Malawi remains trapped among African economies struggling with deep structural weaknesses, raising questions about the country’s readiness to industrialise in line with aspirations outlined in Malawi 2063 (MW2063), the country’s long-term development strategy.
According to the 2025 Real Economic Development Index published by the Business Council of Africa, this is because Malawi remains constrained by weak industrial capacity, persistent energy challenges, limited infrastructure development and policy inconsistencies that continue to slow economic transformation.
The report says Malawi’s manufacturing capacity utilisation remains below optimal levels due to power outages, foreign exchange shortages and logistical bottlenecks, limiting productivity and weakening the competitiveness of locally produced goods against imports.
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The index assesses infrastructure and energy supply, economic adaptability and growth potential as well as barriers, including corruption, insecurity and unstable policies.
The report further shows that only Morocco, Egypt, South Africa and Mauritius are structurally prepared for large-scale industrialisation on the continent due to stronger infrastructure, stable investment climates and more diversified economies.
In a written response on Tuesday, National Planning Commission (NPC) director general Frederick Changaya observed argued that Malawi’s challenges emanate less from infrastructure gaps, but more in deep political economy and institutional failures.
He said major reforms from industrial policy to infrastructure and private sector participation, remain constrained by political economy, making it the central determinant of whether Malawi can achieve real industrial take-off.
Changaya, who is also National Working Group on Trade Policy chairperson, said: “What we need is an aggressive State intervention to industrialise. And that begins with proper development of the industrial policy followed by best practice institutions, including accountability frameworks.
“Countries have moved from basic fragile economy into industrial heavyweights by simply identifying strategic sophisticated sectors with high growth potential and create valuable knowledge spillover. Pushing for export of value added goods.”
The industrialisation pillar in MW2063 seeks to transform Malawi into a productive, export-oriented and self-reliant economy by 2030 and an upper middle-income economy by 2063, through value addition, agro-processing, manufacturing, mining and infrastructure development.
It emphasises private sector-led growth supported by strong government policy, investment in energy and transport infrastructure, technology, and skills development to drive economic transformation and job creation.
Last week, the UN Malawi Technology Needs Assessment 2026 indicated that Malawi can accelerate industrialisation in line with MW2063 if it enhances manufacturing and assembly of products locally.
Ironically, Malawi’s index of industrial production, which measures changes in the volume of goods and services produced across an economy’s industrial sectors over time, has demonstrated average year-on-year growth of 41.7 percent between the third quarters of 2023 and 2024, a substantial acceleration compared to the modest 3.2 percent increase recorded during the same period between 2022 and 2023.
This surge, according to Treasury data, was largely propelled by the manufacturing sector, which expanded by 47.8 percent, significantly outpacing the more moderate growth of 2.5 percent in utilities water and electricity.
Within manufacturing, tobacco and food processing emerged as the primary contributors to the production increase.
In an accompanying statement, Dangote Group president and chief executive Aliko Dangote said across much of Africa, industrialisation has too often been approached through declarations and policy statements rather than through the disciplined sequencing of actions required to deliver results.
“It is a deliberate, cumulative process built through policy discipline, access to long-term capital, institutional alignment, and sustained privatesector execution,” he said.
Business Council for Africa chairperson Arnold Ekpe is quoted in the report as having observed that despite its vast natural and human resources, Africa has struggled to translate its wealth into sustainable economic growth.
