MBA Scholarship for Women in Zambia extended

The Scottish Government and Heriot-Watt's Edinburgh Business School have expanded their partnership by offering fully funded MBA scholarships for women in Zambia. The Gender Equality Initiative was launched at the Heriot-Watt Dubai Climate Hub during COP28 in the UAE and aims to empower women by providing 30 fully funded distance learning opportunities on the online Edinburgh Business School’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme, starting in March 2024.

In collaboration with the Scottish Government’s International Development Fund, this is the second time the University and Scottish Government have partnered to deliver a programme committed to opening doors to business education for Zambian women from diverse backgrounds. “When the scholarship began in 2019 with an initial cohort of 20 learners our goal was to provide life-changing opportunities to women who would not otherwise be able to afford an MBA programme and to address the underrepresentation of women in key business and government roles”, Russell Brooks, CEO of Heriot-Watt Online. “We are thrilled to be working alongside the Scottish Government again to make this opportunity available to a new group of students.” Applications are open until 31 January 2024 for this cohort of the Women in Zambia MBA Scholarship.

Professor Richard A. Williams, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University, hopes that the new group of scholarship recipients will use this opportunity to inspire and support fellow women in Zambia aspiring to work in fields where they lack representation. He commented: “Our mission at Edinburgh Business School and Heriot-Watt University is to help aspiring business professionals across the world transform their careers. “Our students and alumni develop professionally and personally throughout their learning experience, and we are delighted to partner, once again, with the Scottish Government and offer the scholarship to women in Zambia. “We very much look forward to welcoming the scholars to our community of students from around the world. We also hope that the selected individuals will support other women in business, providing guidance and mentorship to females who are still underrepresented across many industries at a senior management level and in boardrooms.”

Meet Our Inspiring Zambian Graduates

The inaugural cohort of our Women in Zambia scholarship recipients are already putting their newfound skills to good use. From accelerating their own careers to helping other women with financial literacy, these incredible women are utilising the knowledge and skills gained from their MBA to make a difference in their communities.

We are delighted that many of our scholarship recipients have used the opportunity of studying for an MBA to not only better themselves and their families but also to make a truly positive difference to their workplaces and wider communities.

Alice Sakhile Chirwa  Alice Sakhile Chirwa, one of our graduates from the inaugural cohort of the Women in Zambia scholarship, works in the financial services sector and hopes to use the knowledge and skills gained from her MBA to accelerate her career. She said: “I was actively looking for an MBA programme. I took up the opportunity when I came across it because I wanted to progress in my current career. The programme and all the skills I have achieved from it will help me provide better assistance and technical advice to customers for reducing wastage, for improving their businesses and increasing their profitability as well, which will ultimately benefit the economy as well,” she added.

Precious Milandile  Precious Milandile works as a Finance Specialist in the Non-Government Organisation Sector and hopes to mentor young women in financial literacy and support others in reaching their career goals. She noted that the content of the lectures has helped her with this journey, saying: “Heriot-Watt has been amazing and has been very supportive throughout our studies, they have been very helpful. The lecturers, the course content, the materials, everything has been amazing and has made my journey so much more easy and special.”

Precious also has plans to give back to her community, she said, “My plan is to mentor as many women and girls as possible in terms of financial literacy and how they can make an income and a living out of whatever they do.”

Mulangu Mulikita  Our Women in Zambia scholarship also covers those who would otherwise not be able to afford their studies. Development Manager Mulangu Mulikita is one such recipient.

“I have been trying to do school for a long time, but it was so expensive, and I couldn’t manage to pay the fees. So, when the opportunity came about, I wasn’t too confident, but I applied and here I am, I got the scholarship.”

Now, having been able to achieve her goal of further education, she has her sights set on her next dream: “I just hope to excel and be one of the chief marketers in Zambia in the coming future with all the skills I have learned and can possibly impart on upcoming marketers.”

Mwenya Likulunga  Mwenya Likulunga, another of our inspiring graduates from the original scholarship recipients, exemplifies the initiative's success. Mwenya is making use of the knowledge she acquired through the scholarship to venture into entrepreneurship, where she has founded a neurodiversity awareness initiative, one of the first in the region.

“For me, it was an opportunity that presented itself. It came at the perfect time and it was very convenient, I must say, because it is online the MBA so it didn’t require me to travel anywhere. I could study anywhere to manage the different dynamics of my life,” she said.

Regina Mtonga Regina Mtonga, another 2019 scholarship recipient, is a staunch advocate for gender equality, and, as the co-founder of Asikana Network in Zambia, has been instrumental in narrowing the gender gap in the tech industry by providing training for 30,000 women. She said:

"I wanted to use technology to create a community of confident and capable women and to help more women find employment, so my co-founders and I set up the Asikana Network to train Zambian women in technology and increase their capability in the tech space. Working with international companies like Meta (formerly Facebook), we have now trained more than 30,000 women since 2013.”

Apply now Applications are encouraged and invited from women of Zambian nationality who are passionate about tackling gender inequality and who will use the knowledge and skills gained from their MBA studies to support women in their local communities. The initiative also welcomes applications from women who would not otherwise be able to fund their studies. The application deadline is 31 January 2024, and the programme starts in March 2024.

Apply here for a Women in Zambia Scholarship.