#verea

A significant challenge in starting your own organization is generating interest and support for your work. How were you able to create awareness for Tiwale and get things off the ground?

“I was 17 years old when I was trying to prototype what Tiwale would look like. In trying to understand the situation on hand, we asked some local women if they would be interested in a business-training program, where we would work with them and provide loans. We decided to run a prototype session for a handful of women but, on that day, 150 women showed up. That’s when we were like, ‘Okay, now we need to start an organization.’ We told them that we were just trying to run a prototype session but they replied saying, ‘Well, we’re here and we’re ready start.’ All I could say at that point was, ‘Okay, let’s start’.”

What were some of the other struggles you faced?

“One of our initial struggles was trying to get initial funding. Some grants require you to be a non-profit organization; others require you to be registered. It can be difficult when you’re just starting up to meet those requirements and get these grants. Also, getting a team together, so the recruiting process was quite the challenge. We were able to overcome these challenges with patience and perseverance.”

Tell us more about your native country, Malawi. What are some of your favourite childhood memories? What was it like growing up there?

“I was raised by my grandparents because it was cheaper for my parents to send me to live with them. My grandmother was a mango and peanut farmer so sometimes she would make things like mango juice or fry some peanuts and sell them on the streets. So for me helping her get those things together for the business was my favourite childhood memory.”

What was your biggest fear when you started this journey?

“When I first started, I was 18 years old, and I decided to take a year off for this project so there was a big fear of whether or not I was using my time wisely. I was worried about whether or not this model would actually work, which comes with any project you are starting up.

Currently, the biggest fear is finding a way for them to be self-sustained. The challenge is to keep myself from getting involved in every small detail.”

Who is the most inspirational person you’ve had a chance to meet and what impact have they had on you?

“In 2013, I was fortunate to meet Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York (HONY). When he featured Tiwale and me, he asked about the Tiwale model. He said that he was going to take my picture and use it for his small blog. He was a very humble, and I didn’t know what HONY was. As he was leaving he just said, ‘Okay thank you very much for your support.’

What inspired me was the way he helped us. He knew what he had in his platform and he created space for us. Beyond that, he continued to follow up with me about our progress. I just really admire how he genuinely cares about and supports people with the platform he has. His blog has grown so much and he has travelled the world to meet so many people. Yet when I sent him an e-mail, he remembered the exact conversation we had. To me, that is an inspiration.”

Who is Ellen outside of Tiwale? How to achieve balance in your everyday life?

“I love music and I’m a DJ. I consider myself an artist. Sometimes the two parts of my life merge together. We have music events for Tiwale and I come in to DJ.

There are times when I feel like I present a certain person to potential Tiwale sponsors at fundraisers and another person to my friends. I’ve found that in just staying true to myself and really allowing people to know who I am in the same lens as Tiwale and my personal life. You just create more realistic relationships with people. It’s mostly about staying true to your self.”

How do you think the relationship between philanthropy and entrepreneurship will evolve in the future?

“From my perspective, combining social responsibility and entrepreneurship is a great way of ensuring sustainable models. Trying to come up with new initiatives is very important for social development. Including entrepreneurship in the education system and teaching it in a way that inspires young people to think about how they are going to change the world is very important compared to just having philanthropy alone. The two must be brought together.”

What advice do you have for young people who want to make a difference but don’t know where to begin?

“I started by supporting other people and other initiatives. I tell young people to look at what other organizations are doing. Volunteer and be a support system to different initiatives to discover what you want to work on. By taking advantage of other platforms, you can learn a lot from other people and their work.”

If you had one wish that you knew would come true, what would you wish for?