CDH Investment Bank commits K19m to Luanar innovation hub

CDH Investment Bank has committed more than K19 million to support the Falling Walls Foundation, an innovation hub based at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar).

The funding was formally handed over at Luanar’s Natural Resources Campus, where CDH Investment Bank account relationship manager for corporate and public sector, Jennie Madinga, said the bank’s support reflected its belief in the developmental value of innovation.

“We believe that with innovations, nations are developed from the ideas that are created,” Madinga said, adding that ideas emerging from the initiative could offer sustainable solutions to challenges facing the country.

Luanar vice-chancellor Professor Emmanuel Kaunda said fostering a culture of innovation and inclusivity across universities was essential if Malawi is to develop.

“We require innovative minds to move above the normal kind of thinking. It is important to have this culture all over the universities,” he said.

Kaunda called on stakeholders to support the initiative by nurturing and incubating idea developers, enabling them to mature and scale their innovations for national benefit.

The Foundation has selected Lameck Jailosi, a Luanar biotechnology graduate, to pitch his innovation at Falling Walls Lab, a global competition that brings together an interdisciplinary pool of students and early-career professionals, each given three minutes to present their ideas.

The competition’s finale will be held in Berlin, Germany.