The Paul Katema Foundation on Friday night unveiled 10 finalists and one People’s Choice Award winner for the inaugural Young Builders Challenge (YBC), a nationwide youth entrepreneurship program aimed at inspiring innovation, self-reliance, and mindset change among Malawi’s youth.

The 10 finalists were selected from over 700 business ideas submitted through the Foundation’s digital platform. Forty semi-finalists, representing 15 colleges and one open category, advanced to the evaluation stage before the final selection was made.

The People’s Choice Award was determined through public engagement on the Foundation’s Facebook page, and went to Jean Henderson, 18, from the Malawi College of Accountancy. Henderson’s pitch video received the highest engagement across likes, comments, shares, and views.

According to the Foundation’s founder, Paul Katema, each of the 10 finalists will receive K500,000 in seed funding and will compete for the grand prizes of K5 million, K2.5 million, and K1 million. Finalists will also benefit from extended mentorship and business development support.

“This Challenge is about shifting from talk to tangible action — from waiting for opportunities to creating them,” said Katema.

The finalists are Charles Kamcheka (Bunda College), Emmanuel Nangwiya, Alinafe Velemu, Mackson Manda, Annette Zombe, Robert Muyereka, Lufeyo Trecio, Precious Nkhata, Steve Spesho, and Grace Chikaya.

Grace Chikaya, a fourth-year Bachelor of Technical Education student at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), expressed her excitement after learning her name was among the finalists during the live announcement on the Foundation’s Facebook page.

Chikaya sold a Mphunzitsi mobile application designed to facilitate teaching and learning both online and offline, connecting teachers and students through a user-friendly digital platform.

The Foundation is set to announce the top three winners this December.