Businesses cautious as Covid-19 cases rise

Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI)  and individual businesses say the business environment  remains subdued and may worsen as the number of Covid-19 cases continue to rise.

MCCCI head of membership development and communication Tione Kafumbu said in a written response on Tuesday that the business environment this year will be as challenging as it was last year.

“The year 2021 may also be a difficult year depending on the duration and how devastating the Covid-19 will be going forward,” he said.

Kafumbu said authorities should introduce measures to sustain the core economic activities in informal and formal sectors. 

On his part, Indigenous Businesses Association of Malawi president Mike Mlombwa said the rising cases are a major concern to businesses already affected by the pandemic.

“Our hope was that things will be better this year, but from what we are  seeing it is yet another challenging year,” he said. 

Bankers Association of Malawi chief executive officer Lyness Nkungula said in the face of the pandemic, a number of companies started focusing their efforts on supporting key areas of their businesses that will help them to stabilise in the new environment.  

She said though banks are also in distress and uncertain about the future, they are encouraging their customers in distress to visit their banks to restructure their loan facilities.

Malawi’s economy was last year heavily battered by the pandemic with growth projected at 1.2 percent, down from an earlier projection of 4.8 percent.