Chairman of Action for Progress
Blantyre, Malawi… The grandson of a Ngoni Tribal Chief, Chester Kabinda-Mbewe was born in central Malawi in 1963. He grew up in Mphathi (nick-named: a barefoot boy from Mphathi), a tiny village about 40 kilometers west of the Dedza Trading Center in Central Malawi. After attending Dedza LEA Primary school and Thyolo Secondary school Chester continued higher education in technical and business management, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Malawi and a Master of Science degree from the University of Derby. He is a certified information systems auditor and optic fibre professional.
In 1989 he moved to Blantyre where he worked from 1990 to 1992 as a systems analyst and programmer for Lonrho Group of Companies, then from 1992 to 1998 as an information communications technology manager for Portland Cement Company. In 1998 he was employed in neighboring Tanzania with the Mbeya Cement Company as an information communications technology manager. In 1999 he reached the position of senior manager of information communications technology for the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi, (ESCOM) and from 2009 to the present has served as the head of the Electricity Supply’s Optical Fibre Communications (ESCOM) Division. ESCOM was incorporated in 1984 and serves as the state-owned electrical power company that controls and manages transmission and distribution of electric power throughout the country.
Chester has worked on a number of management projects for ESCOM, as well as projects for the World Bank, and as the lead person on projects with the Chinese government.
Chester serves as an elder in the largest congregation among churches of Christ in Malawi, the Red Cross church in Blantyre, and is both a husband, father of three children and grandfather of three. He is the chairman for Action for Progress, a Malawi faith-based, not-for-profit, organization serving alongside the Malawi Project to serve the needs of the most poverty-stricken portion of his nation, and to help people with the necessary tools to get on their feet and be productive members of society. He is currently the chairperson for Southern Africa International Gospel Lectureship (SAIL) Board of Advisory since 2015.