Malawi’s Mzuzu University (MZUNI) has handed over the site for the construction of the Entrepreneurs Training and Incubation Centre (ETIC) at the institution’s Luwinga campus to local contractor DEC Construction.

Located in Mzuzu city in the Northern Region, the ETIC will be four storeys high and cover 3,650 square metres, with an estimated capacity of 2,000 people. It will consist of various facilities for technical, entrepreneurial and vocational education and training (TEVET) on the subjects of information and communications technology (ICT) and energy systems.

The centre will include a 500-seater lecture theatre, 16 laboratories and a testing centre, eight offices, two workshops and four classrooms. The project includes associated external works such as access roads and parking areas.

The scheme is expected to cost an estimated Malawian Kwacha 7 billion (US$4 million) and be completed within 15-18 months.

“Once completed, the centre will foster human capital development in renewable energy and [ICT],” said MZUNI deputy vice-chancellor Wapulumuka Mulwafu.

The ETIC project is part of the US$100 million World Bank-funded Skills for a Vibrant Economy (SAVE) scheme, which aims to increase access in Malawi to skills development programmes targeting priority areas of the economy in participating educational institutions. The skills being developed target the healthcare, education, transport, energy and ICT industries among others.

A total of 31 institutions are participating in the SAVE project, including nine public universities – MZUNI; two campuses of the University of Malawi (UNIMA); two campuses of Kamuzu College of Health Sciences (KUHeS); Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR); Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST); Domasi College of Education (DCE); and Nalikule College of Education (NCE).

Seven national technical colleges will also take part, namely Livingstonia Technical College; Mzuzu Technical College; Lilongwe Technical College; Salima Technical College; Namitete Technical College; Nasawa Technical College; and Soche Technical College, along with 15 community technical colleges across the country.

Launched in 2021, the SAVE scheme has allocated 33% of its funds as of October and is scheduled for completion in June 2026. Over its lifespan, it is expected to positively impact 45,000 university students and 65,000 technical and vocational students. The project implementing agencies are the ministries of education and labour.

During the ETIC site handover ceremony in late October, SAVE project manager Grenard Mkwende urged beneficiary universities to expedite funding requests for the construction of facilities under the scheme.

"To date, MZUNI is the only university that has demonstrated serious commitment by providing a site for construction, with plans to begin work on the centre,” said Mkwende.

He said if other institutions secured contractors by 30 November, they could work together to meet the construction timelines.

“It is indeed a tight schedule but the World Bank has made it clear that universities without contractors by the deadline will not be able to proceed. MZUNI has responded positively by securing a contractor and I urge all universities to accelerate their progress,” Mkwende said.

Other universities that are making progress on infrastructure projects under the SAVE scheme include KUHeS, which is looking to develop an integrated teaching facility incorporating its School of Dentistry and Innovation at its Blantyre campus.

The three-storey building will cover a floor area of 3,500 square metres and include a teaching facility, dental clinic, offices, a car park and other ancillary infrastructure. Work is planned to be carried out over 18 months at an estimated cost of Malawian Kwacha 5 billion.

KUHeS is also planning to build a teaching complex and an ODeL hub at its Lilongwe campus. The development will cover about 3,000 square metres and include offices, seminar rooms, laboratories, an administrative section, a mortuary, a car park and ancillary facilities. The estimated cost of the project is Malawian Kwacha 9 billion.

Meanwhile, DCE is targeting the construction of an open distance and e-learning centre (ODeL). The two-storey hub will cover an area of 2,000 square metres and is planned to house classrooms; offices; a printing room; a studio; a computer lab; a conference and boardroom; a car parking area; and other facilities.

MUST is targeting the construction of a lecture theatre building covering 1,650 square metres at its campus in the Thyolo district at a total cost of Malawian Kwacha 1.5 billion. The building’s components include lecture theatres, offices, boardrooms, meeting rooms, other ancillary facilities and car parking.

MUST is also looking to rehabilitate its ODeL centres in Chankhanga and Nansomba as well as the MUST Dam area.

UNIMA, meanwhile, plans to construct an undergraduate teaching complex at its Zomba campus at an estimated cost of Malawian Kwacha 4 billion over the course of a year.

In addition, the Directorate of Open, Distance and e-Learning (DODeL) is targeting the construction of an ed-tech hub at its Malawi College of Distance Education regional office in Lilongwe.

The SAVE scheme is set to complement the Malawian government’s efforts in skills development and is closely aligned with national priorities for tertiary education, including more efficient use of tertiary education funding through the expansion of infrastructure and broadening access to blended and distance learning.

By expanding infrastructure, the project is envisaged to allow tertiary education institutions to benefit from economies of scale and utilise existing recurrent funding more efficiently. Through increasing access to blended and distance learning, the scheme is expected to lower average student costs in the tertiary sector, improve overall completion rates and raise the average level of skills in the labour force. 

Top photo: Groundbreaking ceremony (Source: LinkedIn @ MZUNI)