The United Kingdom has launched a £10 million (about K14.9 billion) Malawi Value Chain (MVC) Project that will run from 2023 to 2028.
The project seeks to encourage foreign and domestic investment and increase the value of Malawi’s exports, especially in high value export sectors.
The launch follows the completion of a six-month inception phase of the project where scoping and needs assessments were carried out to identify gaps and value chains that the programme will focus on.
The initiative will focus on three value chains of macadamia, mango and mining.
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Specifically, the MVC will expand commercial off-taker models in high value export sectors in addition to improving access to productivity enhancing techniques. The project will also invest in management capacity; pilot new business approaches and improve supply chain management and standards.
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Speaking during the launch, Deputy Chief Economist in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Nick Lea, said the UK believes in Malawi’s economic prospects.
Lea said developing new high-value agricultural exports, and building an industrial base around these, is key to Malawi’s prosperity and the creation of jobs across multiple sectors of the economy to benefit from Malawi’s considerable agricultural potential and hard-working labour force.
“Today’s launch of the MVC programme will work flexibly on the issues holding back industrial transformation in the selected high value export sectors (macadamia, mangoes and mining) while adapting to the needs identified by the private sector players who must drive this growth,” he said.
Minister of Trade Sosten Gwengwe said the government, through the Malawi Export Strategy II, is committed to promoting growth by removing barriers faced by the industry.
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He said government was committed to expanding value chains in agriculture, tourism and mining.
The MVC is a component of the UK’s £39 million Malawi Trade and Investment Programme (MTIP) which aims at stimulating a step change in Malawi’s growth by promoting higher value exports, cutting time and cost to trade and promoting international and domestic investments.
MTIP is doing this by addressing key market failures, constraints and barriers to trade around policy, tariffs and infrastructure.
The project is being implemented by Adam Smith International and Kadale Consultants.
