Malawian executive Kalumpha funds Zomba irrigation project as he wins London award

A Malawian-born London finance executive has won a major international trade finance award, but he missed the ceremony because he was at home in his village.

Rhodrick Junaid Kalumpha was named Trade Finance Leader of the Year, Impact Award, at the TTP Corporate Excellence Awards 2026, held at the Lansdowne Club in Mayfair, London.

His executive team accepted the trophy on his behalf. Kalumpha, Group Financial Controller at Global Tea and Commodities Ltd, said on social media that he was “absolutely thrilled” but could not attend as he was “away in my village with my people.”

He said the award “belongs to the entire organisation family” and thanked his team, mentors, family and friends.

‘Absence is the loudest statement’

A senior vice-president of Global Tea, who collected the award, said Kalumpha’s strategy had “re-engineered how sustainable commodities are financed globally”. He said Kalumpha had chosen to be “on the ground, directly connecting corporate capital back to its source”.

A mentor at the ceremony said he measures his balance sheet “not just in profits, but in human dignity”.

Village project

Kalumpha is overseeing the Domasi Community Water Security and Irrigation Initiative in Zomba, which he largely funds himself. It involves solar-powered boreholes and drip-irrigation networks to protect smallholder tea and crop farmers from dry spells.

The next phase will add communal cold-storage facilities powered by solar arrays. He is also deputy chairperson of Malawi Health Care Support (MAHECAS).

From Nkhotakota to Mayfair

His father is from Nkhotakota and his mother from Zomba, and he grew up in Domasi. He attended Kamuzu Academy in Kasungu, known as “the Eton of Africa”, and then Multimedia University in Malaysia.

In 2003 he moved to the UK to study for an MSc in International Money, Finance and Investments at Durham University, graduating in 2004. He later rose through London’s financial sector to his current role.

Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :