Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Governor Wilson Banda says there is need for strong partnerships among economic agents to achieve the country’s goals of industrialisation, structural transformation, job creation, high export revenues and wealth generation.
Speaking in Lilongwe on Wednesday at a stakeholders’ engagement forum organised by Export Development Fund (EDF), he said no single economic player can drive the country’s progress alone.
Banda hailed EDF for opening a project preparation window, which helps to turn concepts and ideas into viable projects.
“Some studies have shown that significant resources are available domestically to finance development, but often there are no readily available investment avenues that are well-packaged and significantly de-risked,” he said.
In his remarks, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex Chithyola said the country’s membership in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement provides access to a market of over 1.4 billion people and a gross domestic product of $3.4 trillion, making it the largest trading bloc in the world.
EDF board chairperson Neil Nyirongo said the fund’s strategic plan, which is running from 2023 to 2027, focuses on driving the country’s international competitiveness as a broad theme
“We aim to achieve this by promoting intra-African trade and international competitiveness, promoting value addition and export manufacturing, and increasing access to affordable trade and development finance by leveraging on partnerships,” he said.
EDF was established in 2012 as a special purpose vehicle for financing export-oriented projects and export enterprises that arise from national development plans.
