By: Draxon Maloya

The Mumba Revolving Fund (MUREF) has achieved a remarkable milestone, expanding from K500 million to K1.5 billion while maintaining a 99.9 percent repayment rate, a development that is transforming lives in Mzimba Central constituency. 

A media visit to the catchment area this week revealed significant economic growth among beneficiaries, many of whom testified that their livelihoods have shifted from ultra-poor rural households to financial stability within just one year of the loan facility’s establishment. 

Initially met with cautious optimism, impoverished households welcomed the scheme, noting that past aid packages often favored politically connected individuals. Unlike those, MUREF has reached the grassroots, offering small loans to struggling families. 

The scheme, introduced three months ago, is valued at K5 billion (US $44 million) and aims to support thousands of rural households. Official figures show that 65 percent of Malawi’s population live below the poverty line, underscoring the urgency of such interventions. 

To ensure repayment, MUREF employs a peer pressure mechanism: groups of 10 borrow collectively, and repayment is made as a unit. If one member defaults, the group is denied further loans. 

Beneficiaries such as Petros Mtika, Charity Mnyenyembe, and Mark Kanyimbo praised the initiative. 

“I spend most of the time doing piecework. With the money I get, I pay school fees for my children and buy their clothes, apart from feeding them. Indeed the loan is meant for poor people like us, it is help a lot,” said Mnyenyembe. 

Kanyimbo, now running a grocery and dried fish distribution business, proudly displayed his newly acquired motorcycle. 

“In the past we had similar loan schemes, but those who benefited were people related to, or who supported, the ruling party. This resulted in them failing to pay the loans, because they thought it was a gift,” he said. 

MUREF’s Credit Consultant Geoffrey Kaonga expressed satisfaction with the loan collection rate. 

“We started with K500 million but now we have expanded the scheme to K1.5 billion. The progression is impressive, collection rate is 99.9 percent, and the demand for the loans is very high,” Kaonga said. 

While the people of Mzimba celebrate this success, Malawi remains one of the world’s poorest nations, with 70–75 percent of its population living below the international extreme poverty line of $2.15 per day. The country continues to struggle with structural poverty, food insecurity, and widespread deprivation, particularly in rural regions

The fund was launched in July last year (2025) by Member of Parliament for Mzimba Central, Vitumbiko Mumba, to empower women and youths through group-based microloans supporting small-scale businesses and farming ventures.