Ending aid dependency in Malawi

Meet an important man

Chaipa Banda, chairman of the Area Development Committee for Malenga Mzoma, Malawi.

Chaipa Banda is the chairman of the Area Development Committee (ADC) for Malenga Mzoma, the area of 40+ villages where Capacity operates.

He has 14 members working with him – 7 women and 7 men, and their role is to look after the economic, social and other welfare interests of the area.

The ADC administers the funds generated by Capacity for the Social Action Fund. Those funds are the interest paid by people who receive Capacity loans for starting up a business or growing an existing one.

In this way, the loan programme pays for community projects – most recently, the repair of four bridges and viaducts. The loans programme has re-started after a two-year interregnum imposed by the pandemic and will begin to produce funds for the SAF later this year.

The ADC sometimes seeks to modify the terms and conditions of the loans. Loantakers have 10 months to repay their loans. This week, they successfully persuaded Capacity to allow loan takers to begin repayments from the second month, not the first, to reflect continuing economic pressures.

It is this kind of grass-roots co-operation that makes Capacity such a dynamic and responsive organisation. Thanks to Jackson for his leadership!

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