Victoria Msowoya is a Managing Director of Homes Industries based in Karonga, Malawi. Home industries is an agri-processing business established in 2016 and deals in sunflower to produce cooking oil, peanut to produce peanut flour, lentils and to its range of products, has added processing and packaging of brown rice which is all sourced from local farmers.
This February, Home Industries pitched its brown rice to 265 Pitch an entrepreneurial platform. This platform saw the potential of the brown rice and invited Homes Industries to pitch its idea and product at the European Investment Bank and Frankfurt School of Finance and Management platform under the theme Agriculture, Food and Technology.
âWhile we are a profit-making organization, the initiative is driven by a quest to mitigate the high prevalence rate of non-communicable diseases and give people access to good quality food,â said Victoria Msowoya, Managing Director of Home Industries during a pitch presentation of her brown rice in Lilongwe, Malawi on 11th February 2019.
The brown rice is also a healthy option and will reduce ailments linked to poor diets. Victoria believes brown rice will also help the Malawi government save revenue as this product will reduce brown rice imports to Malawi.
Being a member of the Graça Machel Trustâs Women in Agribusiness has given me the visibility Homes Industries needs as well as a platform to not only advance our marketing but also impact on the many lives that we intend to help through our products. It has widened our network and linkages enabling us to make strides in our endeavours. Currently, we are in the process of accrediting our products for the wider market both locally and internationally. This means by end March we will be positioned to export our products.
Malawi today presents an exciting opportunity, as the market has seen an increased preference towards healthy eating and lifestyle. These products are not always readily available and it is this void Home Industries will attempt to fill with its products.
Victoria remains committed to passing on the knowledge she has on good nutrition. She highlights, âAs Homes Industries, we continue to train farmers on good agricultural practices as well as nutritional empowerment sessions where communities are trained on food preparation, preservation and menu diversification methods. We do this because we are aware that we can only achieve great results if our communities that we work with/in are in good health.â
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The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting childrenâs rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Childrenâs Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescentsâ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trustâs goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a motherâs health and social economic conditions, the early years of a childâs life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.