Youth Empowerment and Support Initiative-Malawi

What Youth Empowerment and Support Initiative-Malawi does

Youth Empowerment and Support Initiative-Malawi (YESI) is a Salima, Malawi-based non-profit organization founded in 2017 that provides tuition support, mentorship, and educational resources to secondary school students from low-income backgrounds. Its service model centers on identifying vulnerable students through partnerships with 20 secondary schools in Salima district, providing direct tuition payments, school supplies, and pairing students with volunteer mentors. Since inception, YESI reports that more than 200 students have been supported to remain in school, 40-plus have progressed to university, and programs have reached over 40,000 young people through outreach and mentorship activities.

The organization's core technology is a WhatsApp-based platform called Mentors Engage, launched in 2020 to facilitate mentor-student communication, group sessions, and remote engagement. The platform is a lightweight communication layer rather than a proprietary software product, leveraging WhatsApp's existing infrastructure. The organization also coordinates in-person mentorship panels, life-skills workshops, and community events. Operating with approximately 10 staff and a broader volunteer mentor panel, YESI runs community-rooted programs including child-marriage prevention outreach and a "Sponsor a Student" model that allows individual donors to fund specific students' secondary education.

YESI's business model is non-commercial, funded through donations, GoFundMe campaigns, and individual sponsorships from supporters including a Scotland-based donor family, the Janet Allan Educational Fund, and the Malawi Scotland Partnership. There is no fee-for-service revenue, no government contract base disclosed, and no earned-income component. The organization's growth is measured in programmatic reach (number of students sponsored, schools partnered with, young people reached) rather than financial revenue, and it depends on continued donor engagement to sustain its scholarship commitments.

Name

Youth Empowerment and Support Initiative-Malawi

Legal name

Youth Empowerment and Support Initiative

Website

https://yesinitiativemw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

YESI is a Salima, Malawi-based non-profit founded in 2017 that provides tuition support, mentorship, and educational resources to vulnerable secondary school students, operating across 20 partner schools and reaching 40,000+ young people through scholarship and outreach programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Education and Mentorship Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Adult Learner Support Services (Advising, Case Management, Wraparound Supports) (EDAAABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Application Support, Matching Platforms & Scholarship Administration Services (EDAIAOAN)

Keywords

• Youth education sponsorship
• Secondary school mentorship
• Tuition support program
• Career guidance mentorship
• WhatsApp mentorship platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Salima

HQ country

Malawi

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: YESI operates as a nonprofit that raises funds through donations, crowdfunding platforms (GoFundMe), and individual sponsorships to fund tuition support, mentorship programs, and educational resources for students.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

YESI is a youth-led nonprofit that sponsors secondary school tuition and supplies for at-risk students from low-income families in Malawi's Salima district, and delivers mentorship through in-person sessions at 20 partner schools plus a WhatsApp-based Mentors Engage platform that connects youth with professionals for career, health, and life-skills guidance. The Janet Allan Educational Fund provides a dedicated scholarship stream for 24 students from five schools.

Product overview

YES Initiative is a non-profit organization offering a unified youth empowerment ecosystem through education. The core offerings consist of the Secondary School Tuition Support Program (providing financial sponsorship to at-risk students), the Mentors Engage Program (WhatsApp-based online mentorship connecting youth with professionals), and the Secondary School Mentorship Program (in-person sessions by university students). The Janet Allan Education Fund serves as a dedicated scholarship program supporting beneficiaries. These programs work together to provide comprehensive support spanning financial assistance, mentorship guidance, and career development for Malawian youth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mentors Engage: WhatsApp-based platform connecting youth with professionals to discuss careers, health, and life skills.
• Janet Allan Educational Fund

Products and services

• Secondary School Tuition Support Program Financial sponsorship program that covers tuition fees and essential academic needs for secondary school students from low-income families in Malawi who are at risk of dropping out of school.
• Mentors Engage Program WhatsApp-based online mentorship platform that connects Malawian youth with professionals to discuss careers, health, and life-skills topics, enabling scalable virtual mentorship beyond Salima district.
• Secondary School Mentorship Program In-person mentorship sessions conducted by university students and graduates at partner secondary schools in Salima district, covering academic excellence, career guidance, and life skills.
• Janet Allan Education Fund Dedicated scholarship program, supported by the Allan Family and well-wishers in memory of Janet Allan, that covers tuition and essential academic needs for 24 students from five schools in Salima.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 200 students from low-income families helped to stay in school
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pothawira Christian Mission OrganizationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Pothawira (Haven) Christians Mission Organization partners with YESI to support students' university education. They cover tuition fees and living expenses for selected students like Shafi Kaliyati at LUANAR - Bunda Campus, providing comprehensive support including food, accommodation, and academic materials.
• Malawi Scotland PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMalawi Scotland Partnership collaborates with YESI on mentorship initiatives. CEO Vera Kamtukule participated in YESI's Mentors Engage Program to provide public speaking training and career guidance to youth participants.
• GoFundMeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGoFundMe serves as the primary crowdfunding platform for YESI's donation collection, enabling international donors to contribute to student sponsorship and mentorship programs.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Tostan: Tostan delivers community-led education and empowerment programs across West Africa, with a focus on girls' education, health, and human rights. It is comparable to YESI in deploying a community-based, locally mentored model targeting educational and social outcomes for youth.
• buildOn: buildOn partners with rural communities in developing countries to build schools and deliver adult literacy programs, with a strong operational footprint in Malawi. It is directly comparable to YESI as a Malawi-active education NGO serving at-risk rural learners.
• Educate!: Educate! works across Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya to deliver youth-focused secondary school education, mentorship, and skills training. Its model of partnering with government schools and training youth mentors aligns closely with YESI's school-based mentorship approach.
• Room to Read: Room to Read operates literacy and girls' education programs across multiple low-income countries in Asia and Africa, with a strong emphasis on secondary school completion. It is a directly comparable youth-education NGO with sponsorship and mentorship components.
• Camfed: Camfed (Campaign for Female Education) operates a sponsorship model supporting girls' secondary and tertiary education across multiple sub-Saharan African countries. It is directly comparable to YESI in targeting at-risk girls, providing tuition plus mentorship, and tracking students into university and employment outcomes.
• Pothawira Christian Mission Organization: Pothawira is a Malawi-based Christian mission that runs the Pothawira Girls Academy and supports orphaned and vulnerable children's education through secondary and university sponsorship. It is a directly comparable local peer to YESI, and is also an active partner/sponsor of YESI beneficiaries.

Emerging players

• African Library Project: African Library Project establishes small libraries in rural African schools to improve literacy and educational access. It is an emerging player with thematic overlap to YESI's mission of supporting rural African students' educational outcomes, though it focuses on literacy infrastructure rather than direct sponsorship.

Others

• African Leadership University: ALU provides tertiary education and leadership development for African youth across multiple campuses. It is thematically related to YESI as both organizations focus on developing young African leaders through education pathways, though ALU operates at the university tier rather than secondary sponsorship.

Broad incumbents

• Plan International Malawi: Plan International Malawi runs education, child protection, and youth empowerment programs nationwide, with explicit focus on girls' education and ending child marriage. It is a broader incumbent in the same Malawian girls' education and youth support space as YESI.
• UNICEF Malawi: UNICEF Malawi implements large-scale education, health, and child protection programs across the country. It is a broader incumbent operating in the same Malawian youth education space, with significantly larger resources and a wider mandate than YESI.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/education-support-initiative-malawi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

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