Laura Schuerwegen

I’m always scanning for opportunities that could benefit Zomba Arts Platform (ZAP), the non-profit I co-founded in Malawi. Our mission is to professionalise the creative sector and build sustainable careers through the arts.

This week, I came across a grant that looked like a great fit: a tech innovation program. ZAP may be an arts organisation, but we’re also quite tech-oriented. We’re currently building a creative hub with coworking facilities—so it felt aligned.

Then I read the eligibility.
Once again: most Sub-Saharan countries qualified—except Malawi. Something I have seen time and again.

Why is Malawi always excluded?

It’s a question I keep returning to. When I ask funders on the ground, I hear things like:

• “We focus on sustainable agriculture.” (But can a country truly thrive if we only invest in agriculture?)
• “Malawi lacks the European Institutes required.”

That last one is particularly interesting. Because we’ve been here before.

The Future is Female lesson

When we set out to implement Future is Female, an interdisciplinary project under the European Spaces of Culture program, the criteria required three EUNIC members (European National Institutes of Culture) as well as the EU delegation.

Typically, these partners are organisations like Alliance Française, Institut Français, Goethe, or the British Council. But in Malawi, only the British Council had a presence—and at the time, they were dedicated solely to education, not culture.

On paper, it looked impossible.

But here’s what happened:

• The EU Delegation to Malawi stepped in with support.
• Two excellent local partners came on board easily: Music Crossroads Malawi (who had also been exploring the opportunity) and Tumaini Festival, with whom we had a strong working history.
• For the EUNIC partners, we pulled heavily on international networks. British Council joined through their cultural arms in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Goethe South Africa signed on – it helped that we already had an established relationship through our involvement with the Sound Connects program. And, since embassies are eligible, the Embassy of Ireland in Malawi joined too.

What looked like a closed door opened—because of persistence, relationships, and a willingness to puzzle together a cross-border coalition.

The bigger question

But here’s the thing: it shouldn’t always take that level of gymnastics to make Malawi eligible. The country consistently ranks among the poorest in the world, yet it’s regularly left out of innovation and development opportunities that could make a real difference.

So I’m left wondering:
How does it make sense that Malawi is excluded time and again?

Maybe we can also start imagining better ways forward.