In a world interconnected by trade and investment, meeting of international delegates becomes a bridge for development. Malawi’s huge untapped potential created a glimmer of hope during what was dubbed Malawi Summit. The summit aimed at fostering collaboration, economic growth, and attract international investors to explore opportunities across various sectors.

The high level meeting gathered potential investors and economists across the globe in the Capital city, Lilongwe at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) on 23^rd May 2023. The conference was organized by the Economist; and presided by His Excellency the President of Republic of Malawi, Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera. The Vice President Dr. Saulosi Klaus Chilima was also in attendance. The president opened the day summit with a keynote address where he highlighted on the need to utilize opportunities that are available across Malawi ranging from natural resources and human capital. President Lazarus Chakwera urged investors from across the world to invest in Malawi, saying the country is ready for business. The President said Malawi has plenty of opportunities in three strategic areas of Agriculture, Tourism and Mining. He added that for decades, Malawi has had public institutions that were meant to regulate sectors of the economy that failed to effectively execute their tasks because of corruption, slowness in execution, incompetence, resource constraints, political sabotage, or because of petty fights by institutional leaders with fragile egos.

The Malawi leader said the institutional dysfunctions that emanate from “these toxic elements often leave many sectors of our economy too disorganized, too neglected, too unregulated, and too exposed to exploitation to attract meaningful investments or to unleash their potential”. “It is my commitment, therefore, to continue on this path of clearing all the bureaucratic roadblocks in the public sector that delay and derail private sector progress. “This is also the reason why I established a Presidential Delivery Unit in my office to identify bottlenecks in the public sector that get in the way of results and outcomes…,” Chakwera said.

The Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Sam Kawale, Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Hon. Ibrahim Matola and Presidential Advisor on Economics, Chancellor Kaferapanjira were the panelists, in a panel discussion which was Moderated by Jonathan Rosenthal, African Editor for the renowned, Economist Magazine.

The panel discussion provided a platform for each ministry to share its potential investment areas and current plans on the card to create a conducive environment for the investors.

Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale said investment opportunities are abundant in the agriculture sector, where government is implementing the flagship mega-farms project.

Kawale said government is determined to help the private sector in sourcing the necessary financing to venture into serious agricultural production. “But production is one end. On the other side, we have the market. As a ministry, we have also been engaging the off-takers to make sure that whatever farmers in Malawi produce, there is a ready market,” the minister said. On his part, Energy Minister Ibrahim Matola also said an avalanche of opportunities also exist in the energy sector, where government is looking at hydroelectric, solar, coal, wind, thermal and other types of energy to propel industries such as mining and manufacturing.

Pressure continues to mount on Capital Hill to pay back over $850 million it owes to international lenders; the government has said it is praying that some creditors may accept debt swaps. Presidential Economic Advisor Chancellor Kaferapanjira disclosed this during the summit.

A debt swap, is a transaction in which the obligations or debts of a company or individual are exchanged for something of value, namely, equity. “The discussion which we have had is that some of the international financial institutions may accept a swap of the debts so that instead of us paying back the loans, we may have to pay some charities that are here so that they can finance the humanitarian needs of the country,” Kaferapanjira said.

According to Kaferapanjira, authorities believe that the negotiations that they are having with China, India, Trade and Development Bank and Afreximbank are pointing in the right direction.

The summit was attended by Malawi’s first lady Madame Monica Chakwera and Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu, Vera Kamtukule for Tourism and Hon Nancy Tembo Minister of Foreign Affairs respectively. Other notable delegates were Chief Executive Officers from ESCOM, EGENCO and African Development Bank, as well as business leaders across sectors from Malawi and beyond its borders. Lab20 innovations streamed live the president keynote address and the panel discussion. Click the link below.