President Banda courts British investors
Malawi President Joyce Banda on Wednesday shared her investment vision for Malawi and invited British private sector to come and invest in the country.
The President held a two-hour meeting with potential British investors at the Royal Over-Seas League Club House in London which was convened by renowned British politician Baroness Lynda Chalker. The Baroness hosted the State President and the British investors as chairperson of Africa Matters Limited (AML), an independent consultancy which provides advice and assistance to companies initiating, developing, or growing their activities in Africa.
AML’s aim is to assist businesses to improve their performance in Africa as well as build closer relationships between the private and public sector to create strong, meaningful and sustainable partnerships.
Fruitfull meeting
After the meeting, Baroness Chalker told the media saying the discussions had accorded British potential investors to Malawi to appreciate investment opportunities in the Southern African country.
She described the meeting as positive as the British investors were able to appreciate priorities that President Banda has set up for improving and attracting investment into Malawi.
“We have discussed good ideas about investment opportunities in Malawi and now what is left is to make concrete follow ups,” said Baroness Chalker.
The veteran British politician, pledged to get AML involved in Malawi “for the simple reason that we believe we now have a government with which we can work and that can actually respond to needs for change to make it easier for businesses to operate and create jobs and benefit the people of Malawi.”
Responsible investment
AML, under the leadership of Baroness Chalker, has in the past 14 years worked to promote responsible investment in Africa whereby partnerships among governments, multi nationals, local companies and non-governmental organisations to ensure that private sector investment plays a constructive role in driving African development.
Baroness Chalker has been a member of the Lower and Upper Houses of the UK Parliament for over 35 years and between 1986 and 1997 she was minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, holding responsibility for Africa and the Commonwealth and for Overseas Development.
She is a trustee of the Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF), as well as coordinator of the Honorary International Investment Council of President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and a member of similar bodies in Uganda and Tanzania.
President Banda and other Commonwealth and world leaders are in the United Kingdom to take part in the celebrations of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee making 60 years of her reign.
