Malawi - Country Private Sector Diagnostic : Executive Summary

Overview & Synopsis

Malawi has the potential to attract significant private investment, create jobs, and generate substantial foreign exchange. To realize this potential, the country will need to leverage its peaceful society, newly discovered mineral deposits, and natural capital, ranging from a favorable climate to the vast Lake Malawi and numerous other tourist attractions. Attracting private investment is critical for Malawi to overcome its development Challenges. This report focuses on the reforms needed to unlock private investment in the tourism, agribusiness, and mining sectors. These sectors were selected on the basis of their potential to attract private investment, create jobs, and generate exports if concrete reforms are implemented in the near term. International nature-based tourism can leverage the natural capital of the country to attract investment, generate foreign exchange, and potentially create tens of thousands of jobs in rural areas, where alternative employment opportunities are limited. The mango industry demonstrates strong potential to expand exports of high-value perishable agricultural products and could raise incomes for tens of thousands of smallholders and commercial farmers, while also generating substantial foreign exchange. Commercial rutile and graphite mining, and mining more broadly, can attract more than US$2 billion in investment over the medium term and generate substantial export revenues. Across the three sectors, there is potential over the medium term to more than double the current exports and generate more than 100,000 jobs, many of them in rural areas.