Robert Borzychowski

Country: Zambia
Partner: Mobile Transactions
Placement: Providing operational support for a mobile banking start-up

More than most, Robert Borzychowski has experienced firsthand the entrepreneurial nature of some of Southern Africa’s most vibrant communities.

When he first arrived in Africa with Engineers Without Borders almost two years ago, Rob spent his first 13 months in a small Northern Malawi community working with the Mzuzu Coffee Planters Co-operative Union. Mzuzu is a unique member-owned group of five cooperatives representing 3,200 farmers, and produces and processing Fair Trade Arabica coffee for the domestic and export markets. Without a doubt, Mzuzu is a critical source of income for many of the community’s coffee farmers.

Here, Rob helped Mzuzu’s leaders implement monitoring and evaluation systems to better manage their business in the long-term. His work was an important part of ensuring that Mzuzu could improve their operations and provide a lasting source of income for the union’s farmers.

With an engineering degree from McMaster University, a past chapter Presidency, and a charity bike trip across Canada on his resume – Rob is no stranger to challenges. So in September 2009 when he had the opportunity to move to Zambia and accept a new volunteer placement, he did not look back.

Now Rob is working with Mobile Transactions in Zambia’s bustling capital city of Lusaka. Although it’s a long way from Malawi’s sweeping rural landscapes, Rob is motivated more than ever to help this unique start-up enterprise to realize success.

Mobile Transactions provides mobile banking and money transfer services, allowing those in some of Zambia’s most remote communities to transfer and receive funds via their mobile phones. The organization’s services could not be more needed in Zambia – where the majority of the population does not have access to a bank account to save or transfer money.

“Mobile banking is really exciting,” says Rob, “It’s a technology that will be established here long before mobile banking exists in Europe or North America.”

With Mobile Transactions Rob is managing a team of nine that works to attract more agents, to help the organization expand their reach and impact. He is helping them to indentify and address gaps in the agent network, to ensure that the service can reach an increased number of Zambians. With improved access to financial services, Zambians can save time and money, access credit, and vastly improve their lives.

Rob remains committed to the work he is doing, and is motivated by the power of the private sector to unleash foster prosperity for thousands of Africans.

“I am still excited about the opportunity to live in Africa, and contribute to reducing the inequalities in access to resources, health and education that continue to bother me.”