ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT (MARKET ACCESS & VALUE CHAINS)

The Challenge

for too many Malawian households, significant barriers block the path from subsistence to prosperity. Limited access to financial services, a lack of skills for value addition, and connections to profitable markets prevent small-scale producers from capturing the true value of their labor. This traps them in low-profit activities and hinders the development of a vibrant, inclusive rural economy.

OSSEDI's Strategic Response

OSSEDI strategy is to act as a catalyst for economic transformation by empowering individuals and groups to become successful entrepreneurs. OSSEDI Malawi focusses on developing entire value chains, from production to final sale, ensuring that producers can access training, financing, and markets. By promoting business skills and value addition (like processing or packaging), and strengthening market linkages, OSSEDI Malawi helps create sustainable enterprises that drive local economic growth

Flagship Projects and Demonstrated Impact

• Improved the profitability and economic stability of 50,000 smallholder farmers by establishing direct, sustainable linkages to reliable markets (through project like SAMS, STRECOLI etc.).
• Transitioned over 20,000 households from subsistence activities to profitable businesses by developing local value chains and creating new enterprises in tailoring, pig farming, and potato production.
• Empowered thousands of community members, especially women, with access to capital and financial literacy through the implementation of the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) model across our projects