Minister of Trade and Industry Simplex Chithyola Banda says government is banking on the Malawi Investment Forum to be held from May 24 to 25 in Johannesburg South Africa to attract direct foreign investment (DFI) deals in mining and agriculture processing in the country.
Speaking on Thursday in Lilongwe when National Bank of Malawi presented a K15million cheque towards the Investment Forum Chithyola Banda said government is committed to providing an enabling environment in which the private sector can thrive and therefore grow the economy.
“I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to National Bank of Malawi, our platinum sponsor for chipping in to support hosting of the Malawi Investment Forum (MIF) with 15 Million Kwacha. The Forum will be the first of its kind as Malawi will provide such a platform to potential investors in South Africa and beyond.
“The Forum will give potential investors, financiers and business captains an opportunity to engage and explore investment opportunities available in Malawi in energy, mining, agriculture, tourism, health and education as well as financial services and ICT. Government initiated the Malawi Investment Trade Centre (MITC) to provide One-Stop Trade services to ease and reduce cost of investing in Malawi,” Chithyola Banda said.
NBM chief executive officer Macfussy Kawawa said the Forum will showcase the capabilities and opportunities for Malawi from an investment point of view that will forge bankable investment partnerships.
“NBM is committed to the promotion of entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which are the engines for economic growth and development. We have seen congruence in what we as a bank stands for and what the Forum strives to achieve hence the donation,” he said.
The Malawi Investment Forum will be held under the theme: “A Prosperous Malawi through Strategic Investment.”