VNc#1226: From Survival to Significance
By Victor Nyasulu
There comes a time in a nation’s development when examples speak louder than policy frameworks, louder than speeches, and louder even than economic statistics.
Zambia is at that point and one such example is Chalo Mwansa, a young indigenous innovator whose journey offers a living blueprint for what our i-MSMEs can become.
This week, I depart slightly from theory and policy to bring you a story: one that carries within it the DNA of Zambia’s possible future. The making of a Builder Chalo Mwansa’s journey did not begin with venture capital, nor with institutional backing. It began, like many indigenous MSMEs, with mission, curiosity, and courage.
While still a student at the Copperbelt University, he initiated a community-centered crowdfunding concept a simple “piggy bank” model designed to support a nearby community school.
This was not just charity; it was early-stage financial innovation rooted in local realities. From there, he did what many overlook but few master, he worked: A car wash business, Shopping mall window cleaning services, Multiple small, service-oriented ventures! These were not glamorous.
But they were foundational. They taught him: Cashflow discipline, Customer intimacy, Operational resilience. While his academic record remained exceptional, graduating with straight As, his real education was unfolding in the marketplace.
The Road Less Travelled in a country where elite graduates often gravitate toward institutions like the Bank of Zambia, Chalo made a decision that defines true entrepreneurship: He walked away from certainty… and chose the uncertain path of indigenous enterprise in Zambia, Africa of all places! This is where many of our brightest minds hesitate. Yet this is precisely where Zambia’s structural transformation must and shall occur.
DUNIYA Healthcare: A New Frontier Today, Chalo Mwansa is a co-founder of DUNIYA Healthcare—a healthcare logistics enterprise I have come to describe, quite deliberately, as: “The Private Sector ZAMMSA of Zambia.”This is not a casual statement.
Where public systems such as the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency have struggled with efficiency, transparency, and responsiveness, DUNIYA represents what agile, mission-driven private sector logistics can achieve: timely distribution of medicines and medical supplies, data-informed logistics decisions, lean operational structures accountability driven by market discipline. In essence, it is the i-MSME stepping into national value chain significance.
Recognition and Global Relevance: Chalo’s work has not gone unnoticed. His recognition as a UN Global Award Winner is not merely a personal accolade, it is:
•A validation of Zambian ingenuity,
•A signal to global partners that our MSMEs can compete,
•A reminder that innovation does not require permission! What can we Learn? Chalo Mwansa’s journey offers at least five critical lessons for our MSME ecosystem:
1. Start Small, But Start Right
2. The so-called “informal” beginnings—car washes, cleaning services—are not weaknesses. They are training grounds.
3. Education Must Meet Enterprise
4. Academic excellence, when paired with practical execution, becomes a powerful economic tool.
5. Value Chains are the True Battlefield. DUNIYA is not just a business—it is a value chain intervention. This is where scale and impact reside.
6. Risk Is Not Optional. The decision to forgo institutional comfort is often the defining line between participation and transformation.
7. Indigenous Solutions matter. Local problems require local context. Imported models rarely fit perfectly—but indigenous innovation often does.
In previous articles, I have argued that our i-MSMEs must move: from informality to formality. From isolation to integration, Today, I add a third transition: From survival to significance. Chalo Mwansa embodies this shift. He did not merely build businesses to survive; he built systems that matter.
A Call to Action
i.
To policymakers: Create space for enterprises like DUNIYA to partner, compete, and complement public systems.
ii.
To financiers: Look beyond collateral: invest in character, competence, and courage.
iii.
To young Zambians: Your degree is not a destination. It is a tool. Use it boldly.
Conclusion
The future of Zambia’s economy will not be written solely in boardrooms or ministries. It will be written in: Small enterprises that refuse to stay small; Young innovators who reject safe paths; Value chains rebuilt from within and if we pay close attention, we will realize that the blueprint is already here. It looks like CHALO MWANSA.
Naluta mafumu, Chiuta wamutumbikani!______________________________________________________________________________The Author can be reached on +260 955 746 997 or via email at vpmn69@gmail.com
