Arnold Nyendwa is a 23-year-old Zambian entrepreneur, inventor, and founder of Venturas Jumpstart, and the first to pioneer a stainless steel tech company in Zambia and the first stainless steel stove in Africa. He was born and raised in Petauke, Eastern Province of Zambia. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Development Studies at Mulungushi University in Kabwe.
Arnold Nyendwa invented a revolutionary stainless steel stove inspired by people living in marginalized communities in Zambia. He was concerned about respiratory diseases such as asthma developed by using charcoal, wood, and other wooden cooking devices. The frequency of load-shedding also influenced his stove invention which performs eight (8) functions thereby, making it multifunctional and cost-effective. The stove allows a user to cook, bake, fry, roast, dry, braai, smoke, and warm food items. It interestingly allows the user with three (3) energy sources to pick from electricity, gas, and fuel.
His company, Venturas Jumpstart aims to become Zambia’s leading technology company in the stainless steel industry and provide solutions for energy and other productive projects and services to low-income households. Venturas Jumpstart contributes to development within Zambia and promotes the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by providing stainless stoves.
Arnold Nyendwa won three (3) awards in 2020. He won the Global Student Entrepreneur Award, Mwape Peer Awards as the Most Outstanding Entrepreneur – The Award Ceremony was held in New York, USA, and Arnold Nyendwa came at the top in a total of 50 finalists worldwide! His third award was the Citibank Micro-entrepreneurship Awards (CMA) in which he emerged as the ‘2020 CMA Resilient Youth’.
Apart from the stainless steel stove, Arnold Nyendwa has also been inventing amazing things like the washable mattress he developed a few years ago. The washable mattress can be easily folded and washed at the convenience of the user. It has unique features that no bed has, like non-movable pillows, side pockets, you can fold it like a bag and walk around with it, etc. Also, he created a pillow that one can dry clean without washing it. It is easy to dry clean and easy to remove dirt.
Arnold Nyendwa also plans to give back to his hometown Petauke by sharing his story to inspire young people from ‘grass to grace. He’s also working on a project to construct camps around the country where free education, food, and skills training will be provided to orphans and widows.
Arnold Nyendwa is looking forward to expanding his stainless steel tech company in Africa and the world. His goal is to start exporting across borders within and outside Africa.
“I believe technology and leadership can co-exist because technology is the change in itself. With my qualification in Development Studies, I’m working on setting up a Consultancy Firm that blends technology with governance to empower youths with innovative knowledge that they will use to develop Zambia. This is the type of leadership I believe in,” he told The African Dream
“It is important to look into things that can challenge you to do better and think outside the box. We should be able to endure everything that comes our way. It is making tough decisions and having the persistence to succeed in life”, said Arnold Nyendwa