When the whole world was hit by the novel coronavirus, many people feared for their lives, job security and other basic needs as many countries were on lockdown.

Many schools were closed, as a result there was a huge rise in the number of teenage pregnancies.

School drop-outs increased too.

It was reported that over 20 000 girls got pregnant in Malawi during the pandemic.

And this made 24-year-old Lughano Mwakanadi to sit down and think on what Malawi would become in the next years if the virus doesn’t end any sooner.

The young woman realised that in life, everyone needs a plan B because anything can happen and relying on school or on jobs alone isn’t enough.

With that thought, she came up with the idea of a magazine called Female Africa to inspire the youth, especially young women to become entrepreneurs.

She said: “The magazine is designed to be a distraction to keep young women from doing other things that might end up compromising their future. The plan is to distribute in rural areas so that the young women are able to see what others are achieving and get inspired. Hence, our motto is; No talent is too small to invest.

Lughano said her target audience is adolescents considering that this is a crucial stage whereby they are sexually active.

The magazine is called Female Africa because it targets the issues African countries are facing, including Malawi.

The vibrant woman was born and raised in Blantyre. She is the first-born daughter in a family of two girls to late Texas and Mwakanandi and Aninde Migogo.

She is currently in school studying for her Bachelor’s Degree in Community Development in her final year at Blantyre International University.

“This magazine has different articles and stories of different young women who are surviving on businesses and we have featured a woman who makes oil. She has her own brand. Other stories are just meant to educate and motivate the young women.

“It will not just be distributed, rather we are working with other youths and having some sessions to guide them so that it leads to sustainable development. The magazine will be online for those who need soft copies and will be sold at K15 000 for a hard copy and K7 000 for a soft copy,” she said.

Lughano disclosed that the only challenge she is facing is to publish the magazine because of financial challenges since a magazine is expensive.

“I would like Malawians to know that soon the magazine will be launched together with another one called Masophenya, a Chichewa version just to make sure every youth has access and gets inspired.

“As Female Africa we are not only inspiring the youth through magazines, but we have also managed to create girls’ clubs across Malawi such as in Chiradzulu at Mbombwe Primary School where we are mentoring girls on career talks and menstrual hygiene,” she said.

Lughano said due to finance hiccups, it is hard to sustain the clubs so they also use social media such as Facebook, television programmes such as Atsikana Tiwale hosted by Catherine Tembo.

The idea is to make noise and ensure that no girl is left behind, but setting the bar higher for a greater future.

She said: “So far, we have achieved a lot since our existence by reaching out to many girls with our partners like the Atsikana Tiwale Programme by donating pads, writing materials and also hosting career talks.

‘’I plan to start my own organisation through this initiative where I will be making more copies on each project and help to create the one million jobs as the Vice-President Saulos Chilima said.

“In the next five years, Female Africa will be a successful organisation helping the youth, especially in vocational trainings and partnering with successful organisations so that we build a Malawi which has more women being part of development since women are in the majority,” she explained.

Lughano urged all young people to work hard in what they are good good at and make sure to make money from it.

“I feel obliged to help young girls reach their full potential through hard work. And as a Malawian citizen, it is my responsibility to be an advocate for young girls and build a better Malawi,” said.

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