The National Youth Council of Malawi (NYCOM) has asked financial institutions to be youth-friendly in a bid to enhance youth economic empowerment.

Executive Director for the Council, Rex Chapota, made the call in Lilongwe during the National Youth Conversation Series event.

Chapota said many young people in the country are failing to venture into entrepreneurship activities due to lack of capital coupled with what he described as tiresome procedures that they have to go through when accessing the funds.

He said many youths in the country fail to access loans from various lending institutions because of the long and tiresome procedures that one need to undergo.

Chapota also bemoaned high interest rates that are attached to the loans, a development which he described as not youth friendly.

He therefore implored all lending institutions to be set flexible conditions that can easily meet the demands and needs of young people who want to access the loans.

National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) credit manager, Whyghtone Mweta, said that the institution has relaxed some of the lending conditions among other things in order to accommodate more youth in the initiative.

The Youth Conversation series engagement meeting focused on the agriculture, tourism, and mining strategy and it brought together various youth entrepreneurs as well as different stakeholders.