President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has urged university graduates to start paying back loans immediately they start earning an income, stressing that this will enable the government to sustain the provision of the support to needy students.

Chakwera made the remarks during the graduation of the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) on Wednesday.

He emphasized that just as he listened to the cry for an increase in upkeep allowance from K350, 000 to K560,000 per student per year, he expected the beneficiaries to pay the loan back as soon as they begin to earn an income following their graduation.

“In so doing, you will enable us to sustain the provision of this support to the innovators who are still studying in our universities, as well as the innovators who are yet to come to our universities,” he said.

Chakwera also said he expected the graduates to marry innovations they will create using the skills they have gained at the university with a spirit of entrepreneurship in order to turn their innovations into wealth creation engines that create jobs for other Malawians.

He said it is his dream that as the world gathers for the Summit of the Future in New York this September, the investments in innovation that the country courts from there will be investments graduates will be ready to compete for with their innovative ideas.

“My dream is that your innovations will be scaled up to impact the rest of the continent and the rest of the world. My dream is that you will remember that in our primary and secondary schools are millions of youth that need your inspiration, your mentorship, your example, and your support to follow the path you are blazing here today. My dream is that you will never stop dreaming and never stop pursuing innovations designed,” narrated the President.