Investment and market analysts have urged Malawi to diversify its capital markets products to mobilise domestic savings and provide more financing options for businesses and infrastructure development.
The call was made on Thursday in Blantyre during the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder Recognition event where three Malawian investment professionals were inducted as charterholders of the CFA Society.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Bridgepath Capital Limited chief executive officer Emmanuel Chokani said expanding investment options, particularly for retail investors, can help to deepen the market and give more Malawians opportunities to grow their savings.
He said: “We need to do more by reaching out to retail clients, do a lot more on financial literacy and explaining some of these difficult concepts to the everyday Malawian.
“There is need for more products, more options and more accessibility.”
Chokani, who is also CFA Society South Africa Malawi Chapter committee member, said people outside major financial centres should also be able to participate in investment opportunities.
CFA Society South Africa chief executive officer Loyiso Kula said in an interview that Malawi needs to move beyond stock exchange trading by introducing products such as exchange-traded funds and derivatives to give investors more options.
The call reflects concerns outlined in the Malawi Capital Markets Development Plan (2021–2025), which identified product diversification as important for mobilising domestic savings and bridging the country’s long-term financing gap.
The plan identified underdeveloped markets, a scarcity of securities, high transaction costs and macroeconomic instability as major obstacles to affordable long-term financing, adding that addressing Malawi’s infrastructure deficit alone will require nearly $1 billion (about K1.7 trillion) annually between 2020 and 2030.
According to the plan, broadening investment products can help to channel domestic savings into productive activities, complement bank lending and support Malawi 2063’s ambition of building a wealthy, self-reliant and industrialised upper-middle-income economy.
Meanwhile, one of the awardees, Continental Asset Management investment manager Shane Rebello said the CFA charter has strengthened his technical knowledge, which will help professionals to analyse existing investments and introduce suitable products to Malawi’s developing market.
On his part, fellow awardee Bridgepath Capital investment officer Peter Chikunkhuzeni said attaining the designation has deepened his understanding of the economic and financial landscape.
The third awardee is Chisomo Chokani Chimkoola, who is Standard Bank plc risk manager.
