Chifuniro Banda – Malawi

Chifuniro Banda is the last born of 7 children in her family. Her father is a retired bank manager and her mother is a business owner. She was born and raised in Lilongwe and completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology at Mzuzu University. Chifuniro's interest in innovation began when she was in university, where she built websites and created mobile applications for companies. She's also done a couple of internships as a fibre technician, a geographic information system office, and a network engineer.

Chifuniro heard about ADDA when at school from other students and was encouraged to apply. "One of the things I'm loving about my experience at ADDA is we're learning about teamwork, how to build and operate drones, and safety measures when operating drones," describes Chifuniro. "I want to be up to date with latest technology, and this programme puts me on that path."

Her plan is to apply her newly acquired skills and knowledge on drones in the telecommunications and agricultural sector. However, she has doubts about how eager communities will be to accept drones.

"Most times, when there is new technology, people are resistant, especially in rural areas where people assume drones are affiliated with witchcraft. So I am not sure how people will welcome this new technology," says Chifuniro.

Chifuniro also believes that her stint at ADDA will help her to bring out ideas that will improve the welfare of people.