Malawi is one of three countries to benefit from the Inclusive Digitalisation in Eastern and Southern Africa (Idea)—a World Bank programme designed to accelerate digitalisation in Africa.
The $2.8 billion financing envelope, which is funded through the the International Development Association and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, aims to bring together 15 countries and regional economic communities and address common challenges such as limited Internet coverage caused by infrastructure gaps, low usage due to high cost of data and devices, limited digital skills, and lack of digital identification needed for online transactions.
World Bank Eastern and Southern Africa Region vice-president Victoria Kwakwa said the programme will “unleash opportunities for hundreds of millions of Africans to actively participate in and contribute to the advancement of the region’s digital economies”.
Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola will participate in the first phase of the eight-year project which will provide new and enhanced broadband Internet access to more than 50 million people in the three countries.
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Development Commission will spearhead the regional coordination of the Idea Programme.
The World Bank’s financial package will support the Digital Malawi Acceleration Project (Dmap), under Idea, which aims to increase access to, and inclusive use of, the Internet and improve government’s capacity to deliver digitally-enabled services.
The bank is expected to provide an initial grant of $70 million (about K121.4 billion) through its financing arm, the International Development Association (IDA), which may be increased to $150 million (about K260.1 billion). The package is predicted to mobilise an additional $50 million (about K86.7 billion) in private sector financing.
World Bank country director Nathan Belete said digitalisation will be a powerful and essential tool to unlock Malawi’s development
“Progress in this sector will transform service delivery in social protection, financial inclusion, disaster response, and lands management,” he said in a statement.
Dmap will be implemented by the Public Private Partnership Commission and the Ministry of Information and Digitisation.
The programme follows a World Bank report, “Digital Opportunities in African Businesses”, which cautioned that local businesses risk falling behind their peers in the region if they do not embrace digitisation.
Mzuzu University economist Christopher Mbukwa said the project will help boost Internet penetration in the country, which is currently hovering at around 27 percent.
In an earlier interview, Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Wisely Phiri urged the government and its partners to equip small traders with affordable point of sale systems to improve transactional management, book keeping and tax compliance..”
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