Beyond the Roadshow

Tracing the journeys of Zambia’s young entrepreneurs after the Youth-Led MSMEs Training Programme

November 12, 2025

Six-photo collage: person with flowers, pastries, man indoors, person by a car, pizza tray, group at table. — This collaborative Youth-Led MSME Upskilling Roadshow, a success story from the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts and UNDP, focused on equipping Zambia's next generation of entrepreneurs with essential business skills.

UNDP Zambia

Author

Vanessa Wematu Akibate

Communications Officer, UNDP Zambia

The morning light spills across Livingstone, and the town begins to buzz with the sound of cars, tourists, and the steady rhythm of workers and entrepreneurs setting up for the day. Among them is Misheck Mtonga, unlocking the doors to the print shop he founded in 2022. At just 33 years old, Misheck manages a growing business that employs several young people from his neighbourhood. And he has greater ambitions for his business, hoping to scale his business, Mishtech Solutions, regionally.

Stories like Misheck’s are quietly unfolding across the country, with young people building resilience for themselves and their communities by setting up their own lively enterprises that stimulate economic activity and create employment for other youths across the country. All they ask for is a little support along the way.

For Misheck, the support came in the form of the Youth-Led MSME Upskilling Roadshow, a collaboration between the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the GRZ-UN Joint Programme on Youth. Driven by support from UNDP's Partners at Core, the roadshow travelled across three provinces, equipping aspiring entrepreneurs with practical business knowledge, from marketing and financial planning to branding and pitching.

The attendees in a group discussing the training — UNDP Zambia

When the roadshow reached Livingstone, Misheck joined the vibrant sessions delivered by industry experts provided by BongoHive, and spent over three days absorbing everything he could, taking notes on business strategy, refining his pitch, and rethinking how to grow his print shop sustainably. “Now I know that for a business to grow it needs reinvestment from the profits being made,” Misheck shared.

Each leg of the roadshow culminated in a pitch session, where participants presented their ideas before judges from BongoHive, the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise Development, and UNDP. From these sessions, ten promising entrepreneurs were selected for the final pitch day in Lusaka. The high-energy event was graced by Hon. Elvis C. Nkandu, Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts, and Permanent Secretary Fumba Chama aka Pilato. The finalists competed for their share of ZMW 160,000 in seed funding to scale their businesses. Misheck was among them, pitching, networking and beginning to sow the seeds for the future of his business.

“Youth entrepreneurship is not just a pathway to personal success; it is also a cornerstone for national development.”, reflected the Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts, Honourable Elvis C Nkandu MP. “Young entrepreneurs are the catalysts of change, bringing fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to the challenges we face as a nation – this pitch day was a demonstration of their vibrancy and ingenuity”

Photograph of a man standing beside a large-format printer in a yellow-walled workshop.

Person wearing a dark jacket with white patterns, standing among autumn trees.

While the journey did not end in his share of the seed funding, Misheck gained invaluable experience that has informed his practice and begun to yield results, “Before the training, I saw entrepreneurship mainly as a way to earn income”, he recalls. “Now I understand that entrepreneurship is about creating sustainable value, solving problems, and building something that can grow beyond me. I have learned that for a business to thrive, profits must be reinvested into improving operations, equipment, and staff capacity.”

Only a few kilometres away, on the outskirts of Livingstone, Constance Sianga walks through rows of neatly arranged crops strung through white pipes. She is the founder of Urban Botanical Hub, a youth-led agribusiness that uses aeroponics and solar drying to grow and preserve fruits and vegetables sustainably. But her innovation doesn’t stop there, the Hub’s planting systems themselves are built from repurposed plastic waste, turning an urban problem into a productive solution.

Constance joined the Livingstone leg of the Youth-Led MSME Roadshow to sharpen her entrepreneurial edge. While urban farming methodology is sound and rooted in continued innovation and adaptation, she believed she could benefit from learning how to package and marketing her goods. Through sessions on branding, packaging, and financial planning, she learned to position her products more attractively for the market, through telling compelling brand stories.

Now, she has focused her energy on packaging her products and preparing them for increased market access.

Person in a netted greenhouse holds two trays of seedlings.

A young woman inspecting plants in a white hydroponics tubes

Black pouch with clear window displaying dried citrus slices; dried orange slices arranged beside.

From the Youth-Led MSME Upskilling Roadshow, entrepreneurs like Misheck and Constance, were connected with the necessary networks, mentors, lessons and possibilities needed to shape their entrepreneurial journeys and scale their business for increased economic impact. “This programme has been a life changing experience as it provided practical knowledge, mentorship, and confidence that have transformed how I run and grow my business”, Misheck shares.

The youth are a catalyst for national growth. By investing in young people like Misheck and Constance, the Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 2063, and the Eighth National Development Plan are all the more attainable. When youth are given access to training, mentorship, and market opportunities, they can build industries and create jobs across entire communities and the country at large. Through the GRZ-UNDP Joint Programme on Youth, the Government of the Republic of Zambia and UNDP remain committed to unlocking this potential by continuing to upskill young entrepreneurs, strengthen employability pathways, and create an enabling environment where Zambia’s youth can transform their ideas into lasting economic impact.

“Every young entrepreneur we meet reminds us that Zambia’s future is already being built by their ideas and drive. Our role is to keep creating pathways that help their ideas grow into lasting impact”, shares the UNDP’s Programme Specialist, Head of the Inclusive and Sustainable Growth Unit, Ms Chali Chisala Selisho. She adds that “the GRZ-UNDP Joint Programme on Youth is part of our broader commitment to unlocking this potential. We believe by investing in entrepreneurship and employability, we are helping to build a resilient and inclusive economy that Leaves No One Behind.”