#TechMalawi - A Revolution in the Making

The best time to start was years ago, the other best time to start is now!

I have been in the tech industry in Malawi since I was 18. I ventured into tech at the age of 16 while still in Secondary School. My dream ever since I was a kid was to build things. I was that kid who would break things and try to assemble them at the end.

Over the years I have met a lot of innovative people trying to create solutions ranging from health, agriculture, commute, and entertainment. Sadly, most of the innovators are now no longer maintaining the innovations they once made. For so long I had been asking myself: Why does innovation fail in Malawi? Why aren't we united in fighting for the right cause?

Back in the early 2010s, most of us were lone rangers trying to make it on our own. Everyone wanted to be the hero of the story. That could be one reason for such failure.

Lack of Visibility

Malawi has so many solutions but most of them don't have the visibility to be showcased. It is even harder for investors to find out about such solutions.

Lack of a Community

Malawian innovators do not have a community built around them. A lot of WhatsApp groups and other groups have been created but they haven't been visible. Everyone is trying to work on their own.

Lack of Support for Innovative Solutions

Officials in the country do not have ways of upholding our solutions and prefer outside solutions. Even our people won't support our solutions because the government doesn't protect our community and the solutions offered.

TechMalawi Is Born

TechMalawi is a free community-driven platform that aims for the inclusion of everyone in tech and non-tech people. To bring our industry to the standards we need, we should not only target people in the corporate world or those already in the industry. It is time to make sure that everyone, including those who are aspiring or still in various institutions, is a part of this community.

Goals

1. Central portal for all tech in Malawi – when people want to follow what's happening, they should be able to find it.
2. Innovation and startup directory – a place where venture capitalists and angel investors can find us.
3. Learning and sharing – a community of common interest where we learn together.
4. Building solutions for the public – we will build solutions that everyone can utilize.
5. Visibility for individual contributors – setting people up for opportunities to get hired or funded.

Highlights So Far

• Held trainings in Git/GitHub and Cyber-Security Basics on our Discord Server
• A dedicated team building our official website at techmalawi.com
• Held a career talk which was a great experience
• Growing our Medium blog with multiple contributors

I am excited to be leading this movement. May it grow into something beautiful.

This post was originally published on Medium.