LocationsThree district councils win Youth in Leadership Innovation Challenge
September 14, 2026
UNDP Malawi Deputy Resident Representative, Dr Chika Charles Aniekwe (standing, first right), and the Principal Secretary for Administration in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Mr. Francis Juwawo(standing first left), join representatives from Mangochi District Council for a group photograph during the event.
Following a rigorous and competitive selection process, the district councils of Zomba, Likoma and Mangochi have been awarded US$20,000 each through the Youth in Leadership Innovation Challenge to design, pilot and test youth-led digital solutions aimed at addressing public service delivery challenges.
The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, in partnership with UNDP, announced the winning councils during an award ceremony held at the UNDP Malawi Country Office in Lilongwe on Friday 11 September 2026.
The challenge brings together young innovators and district councils to identify local service delivery problems, develop digital solutions and test them within existing council systems.
Speaking at the ceremony, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Dr Chika Charles Aniekwe said Malawi’s young population presents an opportunity for young people to take a more active role in leadership and national development.
“Malawi has a young population. Young people must recognise their role. That comes with leadership and a lot of responsibility,” Dr Aniekwe said.
He noted that young people remain underrepresented in business, politics and governance, despite possessing skills and ideas that can help improve public services.
“This is an opportunity to use your skills in public service delivery. By doing this well, you can inspire other district councils,” he said.
Dr Aniekwe encouraged the winning teams to use the knowledge gained through the programme to develop solutions that respond to the needs of their communities.
“UNDP’s programming is becoming more youth-centred. Use your learning to create what will serve your community and test what you have created,” he said.
UNDP Malawi Deputy Resident Representative, Dr Chika Charles Aniekwe (standing, first right), and the Principal Secretary for Administration in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Mr. Francis Juwawo(standing first left), are pictured with members of the Likoma District Council delegation during the event.
The Principal Secretary responsible for administration in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Mr. Francis Juwawo, said Malawi must create more opportunities for young people to contribute ideas, develop innovations and participate in addressing challenges affecting their communities.
“Malawi cannot achieve the transition from poverty reduction to wealth creation without fully harnessing the potential of its young population,” he said.
Mr. Juwawo said the challenge connects youth innovation with local governance, where many of the challenges experienced by citizens are identified and where essential public services are delivered.
“Young people should not only be consulted about development. They should be supported to help design, test and improve the solutions that shape their communities,” the Principal Secretary said.
The initiative aligns with the the Youth Engagement Strategy for Malawi 2063 and the National Youth Policy, particularly its focus on youth inclusion in governance, transformative leadership, science, technology and innovation.
Mr. Juwawo also urged the winning councils to maintain meaningful collaboration with the young innovators throughout the development and implementation of the solutions. The councils were encouraged to consider sustainability, data protection, interoperability, institutional ownership and long-term financing.
Wongani Mulanga of GoFund a Girl Child presented the Civic Score, a youth-led digital feedback platform designed to strengthen engagement between young people and Mangochi District Council by enabling citizens to share feedback on public services and local development initiatives, including Constituency Development Fund projects
One of the selected innovations is Civic Score, a digital feedback platform proposed by young people working with Mangochi District Council.
Wongani Mulanga, a member of Mangochi Hospital Youth Corner, said Civic Score would enable young people and the council to exchange feedback on services in sectors such as health, agriculture and water, as well as Constituency Development Fund projects.
“The main thing that led us to this is that we noticed a barrier in how young people give feedback to the council and how the council receives and compares that feedback across different years,” Mulanga said.
She explained that young people have traditionally had to travel to council offices or government departments to provide feedback. In some cases, the feedback was not consistently recorded, making it difficult to monitor issues and compare service performance over time.
Civic Score will provide a platform for recording and storing feedback and directing it to the relevant council departments. It will also allow users to rate services and help the council identify areas that are performing well and those requiring improvement.
“A young person will not have to travel all the way from where they are to reach service providers or the different departments they are trying to reach. That bridges a lot of gaps,” Mulanga said.
“The main goal is to create a transparent system where issues can be monitored, tracked and addressed according to the needs of young people and the council.”
Photo: Dr Chika Charles Aniekwe, UNDP Malawi Deputy Resident Representative (standing, first right), and the Principal Secretary for Administration in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Mr. Francis Juwawo (standing first left), join representatives from Zomba District Council for a group photograph.
In his acceptance remarks, Mr. Ganizani Nkhwazi, Director of Planning, Mangochi District Council, said the innovation would help strengthen citizen participation and accountability in public service delivery.
“This recognition honours the efforts of our youth and reaffirms our collective belief that innovation, especially when driven by the bright ideas of young people, has the power to transform governance and improve service delivery at the grassroots level,” Mr. Nkhwazi said.
Mangochi District Council pledged to work with young people, partners and communities to refine, validate and implement Civic Score.
The challenge received 45 applications from district councils across Malawi. Following eligibility screening, 37 proposals progressed to technical assessment, and five were shortlisted.
The proposals were assessed on their relevance, innovation, feasibility, youth participation, digital potential, institutional relevance, sustainability and potential for expansion.
The shortlisted councils also underwent technical and institutional assessments covering infrastructure, data governance, connectivity, cybersecurity, capacity and ownership of the proposed solutions.
The next phase will involve developing prototypes and testing the solutions within council systems. The teams will gather evidence on performance, usability and cost, improve the solutions using feedback and assess their potential for integration and expansion to other districts.
UNDP is implementing the initiative in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology, and the National Youth Council of Malawi.
Participants, representatives from district councils, government officials, UNDP Malawi, and youth innovators pose for a group photo at the close of the event, marking a shared commitment to advancing youth-led innovation and inclusive local governance.
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