Her Excellency Ambassador Catherine Nurujean Kunje addressed the 27th edition of the African Arab Investment and International Cooperation Summit in Aswan on 14th November, 2024. The summit was organized by the Arab Women Investors Union in coordination with the Businesswomen Association for Development. The speech was made under the theme ‘Investment Opportunities and Bilateral Trade; facilities offered by the countries’.
In attendance were Arab and African ambassadors from Egypt, the Arab World and international, representatives of diplomatic corps and delegations representing 35 countries which included Zimbabwe, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Serbia, Russia, Iraq, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Kyrgyz, Saudi Arabia and Belgium among others.
Her Excellency the Ambassador informed the gathering that Malawi has been defined as the best destination for investment in the Sub-Sahara region due to its conducive and peaceful environment with vibrant policies which are centered on socio-economic development. She pointed out that the Malawi Government under the leadership of President Dr Lazarus Chakwera recognizes the private sector as the engine to drive the economy and has been opened up by enabling investment to thrive in the country. She highlighted that the President’s leadership is also centered on three critical pillars of accountability, transparency and good governance making Malawi to be more attractive for foreign investment initiatives. The Ambassador emphasized the gathering about the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) which functions as a ‘One stop center’ and is mandated to assist those who would like to invest in Malawi.
The Ambassador further said that there are also many sectors which one could particularly invest in Malawi and that the Malawi Government is promoting investment in Agriculture, Tourism and Mining sectors (ATM strategy). She further highlighted that the demand for Malawian products is high but currently the country is not able to meet the demand hence the need for investment to reach the targets. She wooed the participants to consider investing in Agriculture which remains the back bone of the economy through production, processing and packaging of agriculture products. On tourism sector, the Ambassador enlightened that the sector is thriving with natural resources including wildlife, mountains, historic sites, cultural spaces, fresh waters from sources such as Lake Malawi and numerous Islands which offer great opportunity in eco-tourism development.
Regarding the mining sector, the Ambassador hinted that the sector has a lot to offer as it is still in its early stages and there are a lot of minerals such as gold, uranium, coal among others which have not been exploited to the fullest. She added that investors are also welcome to invest in sectors such as energy, micro-finance, ICT, manufacturing, housing, hospitality, infrastructure development among many others.
On women empowerment, the Ambassador pointed out that the Malawi Government through the guidance of the First Lady Her Excellency Monica Chakwera believes that investing in women's economic empowerment is crucial in promoting gender equality and inclusive economic growth. The Government has therefore put in place a lot of initiatives to allow women to effectively participate in business and microfinance enabling Malawian women to take a central role in the socio-economic development of the country. The initiatives include formation of cooperatives and clubs at community levels. The Ambassador therefore encouraged the participants to consider partnering with Malawian women through international collaborations.
The speech was followed by a video presentation showcasing the investment environment in Malawi. The presentation highlighted the key sectors for investment which included agriculture, mining and tourism. She concluded by informing the gathering that the Government of Malawi offers attractive incentives to investors.
Malawi ought to benefit from attending this conference and the opportunity of the Ambassador to address the gathering where Malawi’s investment opportunities were presented at an international platform and this might help in attracting investors to Malawi.
