{"id":11043,"date":"2025-12-17T07:28:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T07:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gracamacheltrust.org\/?p=8592"},"modified":"2026-02-05T02:11:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T00:11:20","slug":"cultivating-health-hope-and-economic-growth-through-agribusiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/featured\/cultivating-health-hope-and-economic-growth-through-agribusiness\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultivating health, hope, and economic growth through agribusiness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cFocus on what you want to achieve and stay open to learning. Knowledge from experts and peers can change your whole trajectory. I would tell my younger self that humility and curiosity are the keys to growth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This was some of Donita Moyo\u2019s wisdom permeating through in our <\/span>sit down with her. A 30-year-old entrepreneur from Mzuzu, Malawi, we soon realised Donita is not simply building a business, she is helping to turn the tide on food insecurity and agricultural dependence in her country by harnessing the potential of Malawi\u2019s fertile land.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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With a background in Medical Laboratory Science, Donita\u2019s transition into agribusiness may seem unexpected. Still, it was driven by a deep awareness of her country\u2019s nutritional needs and an unshakable entrepreneurial spirit.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Donita is the Founder and Managing Director of Healthy Harvest, a fast-growing agribusiness that specializes in the production, packaging, and supply of premium, locally sourced fruits and vegetables. Her company is now expanding into value-added processing by converting fruits into dried snacks and powders, a move aimed at reducing post-harvest losses while promoting healthy, accessible food options.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMy motivation came from observing the high rate of imported fruits and vegetables in Malawi despite our natural potential<\/i>,\u201d she explains. \u201cWe rely heavily on imports, even though we have fertile soil, fresh water, and hardworking farmers. As a result, healthy diets remain unaffordable for many families, contributing to high rates of malnutrition and stunted growth, especially among children under five.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Since launching Healthy Harvest in 2023, Donita has worked tirelessly to build a business that addresses these challenges head-on. However, the road wasn\u2019t always smooth. \u201cBefore joining Women Creating Wealth (WCW) in 2024, we didn\u2019t have proper financial systems or a clear growth strategy<\/i>,\u201d she admits. \u201cWe were passionate but operating informally and inefficiently.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The WCW key interventions included: Business planning that supported structured scaling. Financial management training, which introduced record-keeping and financial tracking systems. Digital marketing skills, which expanded Healthy Harvest\u2019s market visibility and customer base.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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WCW didn\u2019t just equip Donita with technical and operational skills; it also unlocked access to finance and new markets. \u201cI learned the art of pitching to investors, which helped me build confidence and credibility<\/i>.\u201d Her standout moment came during a Zantchito \u2018Pitching with Purpose\u2019 event, where she captured the interest of the National Bank of Malawi, which is now preparing to invest MWK 20 million (US$12,000) into Healthy Harvest.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Donita has embraced innovation, transitioning to eco-friendly packaging and adopting sustainable agricultural practices. As a WCW alumna,\u00a0 has stepped into the role of advocacy, working with a group of young women by off taking their farm produce, providing them with fair market access and stable incomes.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWCW has shown me that real growth isn\u2019t just about making money<\/i>. It\u2019s about building systems, empowering others, and using your business as a platform for wider change<\/i>.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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A change it has been indeed for Donita as she reveals uncomfortable truths and deep desires in our sit down.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBefore WCW, I reacted quickly when staff made mistakes – my first response was often dismissal. The programme taught me patience, emotional intelligence, and how to lead people instead of policing them. Now, when an issue arises, I call my team member in, we talk, we understand what went wrong, and we correct it together. This shift has transformed not just my business culture, but me as a leader.\u201d <\/span>Donita now has a more efficient team, comprising five full-time and 12 part-time workers.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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 <\/p>\n

As she talks about what success means to her along with the barriers she\u2019s faced, she gets candid<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cFor me, success is measured by how well we meet our customers\u2019 needs. Honest feedback – whether positive or critical – helps us grow and ensures we\u2019re moving in the right direction. When customers trust us and keep coming back, that\u2019s real success.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Right now, I\u2019m focused on growing Healthy Harvest to a stage where we can access formal financing. For many SMEs, lack of collateral shuts the door before we even knock. I\u2019m working to build a stronger financial position and track record so we can unlock the funding needed to scale – and prove that emerging businesses deserve the same opportunities as established ones.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Donita\u2019s journey reflects a powerful blend of vision, innovation, and resilience. With the support of WCW, she has laid a strong foundation for scaling Healthy Harvest into a national model for sustainable agriculture and food processing. More importantly, she is using her platform to uplift other women, advocate for better agricultural policies, and prove that Malawian soil can nourish both bodies and futures.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cFocus on what you want to achieve and stay open […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_rtcl_gb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[742,4,81,6,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs","category-featured","category-highlight","category-uncategorized","category-womens-economic-and-social-advancement-highlight"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}