Preparations are at an advanced stage for the three-day Malawi- European Union Investment Forum (MEIF) which starts in Lilongwe on Tuesday.
The MEIF, which has been co-organised by the European Union in partnership with Malawi’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre, is expected to represent the largest meeting for investors and businesses in Malawi aimed at attracting investments into the country and strengthening Malawi’s exports, contributing to the partnership between Malawi and the European Union (EU).
EU Ambassador to Malawi Rune Skinnebach told Times Business on Tuesday that the MEIF aims to boost trade and investment in Malawi in three sectors which are drivers of growth and sustainable development—namely agriculture, tourism and energy.
“This is a forum that will bring together European investors, businesses in Malawi, to network and to forge partnerships for the future. You know that the EU is focusing a lot on Malawi development. We are also focusing on promoting our values and interests.
“But in particular, in this case, the interest between the EU and Malawi is coinciding. We want the same thing. We want prosperity. We want development which is business and investment led growth, and hopefully, the investment forum can contribute to that,” Skinnebach said.
He observed that the investment forum was crafted during the last Malawi Government-EU partnership dialogue.
“There it was clear we wanted this business and investment led growth. And to do that, there are a number of adjustments that need to be made. We need to facilitate access to finance in Malawi. There are a number of adjustments that should be done to the legal framework.
“There are the issues of forex that we all know too well. There are the energy issues. There are a number of challenges. One of them is also connectivity. And the fact that Malawi goes under the radar, in spite of the considerable potential, potential in several sectors, potential in renewable energy, potential certainly in agriculture, productions can be scaled up and potential in tourism.
“And it was in the context of our last partnership dialog that we committed, together with the Malawi Government, to organise such a forum if there was interest. And interest there is. We will have over 300 participants during the three days that we have,” he said.
MITC Chief Executive Officer Paul Kwengwele said Malawi is excited to have such an important forum which has attracted over 70 investors from EU countries.
“This will be a chance for Malawian businesses to interact and collaborate with their European Union counterparts so that they can discuss chances of partnerships and joint ventures.
“We are always excited to have foreign direct investment coming in. But it’s more exciting when the foreign direct investment comes in to partner with Malawians. We want Malawians to be involved in the business. We want Malawians to be part of taking the country somewhere in line with Malawi 2063,” he said.
He said, apart from the investment, the forum will present a chance to Malawian businesses to showcase their products and find markets.
According to Kwengwele, some of the investors will be interested to see what Malawi has to offer.
The forum will be held under the theme ‘Global Gateway Creating Sustainable Investment Opportunities: Strengthening EU-Malawi Economic Ties’.
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