Ongoing projects
The following are some of the projects that are concurrently ongoing at Makoka and Associates (M&A)
Data Collection For The Malawi Social Registry in Ntcheu District, Malawi, August 2025- December 2025
M&A has partnered with the Malawi Government, through the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC), and the Poverty Reduction and Social Protection (PRSP) Division of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs to collect household data for the Malawi Social Registry (MSR) (formerly called the Unified Beneficiary Registry).
The activity is financed by the World Bank, through the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP). The MSR is a comprehensive social registry that identifies and tracks beneficiaries of social protection programs in Malawi. The activity involves the collection of all households across Ntcheu District (about 184,000 households). M&A has deployed a team of 300 data collectors; 35 field supervisors; 7 Data Quality Assurance Coordinators; and over 35 drivers for this exercise.
While traditionally, data collection for the MSR has been done by the district council, for the first time (and M&A is the first private entity), the Government of Malawi and the World Bank are piloting the use of private research organization to collect MSR household data to enhance efficiency and quality of the data.
2. Evaluation Of The Malawi Drought Insurance Payout Implementation in Balaka District, Malawi, July 2025 – October
M&A is working with Tearfund, a global Christian charity dedicated to ending poverty and injustice (headquartered in the United Kingdom), to evaluate the Malawi Drought Insurance Payout Implementation in Balaka District. In 2024, Tearfund partnered with Global Parametric and Humanity Insured to provide insurance for vulnerable communities in Balaka, Malawi, through anticipatory action. The drought insurance intervention in Balaka District used the Water Balance Index (WBI), an insurance model provided by Global Parametrics. The WBI utilizes satellite data to track soil moisture levels over time. If the WBI level drops below a predetermined threshold during the planting or growing season, a payout is automatically triggered. This system enables farmers to receive immediate support without the need for field visits to verify losses. The insurance aims to empower farmers to take proactive measures to protect their crops, families, and livelihoods during challenging seasons.
The intervention in Malawi was implemented by Eagles Malawi in Balaka District, covering 1,200 households. As part of the insurance payout, the beneficiaries received vegetable seeds and orange-fleshed sweet potato vines to help them to proactively take measures that improve food security for their communities and promote their resilience. M&A was contracted by Tearfund to assess and evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and value for money of Malawi’s first-ever anticipatory insurance payout of drought-tolerant vegetable seeds and sweet potato vines.
3. Baseline Study Of Sustainable Youth Economic Empowerment Through Non-Formal Vocational Skills Trainings Project In Dowa District, Malawi, June 2025 – October 2025
M&A has partnered with World Relief, an international Christian non-governmental organization working in the sectors of health, economic development, disaster response, and refugee resettlement, to conduct the baseline study for its technical and vocational education project in Dowa District, Malawi.
World Relief aims at improving entrepreneurship and vocational skills for at least 500 youths aged 17-30 years from Dowa targeting Dzaleka Refugee Camp and its host communities. At least 50% of the project beneficiaries will be girls and 2% will be youth with disabilities. The project’s aim is to promote the growth of youth driven self-employment in the communities of T/A Msakambewa and Mkukula in Dowa district. The overall goal of the project is to ensure sustainable and increased income for at least 500 vulnerable youth graduates in Dowa district. The project’s specific objectives include (i) Vocational skills are improved and applied; (ii) Improved financial and entrepreneurial management and social skills; and (iii) Improved market access and linkages.
4. Skills for A Vibrant Economy Project, 2023/25
Launched in October 2021, the SAVE Project is a 5-year, $100 million endeavor designed to enhance the quality and reach of technical, vocational, and higher education across Malawi. It collaborated with higher education institutions, technical colleges, and private sector partners to achieve the following objectives:
- Infrastructure Development: Investing in the construction and upgrading of facilities at public higher education institutions and technical colleges, creating modern, well-equipped learning environments.
- Skills Training and Capacity Building: Supporting teacher training and providing cutting-edge learning materials, improving the quality of education and training offered to students. This includes the creation of incubation services for graduates, fostering self-employment and entrepreneurship
- Scholarships and Financial Support: To ensure equitable access to education, provide scholarships and loans to vulnerable and female students, helping them to enroll in technical and vocational education and training (TEVET) programs and higher education institutions.
Makoka and Associates-Research and Development Policy, therefore, had been hired to conduct the performance evaluations of this project since 2023 across all Malawi National higher education institutions and national technical colleges.
5. Baseline Study Of The Project “Addressing Challenges To Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Through Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights (Phase Ii)” In Malawi, September 2025 – November 2025
M&A is working with UNFPA Malawi to undertake a baseline of a sexual and reproductive health project adolescent girls and teen mothers in Dedza and Mchinji Districts of Malawi. The project, funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), is co-implemented with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), with a total budget of US$ 7,400,000 to advance SRHR of teen mothers and adolescent girls. The goal of the project is to strengthen the individual and collective agency and the capabilities of adolescent girls including teenage mothers for them to be able to make informed decisions determining their lives including on their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
M&A is conducting the baseline study:
- To assess the current situation of adolescents and young people’s SRHR, and well-being in the districts, especially on knowledge of SRHR, identification and availability and quality of youth-responsive SRHR services in the districts;
- To establish the baseline data that will support the project monitoring, coordination, and evaluation framework (as per the results framework);
- To gather evidence to inform project strategies and communication packages, including key messaging;
- To identify gaps in the current adolescents and young people’s SRHR services and provide recommendations in order to enhance and strengthen these services, making sure they fulfill the needs of the targeted beneficiaries, in both supply and demand sides.