Firm to invest k9.5bn in 5 agro-factories
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Napoleon Dzombe plans to invest K9.5 billion to set up five factories in Kasungu and Dowa districts to support the agriculture-based rural economy that will directly benefit 1 000 farmers.
He said in an interview on Monday that through his company, Mtalimanja Holdings Limited, he has finalised the establishment of the five agro-processing units in Santhe in Kasungu, Mtalimanja and Mtemera in Dowa.
Dzombe said the five agro-processing ventures include cooking oil, fish feed, maize flour, peanut butter and rice milling factories that will also play off-taker functions to production alliances where the factories have been established.
He said the whole venture is intended to boost the rural economy and support commercial production of specific crops for sustainable supply to the factories.
Said Dzombe: “The idea is to ensure wealth moves from the cities to the villages where these factories are located.
“The factories are within a radius of seven to eight kilometres, so farmers will choose one crop to specialise in.”
Mtalimanja Holdings already constructed and commissioned a multi-billion kwacha 54-roomed Kalipano Country Resort in Dowa, which is managed by Malawi Stock Exchange-listed Sunbird Tourism plc.
The resort is located within the area where the farming and processing will be done and will also be part of the market of what will be produced.
“We expect that when the visitors leave after staaying at the hotel, they will be buying from the farmers and other value-added products and that is how the area will transform because there will also be jobs created,” said Dzombe.
Minister of Trade and Industry Sosten Gwengwe said in an interview on Monday that the project falls within government policies and plans, including the Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development plan that seeks to turn the country into a lower-middle income economy by 2030 and upper middle income nation by the year 2063.
He said Mtalimanja Holdings Limited project is directly linked to what government is doing, especially on the off-take aspect.
“This project is in line with pillar number three in the Malawi 2023, which is industrialisation and also the concept of rural factories to create the rural economy,” said Gwengwe.
He said government is discouraging middle-men in the agricultural value chains that have failed the local farmer by offering unpredictable markets and poor prices.
Said Gwengwe: “We want to create rural-based economy by involving cooperatives and mega farms, but they should be linked to markets.
“We are encouraging investors to set up rural factories so that we have off-takers for industrial use not those that simply hoard and re-sell.”
According to Malawi Investment and Trade Centre, Mtalimanja Holdings Limited invests in social projects that have a transformational impact on the surrounding communities.
