One Year Later: 100% Still in Business

Lilongwe, Malawi

In 2024, 57 entrepreneurs (75% of them women) completed the Hope Business Hub training program in Lilongwe. One year later, your investment is still bearing fruit. We surveyed Cohorts 4 and 5 to find out what changed. What we found exceeded our expectations.

100%
still running their businesses 12 months later
+24%
average income increase reported by graduates
41
new jobs created across both cohorts

75% of graduates now employ others — most of them hiring youth and women from their own communities. Graduates also reported a marked increase in their confidence and a stronger leadership mindset, the internal foundation that makes this growth possible. What began as a single investment in one entrepreneur has become a ripple of opportunity across Lilongwe.

Some of the 57 entrepreneurs who graduated in 2024—equipped, empowered, and ready to flourish thanks to your generosity.

My business income has grown up to 60% — that’s why I have opened a second, bigger shop.
— Clodina, Hope Business Hub Graduate

But the numbers only tell part of the story. Graduates described something deeper — a shift in how they see their work. Many spoke of integrating prayer and faith into daily business decisions, of treating customers as people rather than transactions, and of passing what they learned on to neighbors, church members, and family.

Involve God in everything and all things will be possible. I learned that our businesses are a calling from God.
— Hope Business Hub Entrepreneur
Mark GoeserComment