The Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (Mitc) is courting investors for its 44 bankable projects published in the fourth edition of the Malawi Investment Projects Compendium.

In the new compendium, Mitc has lined up 20 bankable private sector projects and 24 bankable projects where government is seeking partnerships with prospective investors.

The proposed private sector initiatives include projects in the energy, manufacturing, tourism, mining and agriculture sectors while those seeking partnerships include projects in energy, transport, water, housing and agriculture.

Prospective investors follow proceedings during a Malawi Investment Forum session

Mitc is also promoting the cannabis industry for which it is inviting investors to explore opportunities in production and processing of industrial and medical cannabis in Malawi.

Mitc board chairperson Karl Chokotho said in a statement accompanying the compendium that the package has been carefully selected to showcase both public and private sector-supported investment opportunities that have feasibility reports.

He said: “Our role at Mitc is to identify viable projects and bring them to the attention of potential investors and financiers. One of the government’s roles is to improve the ease of doing business in Malawi.

“Mitc contributes to this effort by providing valuable business information to investors, thereby reducing

 their time and cost.”

Mitc figures show that between June and July 2021, Malawi chalked up $154.6 million (about K 127 billion) investment deals with $119.2 million (about K98 billion) coming from foreign direct investment (FDIs) while $35.4 million (about K29 billion) was from local investments.

The Mitc figures further show that the highest source of the FDI was the United Kingdom, representing 35.16 percent followed by South Africa at 16.55 percent, Australia at 12.93 percent and Canada at 8.06 percent.

In terms of sector-specific projects, the agro-sector recorded the highest number of investments valued at $94 million (about K77 billion) from 10 companies followed by the infrastructure development sector with investments valued at $40 million (about K33 billion), mining at $9 million (about K7 billion), manufacturing at $8.3 million (about K6.8 billion) and information and communications technology at $2.5 million (about K2.1 billion).

In an interview, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences associate professor Betchani Tchereni observed that the country has for a long time experienced unguided investments, leading to individual benefits rather than country ones.

He said the country needs guided investments in areas that are of importance for its development agenda.

Tchereni said: “In that way, we will be able to achieve Malawi 2063 since the areas that will be developed will be those we wanted.”

Meanwhile, Afri-Seed managing director Grace Mijiga, whose $5 million (about K4.09 billion) seed production project is listed in the document, has hailed Mitc for creating the opportunity.

The proposed investment entails purchasing breeder seed and all required farm inputs, purchasing of farm and irrigation equipment, construction of warehouses for seed storage and setting up distribution points across the country and the purchase of packaging equipment.

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