Praise Tembo recently completed a research-based Honours in Science at Rhodes University. He was the second top science graduate in 2021, earning him the Basil Schonland Scholarship. For his family, this was a first, as he is the only one amongst his siblings who has had the opportunity to make it this far on their academic journey. He is currently completing a Master of Science in biotechnology ahead of taking up the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship in 2023.

Praise’s upbringing allowed him to realise and explore the socioeconomic realities around him, inspiring him to use his academic achievements to help others. Poor health often goes hand-in-hand with poverty and stops people from progressing. This inequality motivates Praise in his studies. He sees the biotechnology industry as a tool he could use to further explore and influence the social determinants of health in Malawi and Africa. Praise aims to gain expertise and use it as a tool to promote development in the biomedical biotechnology sector. Through his research, he plans on providing scientific solutions to his community; through entrepreneurship, he would like to create opportunities for others, and through leadership and mentorship, he would like to inspire many to be their best; through engagement and influence, he dreams of educating communities and helping to narrow relevant knowledge gaps between science and the community.