Ministry of Industrialization, Business, Trade & Tourism - Malawi

04/09/2026

Tourism operators must innovate-says Tembo

As Malawi celebrates the National Tourism Month this September, Deputy Minister of Industrialization, Business, Trade and Tourism, Edgar Tembo has urged tourism operators in the country to innovate, digitalize and invest more into the tourism space which he says has so much untapped potential.

Speaking after touring Sunbird Nkopola, Club Makokola and locally owned Jazaka Lodges in Mangochi today, Tembo said he was impressed with what he had seen and the seriousness of the expansion plans at the facilities.

For, Jazaka, Tembo was particularly impressed to see an indigenous Malawian confidently investing in an industry dominated by foreign players.

He further expressed satisfaction that some of the operators visited had started implementing usage of Foreign Currency Deposit (FCD) accounts for non-Malawian passport holders and for all foreign currency transactions saying this shows that the sector is indeed committed to support government's efforts in addressing the forex challenges for Malawi.

Tourism is among the four key priority sectors in the MW2063 implementation strategy and the National Tourism Month is aimed and intensifying awareness for both local and international tourists while also enhancing engagement with private sector and partners on how best to turn Malawi’s tourism potential into tangible benefits for the economy.

04/09/2026

Marketers told not to shy away from marketing Malawi

Deputy Minister of Industrialization, Business, Trade and Tourism, Edgar Tembo has challenged marketers in the country to aggressively market Malawi far and beyond.

Speaking during the official opening of the 2026 Institute of Marketing in Malawi (IMM) Annual Conference in Mangochi on Thursday, Tembo said Malawi has huge potential across different sectors of development.

He further emphasised that for Malawi to compete and benefit from the one African Continental market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), it needs not just to scale up production or diversify its exports, but it also needs innovative marketers to make the Malawi product and brand known and win the trust of consumers.

On his part, IMM president, George Damson, reassured Tembo that his organization remained committed to working with the Ministry in promoting the Malawi brand as guided by Malawi’s long-term development plan, MW2063.

With the theme, "Marketing Redefined: Sustainability, Ethics and Innovation," the marketers were urged to observe ethics as they move to integrate or use emerging innovations and technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, if they are to maintain trust among consumers.

27/08/2026

Itaye says effective natural resource management requires a bottom up approach

Minister of Industrialization, Business, Trade and Tourism, Simoni Itaye has called for stronger community participation in natural resources conservation and management.

Speaking in Lilongwe today during the official launch of the National Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) Forum, Itaye said the development represents a paradigm shift in natural resource conservation as it places more ownership and responsibility on the communities who interact with these natural resources on day to day basis, especially those around protected areas.

According to the Minister a true win in the fight is where the communities fully understand the benefits they get from preservation and, or sustainable use of these resources.

The Minister who earlier on inspected pavilions by a few natural resources associations such as Nyika Vwaza, Elephant Marsh and Lake Malawi National Park, said he was impressed that through the cooperative model, members of the communities around these resources were able to come up with activities that empowered the communities to produce such value added products as honey, rice and mats thereby ensuring improved livelihoods. He further advised the cooperatives to work with his Ministry and SMEDCO to access grants, equity partneships so they could improve on packaging and branding, get certification and compete on both local and export markets.

CBRM launch is to strengthen collaboration between communities, government and other stakeholders and to sustainably manage the human and nature conflict through a human centered approach.

Board Chair for CBNRM Forum, Benedicto Malunga said the benefits of coordinated management of natural resources were aplenty but called for enhanced efforts from all stakeholders ; government, communities and donor partners to ensure continued protection and conservation of Malawi’s natural resources and biodiversity for future generations.

26/08/2026

Industrialization Minister hails SMEDCO

Minister of Industrialization, Business, Trade and Tourism, Simoni Itaye has commended the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation (SMEDCO) for supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through agro-processing and value addition initiatives and hands-on capacity building.

Speaking in Mponela, Dowa, where he visited SMEDCO (formerly SMEDI) facilities where he observed enterprises processing tomatoes into tomato puree and jam, cassava into starch, and gemstone cutting and polishing, Itaye said the operations at the centre offer a starting point which if replicated in every district or region of the country, Industrialization actualization would be closer than further.

He further urged urged SMEDCO to work with universities, particularly the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), to explore fabrication of some machinery used at the facility.

SMEDCO Regional Manager for Centre, Catherine Malanga said the institution is a hub for imparting skills to SMEs using a hands-on approach while also assisting those that have raw materials and ready markets to use the centre for processing their products.

The initiatives at the centre offer a direct picture into import substitution and export diversification as per the Industrialization pillar in Malawi’s long development plan, MW2063.

25/08/2026

Japanese investors currently on a study tour in Malawi, had an in-depth interaction with the Ministry of Industrialization, Business, Trade and Tourism this morning to zero in on specific areas they can focus on as they continue with their tour to the southern part of Malawi.

The development follows a call made to the investors yesterday by the Minister of Industrialization, Business, Trade and Tourism, Simoni Itaye during a business networking reception at the Japanese Ambassador’s Residence in Lilongwe. Itaye had urged the investors to explore investment opportunities in Agri-processing, Tourism, Mining, Manufacturing, the upscaling of small and medium entrepreneurs, the construction of infrastructure for special economic zones and the development of structured markets.

Led by Ambassador of Japan to Malawi, Naito Yasuchi, the investors had shown keen interest to partner with Malawi on this ambitious, but doable drive to grow its industrialization portfolio across several key value chains.

Areas that have received a significant nod include irrigation and mining technologies, tourism (as per tourism masterplan), small and medium enterprises especially those in food processing and exports, metal packaging and machine fabrications, with a call to exploring a closer working relationship with public universities in Malawi.

Other industries like textile, considering Malawi’s vast expertise in cotton production, and the leather and leather products sector were also part of the discussion.

Itaye encouraged the team to visit the National Agriculture Fair at Chichiri Trade Fair Ground in Blantyre, scheduled for 27th -29th August, 2026, in order to appreciate first-hand, the immense Agri-processing opportunities displayed through products exhibited by local SMEs and cooperatives.

The visiting companies include JGC Holdings Corporation, Hagihara Industries Inc, Tokyo8 Global, Nishizawa Limited, Koken Boring Machine Co. Ltd and Taiyo Bussan Co. Ltd.

24/08/2026

Itaye calls for stronger economic and trade bridges between with Japan

Minister of Industrialization, Business, Trade and Tourism, Simoni Itaye has called for stronger economic and trade bridges between Malawi and Japan.

Speaking during a Japan-Malawi Business Networking Reception hosted at the Japanese Ambassador’s Residence in Lilongwe on Monday, Itaye called on Japanese investors to explore investment opportunities in Agri-processing, Tourism, Mining, Manufacturing, the upscaling of small and medium entrepreneurs, the construction of infrastructure for special economic zones and the development of structured markets.

On his part, Ambassador of Japan to Malawi, Naito Yasuchi said Malawi remains an important partner to Japan and that the networking event would foster discussions, new ideas, forge business partneships that would be mutually beneficial to the two countries.

Also present at the event were Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, George Chaponda and Minister of Agriculture, Roza Fatch Mbilizi.

15/08/2026

14/08/2026

With you all the way!

13/08/2026

Small and medium enterprises urged to look beyond grants

Minister of Industrialization Business, Trade and Tourism, Simoni Itaye has challenged Small and Medium Enterprises to look beyond grants if they are to realise real growth.

Itaye made the call today during an industrial visit to Village Farms factory in Lilongwe.

“I should say I am impressed with what I have seen here today. The Chokazinga maize snacks are export ready. Even the packaging for Chokazinga is export class. The innovation to value-add maize into snacks is a commendable one,

“Secondly, am Impressed with the fact that two families; the Msukwa and the Kasinjes’s could actually partner to form an an SME. This is very rare in Malawi where most SMEs or business entities want sole proprietorship,” said Itaye

While sole proprietorship sounds safe, security wise, Itaye pointed out that it misses on the larger advantage of having a resource pool; in funds, skills and experience that is brought together and enjoyed in a partnership or joint venture.

According to the executive director for Village Farms, Pachalo Msukwa, their vision is to expand and scale out production of their three main value chains; chokazinga, honey and coffee.

She further pointed out that their coffee is awaiting pre-certification by the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) for it to flood supermarkets in the country.

Village farms decided to procure and install a coffee processing machine after seeing that they were losing about 70 percent in revenue when they were selling green beans.

Msukwa said they were ready to go into equity partnership with any serious entity so that they can increase their supply side and expand the market of their value-added products to the rest of Malawi and beyond.

11/08/2026

Mzuzu Coffee upbeat about scaling out of its coffee exports

Mzuzu Coffee Planters Cooperative Union Limited (MZCPCU), one of Malawi’s leading farmer-owned coffee organizations, specializing in the production, processing and marketing of high-quality washed Arabica coffee is geared to commission its newly constructed state of the art factory with a capacity of 8 metric tones of coffee per day, a huge leap from the 1.25 metric tones capacity of the old plant.

Speaking in Mzuzu during a factory tour by the Deputy Minister of Industrialization, Business, Trade and Tourism, Edgar Tembo today, Chief Executive Officer for MZCPCU, Mackson Ng'ambi, said all things being equal, the plant should be commissioned in September this year.

Commenting on the development, Tembo said Malawi has to industrialise and that coffee was one of the most sort after export product that would significantly contribute to forex generation and narrowing Malawi’s trade deficit. He further added that the wider coffee value chain was a source of livelihood for thousands of rural households.

The Union which has 3,000 smallholder coffee farmers in northern and central Malawi through its cooperative model, links smallholder farmers to processing facilities, quality-control systems and international markets.

Currently, Mzuzu Coffee is already enjoying such markets as Japan, South Africa, USA, UK, Netherlands and China.

Mzuzu Coffee's cooperative model offers an important model for Malawi’s agenda on industrialization, value addition, export diversification, cooperative development and rural industrialization.