Malawi has repeatedly outperformed expectations for its level of development in the Global Innovation Index (GII), recording its 11th such over-performance in 2026, but remains at 126th out of 139 economies.
According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo) 2026 Global Innovation Index, Malawi recorded its 11th overperformance in the index after doing so in 2012, 2014–2021 and again in 2025–2026.
During the same period, Malawi has slipped from 108 in 2011 to 126 this year.
The country scored 17.2 points, placing it fifth among low-income economies, highlighting the gap between its innovation performance relative to its development level and its absolute global standing.
Wipo said Malawi’s areas of strength include business sophistication, ranked 50th globally, while it ranks first worldwide in information and communications technology services imports, indicating progress in business capabilities and technology-related activity.
However, the report said that weak human capital and research, infrastructure, financing and innovation outputs continue to constrain the country’s ability to turn these gains into stronger knowledge, technology and commercial innovation.
In an accompanying statement to the report, Wipo director general Daren Tang said artificial intelligence (AI) disruption demands a shift from just generating great ideas to turning them into real jobs and businesses.
“At a time of economic, social and technological disruption, heightened by advances in AI, the question for policymakers is not just how to generate new ideas and discoveries, but how we turn great ideas into real products, businesses and jobs that represent real value for economies and societies,” he said.
In July this year, the inaugural Malawi Business Innovation Survey established that limited access to financing is constraining Malawi’s capacity for business innovation even as more firms are embracing new products, services and processes.
The survey, jointly conducted by National Statistical Office (NSO) and National Commission for Science and Technology, found that only 13.3 percent of enterprises received public financial support for innovation activities while 57.1 percent of businesses reported innovating between 2023 and 2024.
Despite 75.3 percent of enterprises identifying innovation as a strategic priority, only 36.7 percent reported having a formal innovation strategy while 24.6 percent had allocated a specific budget for innovation activities.
The survey noted that innovation is central to improving enterprise productivity, competitiveness and efficiency, making it a key driver of the Malawi 2063 (MW2063) agenda, the country’s long-term development strategy that seeks to transform Malawi into a lower middle-income economy by 2030 and an upper middle-income economy by 2063.
National Commission for Science and Technology director general Phillip Nyoni is quoted as having emphasised the need for or policy action to help refine industrial and innovation strategies, strengthen competitiveness and support inclusive growth, job creation and economic diversification as outlined in MW2063 long-term development agenda pillar number two which calls for a vibrant knowledge-based economy.
