Joyce Banda Foundation International

JBFI, NABW and Hunger Project

Before becoming vice-president, she was the founder and CEO of the Joyce Banda Foundation. for better Education, a charitable foundation that assists Malawian children and orphans through education. It is a complex of primary and secondary schools in the Chimwankhunda area of Blantyre.

It includes an orphan care center that consists of six centres and 600 children. It also assists the surrounding villages by providing micro-credit to 40 women and 10 youth groups. It provided seeds to over 10,000 farmers and has provided other donations.

The foundation has constructed four clinics in four of the 200 villages it assists. The foundation also assists in rural development. It has a partnership with the Jack Brewer Foundation, a global development foundation founded by NFL star, Jack Brewer.

National Association of Business Women

Banda is the founder of the National Association of Business Women in Malawi that was established in 1990. It is a registered non-profit foundation in Malawi. 

The association aims to lift women out of poverty by strengthening their capacity and empowering them economically. This is a social network of 30,000 women, dedicated to supporting women's businesses and supporting women who want to participate in business. Its activities include business training, technical training, record keeping and management skills. They work towards creating dialogue with policymakers to make policies favourable to women business owners. The foundation has had a partnership with the Netherlands-based Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos) at The Hague since 2003.

The Hunger project

“The Hunger Project has meant so much to me; so much to the people of Malawi and so much to the people of Africa,” said Her Excellency President Joyce Banda of Malawi during her keynote address at The Hunger Project’s Annual Fall Gala on Saturday, October 5 under the theme: The Power of One, The Strength of Many.

President Banda inspired the 500+ members of the audience – from more than 20 countries around the world with her insight into the promising development of Africa and the leaders – at all levels – who are driving change. “This is a crop of leaders that are fully aware of the challenges that the continent faces, and are dedicated to make a difference; become stewards of the people and champions for development.

H.E. Dr.  Banda has long been a friend of The Hunger Project and was honored in 1997 with the Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger. President Banda credited her receipt of the Africa Prize, in part, with launching her from grassroots leader to national figure in Malawi. She applauded The Hunger Project for this, and all, public support and promotion of transparent, responsible leadership at local and national levels.

“You invested in us and encouraged us to invest in ourselves, with acknowledgements like the Africa Prize and programs like the Epicenter Strategy and the microfinance program to empower women’s economic participation. For me, it was the Africa Prize Award that enabled me to set up the Joyce Banda Foundation which has grown to reach out to 1.1 million beneficiaries with various interventions in education, food and income security, early childhood development, and youth development. For this I am grateful.”