES loan has helped to double up production which was 12 tonnes and now they can produce 50 tonnes of honey. 

“We started with 2 tonnes, later 12 tonnes, and now we can buy 50 tonnes of honey this is because of FInES loan. We have Nyika Premium honey from the areas in and surrounding Nyika National Park and Wild Mountain honey from Mzimba, Karonga, and Nkhatabay. The demand for our honey is very high, and our plan is to purchase 80 tonnes of honey this year."

“Access to finance is one of the hurdles that most MSMEs face in Malawi. Most of us do not have assets that the bank requires as collateral, and the interest rates are high, which often discourage people, especially women. The interest on FInES loans is much lower compared to normal loans” Msowoya said.

Apart from the business, Kwithu Kitchen CBO is contributing towards ending malnutrition by feeding over 300 children on a weekly basis.