Our Work in Zambia
In 2022, the US Embassy in Zambia under its American Spaces Program, provided Kendita Initiative with the funds to offer its Zambian Enterprise and Leadership Program (ZELP).
The program built the capacity of young, multilingual women and men to become entrepreneurs who could create a better economic future for themselves and their country, Zambia. It is a comprehensive, multi-tiered leadership development and educational program designed to help youth build the skills they need to be successful.
- The first tier or component of the program consisted of a series of four sessions delivered virtually from the US designed to help the participants build their English and Business skills through personal narratives, resume writing, strategic life planning, and strategic business planning.
- In the second tier, participants built on those foundational skills in a series of intensive, in-person classes held over a period of seven weeks. That section of the program covered a range of topics related to entrepreneurship, identifying and reaching out to funding agencies, and instructions on completing a grant application.
- The third tier of the program was a series of presentations either in-person or virtually given by Mandela Washington fellows and YALI alumni. The young entrepreneurs shared their experience in the US sponsored programs, provided insight into what’s required to become a creative entrepreneur and provided instructions on how participants could build their professional networks.

At the end of this program, participants left better prepared to tackle the work involved in becoming a successful entrepreneur. They now have an eFolio consisting of a resume and strategic and business life plans. They know the agencies that can help fund entrepreneurial endeavors in Zambia and have completed a sample grant application. Finally, they are connected to a network of like-minded successful young entrepreneurs who have benefitted from American programs. And in the months ahead, as they pursue their goals, they will have the continued support of mentors in the US and Zambia. In sum, the participants now have the capacity and skills to build a better future for themselves and their communities.
The success of the program can be attributed to the hard work of Morris Chinkubala and Misheck Kalaswa, Kendita Initiative Country Managers in Zambia; Lawrence Kazadi, the instructor and mentor responsible for the second tier of the program; and Lily Singelengele, an alumna of Kendita Initiative and Mandela Washington Fellowship who organized the networking component of the program.
