Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Malawi have signed a cost-sharing agreement for the launch of the Malawi Innovation Challenge Fund (MICF).
Under the agreement, signed on Wednesday, DfID will contribute $8 million (about K2.5 billion) whereas UNDP will contribute $3.5 million (about K1.2 billion) in the areas of policy and loan facility support.
According to a statement made available to The Nation on Thursday, the project supports implementation of the National Export Strategy (NES) and would give priority to investments in the oil seeds, sugar and manufacturing sectors.
Reads the statement announcing the agreement: “Specifically, the Malawi Innovation Challenge Fund [MICF], pioneered in Malawi for the first time, will award financial contributions to businesses on a competitive and transparent basis, with a view to leveraging resources from the private sector and promoting inclusiveness and innovation by sharing some of the investment risks.”
It says the project comes at an opportune time to stimulate investments in production capacity in Malawi.
According to UNDP, the project also comes at a time when Malawi is in a critical stage to broaden and diversify the productive base of the economy.
It says the joint-funded project will support momentous integration of the productive poor in the supply chains of lead domestic and foreign companies and will motivate and incentivise the private sector to contribute to sustained and inclusive economic growth.
