By Kingsley Jassi:
Manufacturers and traders are expected to cut costs and time in product certification and other processes following digitisation of the Malawi Bureau of Standard (MBS) systems.
The transition is expected to ease business and boost Malawi’s international trade. It follows similar transitions by other trade-related government institutions, an exercise under the World Bank-funded Southern Africa Trade and Connectivity Project (SATCP).
According to the project brief, the MBS is modernizing its operations through a centralised Standards Information Management System and upgrading technical infrastructure.
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MBS Deputy Director of quality Assurance Demster Kumvenji said on Wednesday in Mponela during a workshop that was testing the system that it will integrate with the forthcoming Malawi National Single Window.
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“It will streamline import/ export formalities, enhance quality assurance, enable real-time tracking of laboratory samples, and improve compliance enforcement,” he explained.
The project began in April 2024 and is expected to go live in October 2025, marking a milestone for Malawi’s ICT sector and trade facilitation efforts.
The SATCP Communication Specialist Joab Chakhadza said that the MBS project aligns to the overall objective of the SATSP, an initiative that intends to digitize trade systems in three countries of Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.
He further said all relevant institutions that are in the trade ecosystem will have to transition or upgrade to be part of National Single Windle that digitized all processes and ensure convenient and low cost transactions.
