Unyolo touts mentorship as key enabler of business success
One of the country’s leading business voices, Thokozani Unyolo, says emerging entrepreneurs in Malawi need more of mentorship than anything else if they are to grow with impact within their niche.
This, she said recently in Lilongwe as a keynote speaker at the Growth Accelerator Ecosystem Event held under the theme; Beyond the Grant: The Power of Mentorship in Building Resilient Businesses,
The event provided a valuable platform for entrepreneurs to showcase their businesses, connect with potential partners, exchange ideas, and strengthen relationships across Malawi’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Growth Accelerator (GA) is a flagship entrepreneurship support programme by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), designed to support high-potential, post-revenue enterprises in Malawi with the capacity to scale and deliver measurable impact.
Since its inception in 2018, the Growth Accelerator programme has supported multiple cohorts of Malawian entrepreneurs through a comprehensive package of technical assistance, mentorship, and catalytic matching grant financing, with funding support from the KfW Development Bank and the Royal Norwegian Embassy.
Through her keynote presentation, “The Power of Mentorship: The Role of Mentors in Business Growth” Unyolo highlighted how grants alone are not all what entrepreneurs need for them to penetrate the market, stay relevant, maximize revenue and build legacy.
“Businesses don’t grow because ideas are brilliant. They grow because people become better leaders. Mentorship shortens the distance between potential and performance,” she said while recounting how every stage of her career was influenced by people who challenged, guided, and believed in her.
Her pedigree, to which the personal mentorship refers to, comes at the back of a decorated career which too her to the pinnacle of institutional leadership when she served as chief executive officer at Air Cargo Malawi Limited.
Further to this, she has worked for some of the world’s renowned brands both locally and globally including The Coca-Cola company, Celtel, Zain, Airtel Malawi and Airtel Africa Group in Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, DRC, Gabon, Rwanda and Zambia and the Standard Bank/ Standard Bank Group brand in Malawi, Eswatini, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
According to Unyolo, there are five ways through which mentors can accelerate business growth for entrepreneurs. This happens through building confidence, expanding networks, avoiding costly mistakes, developing resilient leaders and improving decision making.
Post event, she recollects how she was inspired by the Growth Accelerator entrepreneurs through their personal experiences along the business trajectory.
“What stood out to me during the event was the emphasis on what lies beyond the grant. While access to finance is critical to business growth, mentorship provides entrepreneurs with an opportunity to learn from experience, challenge their thinking, build confidence, navigate difficult decisions, and access valuable networks and perspectives. It was inspiring to hear directly from Growth Accelerator entrepreneurs about their mentorship journeys and to listen to mentors share their experiences of supporting entrepreneurs through different stages of business growth.”
One of the beneficiaries, Tisungane Thomson Kamba, owner of Akhada Baskets told the local media that she was inspired with the presentations as they related to how mentorship has helpedgrow her business over the years.
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