It was a leap of faith that defined Sandra Kambikambi’s journey. In August 2020, after fourteen years in the corporate world, she walked away from a stable career to pursue a passion that had been quietly brewing in her heart: financial inclusion. As the founder and managing director of MyScape Resource Centre Limited, Sandra has since built a social enterprise in Zambia that is changing lives—starting with her own.
“I had to ask myself, why am I so passionate about this? Why am I doing this?” Sandra recalls. Her corporate career in microfinance, had exposed her to a recurring problem: people borrowing money without understanding the consequences. “Many times, loans created more problems than solutions—marital disputes and financial stress—it was heartbreaking to witness.”
It wasn’t just a business problem. It was a human problem. And Sandra decided to find the solution.
From corporate stability to entrepreneurial uncertainty
Sandra’s previous professional role was that of a financial controller for a microfinance company. But something didn’t sit right. She had seen how financial products were often designed without the borrower’s best interests at heart. When she left, she founded MyScape, with the goal of creating financial tools and training programmess that genuinely helped people, particularly women and youth.
But the entrepreneurial path was not easy. Sandra used her own savings – part of her resignation package—to fund her business. “I started out as a sole proprietor, putting everything I had into MyScape,” she shared. At first, things seemed promising, but soon the cracks began to show. High operational costs and an inability to scale sustainably began eating into her capital. “I reached a point where I questioned everything. Was this what entrepreneurship was supposed to be? Should I quit?”
In 2023 when she was at her lowest, Sandra stumbled across an advert for the Women Creating Wealth (WCW) programme. It seemed like fate. “I applied on a whim and got accepted,” she said. “The programme turned everything around for me. It gave me focus, structure, and a renewed sense of purpose.”
A bold pivot: Training a new generation of entrepreneurs
Through the WCW programme, Sandra rediscovered her love for numbers. “One thing I’ve always loved is working with numbers,” she laughed. “Most people hate them, but for me, numbers tell a story.” Through the programme, she reflected on her purpose and realised that her true passion lay in designing financial solutions and training others to use them effectively.
This realisation led her to pivot MyScape from solely being a lending operation to becoming a training academy for entrepreneurs. Sandra launched the MyScape Academy, focusing on young people aged 16 to 26. “The academy teaches financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills, ensuring that young entrepreneurs start their journeys with the tools they need to succeed” she explains.
The shift has been transformative. Sandra has now reached over 800 participants, with a smaller, focused group of 300 women entrepreneurs who are part of specialised projects.
Uplifting women and building a legacy
For Sandra, women are at the heart of her mission. “When you empower a woman, you empower a nation,” she said passionately. She has built a thriving community of women entrepreneurs, creating platforms where they can collaborate, share ideas, and gain financial independence.
One of her proudest achievements is the impact she’s making with young people. Through MyScape Academy Sandra has onboarded 13 volunteers, all under the age of 35, who help her run the programme while gaining invaluable experience themselves. “Some of them have already landed jobs because of the skills they developed with us,” she said. “Hearing their success stories motivates me to keep going.”
Sandra’s innovative approach is not just about providing financial literacy—it’s about creating opportunities. She collaborates with her participants on grant applications, projects, and group initiatives, ensuring that entrepreneurship leads to sustainable growth.
A defining moment at the WCW Summit
As a WCW programme participant and the programme’s Youth Advisory Group member, Sandra was invited to attend the WCW Summit in November 2024, and it was a defining moment for her. “The theme, Breaking Barriers, Building Wealth, spoke directly to my journey,” she shared. Before the summit, her focus was mostly local—helping women in Zambia. But the summit opened her eyes to the possibility of scaling her impact beyond borders.
“Just being there has broken barriers for me,” she said. “It gave me exposure, brand visibility, and the confidence to think internationally.” As a speaker and exhibitor at the event, Sandra showcased her work on a continental stage, proving that even small businesses can have a big vision.
“People back home might ask, ‘What was Sandra doing there?’ But the potential that wasn’t recognised locally has now been validated continentally. For me, that’s a huge achievement.”
Looking to the future
Sandra’s vision for MyScape Academy is ambitious yet grounded. She hopes to reach 5,000 young entrepreneurs over the next three years, building sustainable projects that create jobs and financial independence. “I’m not just doing this alone,” she said. “I want to collaborate with partners like the WCW programme to amplify our impact.”
She dreams of MyScape becoming a household name in entrepreneurship education, known for its ability to transform lives. “Every young person we train, every woman we empower, is a step toward changing the narrative for Zambia and beyond.”
Sandra’s legacy
Sandra Kambikambi’s journey is a testament to resilience, innovation, and the power of purpose. Through MyScape Resource Centre and MyScape Academy, she is equipping a new generation of entrepreneurs with the tools to succeed. Her story is not just one of overcoming challenges—it’s a story of rewriting the rules of entrepreneurship, one life at a time.
As Sandra herself put it: “The barriers I thought existed were only in my mind. Now, I see no limits to what we can achieve.”
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