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Entrepreneurship training has helped Victoria Bwalya from businesswoman to community leader. Credit: Friday Phiri/IPSNDOLA, Zambia, April 27 (IPS) - In the bustling Chifubu constituency of Ndola, the provincial capital of Zambia’s mineral-rich Copperbelt Province, 31-year-old Victoria Bwalya is usually among the early risers, cleaning and setting up for the day in her restaurant business.
But before now, Bwalya’s hustle felt like a punishment and just a matter of survival. With only a primary school education, her prospects were limited. Like many women in her community, Bwalya navigated the harsh realities of supplementing her husband’s limited income in making ends meet in an environment where poverty and illness often walk hand in hand.
And then came the breakthrough—entrepreneurship training. Under the Africa Health Collaborative (AHC) programme by Amref Health Africa, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, recipients of the government-funded Constituency Development Fund (CDF) were selected for a Health Entrepreneurship Masterclass.
The training, held in collaboration with Women’s Entrepreneurship Access Center (WEAC) and Ndola City Council, aimed at equipping beneficiaries of the CDF with essential entrepreneurial and business management skills, human resources, financial literacy, and compliance to promote a mindset shift from dependency to self-reliance and innovation.
Zambia’s CDF Act of Parliament provides for the decentralisation of the management, disbursement, utilisation and accountability of financial resources directly allocated to constituencies aimed at supporting local development. The resources are managed by respective local authorities under the guidance of CDF Committees.
In the 2025 national budget, each constituency was allocated K36.1 million (USD 1,805,000), up from K30.6 million (USD 1,530,000) in 2024, using a K20 to 1 USD exchange rate.
According to Bwalya, the entrepreneurship training transformed her story from not just a businesswoman jostling to survive but also a representative and quiet force and example of transformation in her community.
“Before now, I used to get frustrated because my efforts were not producing desired results,” she says. “In our group chicken-rearing business through Domenkuje Cooperative, we barely reported profits—it was hand-to-mouth. But after attending the health entrepreneurship masterclass hosted by Amref Health Africa in September last year, things drastically changed. The training opened my eyes. I realised I could do more, not just survive but grow as an individual. I therefore decided to open a restaurant, as I felt I had gained enough entrepreneurship skills from the training to stand on my own. Since then, I have not looked back.”
Enhanced Practical Skills and Digital Marketing Tools
The training introduced Bwalya to practical and powerful business skills: customer care, hygiene standards, marketing, and general business management. They were simple but powerful ideas.
“While these seem to be ordinary ideas that all entrepreneurs must embrace, we often take them for granted,” she regrettably notes. “It is true that sometimes we don’t see our potential until someone highlights what is possible. In this case, this training opened my eyes to what is possible.”
Through practical insights from the training, Bwalya has transformed how she interacts with her clients, making each person feel welcomed and valued.
She has also improved cleanliness in her workspace, creating an environment people trust. She has additionally stepped out of her comfort zone: walking through markets and busy streets, handing out flyers and marketing her restaurant business and unique meals and services she offers.
“In our circles, WhatsApp is largely used for gossip. We are used to watching trending videos and other social gossip. But I can safely speak about how I am now using WhatsApp for my business. I have created a group to stay connected with my clients,” Bwalya gleefully explains.
Slowly, the changes are beginning to show. More people are coming; they return and are bringing others. And the numbers have multiplied and are growing steadily. From an average of 15 clients, Bwalya now boasts up to 40 clients per day.
Impact Beyond Family to Community
Bwalya’s impact is already going beyond business. Thanks to this transformation, she now earns approximately K105,000 (USD 5,250) per month, an income that has not only changed her life but also extended to others. Bwalya now employs six people, providing jobs in a community where opportunities are scarce.
In the group business, Bwalya and her business colleagues used to earn up to 45,000 (USD 2,250) in gross income with a profit margin of between K1000 and K5000 (USD 50 and 250).
“It was not easy to share this money in a cooperative of 30 people. I’m therefore proud, not just for myself, but for the people working with me, most of whom are my former colleagues in the cooperative,” she gladly says. “We are all growing together with our families. Speaking for myself, I have a relatively bigger family—my husband, our three children, my sister’s three children and my 87-year-old mother. These, added to the other six families, bring the total to about 40 people directly benefiting from this business. With additional support, we can do much more.”
AHC’s aim is to leverage a multi-stakeholder partnership to address critical challenges associated with youth job creation within the context of Primary Health Care (PHC), and Bwalya’s story is keeping to the script of youth transformation for resilient health systems.
IPS UN Bureau Report
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