Category: Business

The Malawi Gaming and Lotteries Authority (MAGLA) has introduced strict new regulations to protect vulnerable populations, including a ban on anyone under the age of 18 participating in gambling activities.

The announcement was made by MAGLA Director General, Racheal Mijiga at a key regulations sensitization workshop in Mangochi, which was attended by operators, industry experts, and media representatives.

Mijiga underscored the importance of safeguarding minors from the harmful effects of gambling, saying individuals found in violation of this rule would face significant consequences.

“We must protect our youth from the serious social and psychological risks that gambling poses. That is why the new regulations are clear, anyone found entertaining children under the age of 18 to participate in gambling activities will face a fine of K20 million,” said Mijiga.

Commenting on the development, Betway Chief Operations Officer, Charles Phiri, expressed support for the new regulations, highlighting the importance of protecting young people from the dangers of gambling.

“We fully welcome these developments. Betway is committed to complying with the new regulations, and we will ensure our staff is thoroughly trained on the new rules,” said Phiri.

As part of the revised regulations, operators are also encouraged to launch awareness campaigns that educate the public, particularly the youth, about the risks of gambling.

Some of the newly introduced regulations are Sports betting regulations, National lottery regulations, player protection regulations, internet gaming regulations, advertisement regulations and the electronic monitoring system

Furthermore, MAGLA has established an electronic monitoring system, mandating the integration of all operators to promote compliance and augment transparency throughout the sector.

Agilitee, Africa’s first electric vehicles manufacturer and greentech company has closed a landmark deal with Guangzhou Thunder International Investment Co .,Ltd.

Guangzhou Thunder is a parent and holding company to 8 manufacturing companies in an array of industries including but not limited to, electric vehicles, food processing, paper manufacturing, solar system manufacturing and more.

This is after a visitation by an Agilitee delegation that included important stakeholders in South Africa to China. A visit that is ending this Friday, with Agilitee returning home with this mega deal in the bag.

Agilitee signed a few deals with China, but one that takes the cake is the deal for 40 000 scooters to be provided to South Africa as a societal project.

Guangzhou Thunder has agreed to provide 40 000 scooters to South Africa and is also willing to provide more to other countries in which Agilitee has operations. Countries that will also benefit are Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. Guangzhou Thunder has agreed to assist Agilitee in these countries.

The deal is that Guangzhou Thunder International Investment Co will provide 10 000 scooters per year to South Africa over 4 years. Agilitee started a project with its sister delivery platform called emergen8 to allow the public to buy scooters from Agilitee and put them in the delivery program under Emergen8, which program secures jobs for the scooters and the public gets to earn an income. For the unemployed, this program has been their only source of income and for those employed the weekly income has been an extra income that supplements their salaries wherever they work.

The genius behind the idea is the founding CEO of Agilitee, Dr. Mandla Lamba. He saw how deliveries can financially benefit the public and help build the loalxal economies. This was after scoring a few deals where Agilitee electric scooters were needed to do fast food deliveries, he then saw a gap that they could allow the public to buy the scooters and  put them on the program. The scooter would work for the owner, after paying the driver’ salary all the money goes to the owners weekly.

The demand has grown so much that Agilitee needed a helping hand to supply the scooters for the program.

Founder & CEO of Agilitee, Dr. Mandla Lamba stated this on the sidelines of his mertings in China. “It had to be a partner who would need to understand that our people need help. A partner who would understand what it means for Africans to experience the drumbeat of hyperinflation and yet still not get salary increases and being laid off work. Unfortunately as Agilitee alone we don’t have the capacity to sell the scooters for cash for the public to buy and join the delivery program. That’s when we reached out to China and the negotiations took 7 months and our partners have agreed to provide repayment terms from 12 to 36 months. Not renting but buying the scooters to own them, this alone is massive for our people.

Our people will now own a fleet of scooters without buying them cash but in small installments that are paid for by the money coming from the scooters work. So our people don’t need to pay their installments from their pockets but the monies generated under the delivery program, and this what makes this deal so amazing. We are grateful to the entire leadership of Guangzhou Thunder International Investment Co for the confidence they have in us. As they are our big brothers, we feel confident that we will do this with ease. We are also grateful to God for all that He has done for us. Agilitee  the future is now.”

Guangzhou Thunder International Investment Co has also signed a deal to form Explore Group Africa which will be headquartered in South Africa. The transaction will lead to Guangzhou Thunder International Investment Co  building a plant in South Africa for the manufacturing and assembly of its subsidiary company scooters that will be supplied to the African market. Under the deal, Agilitee will own a minority interest of 35% and Guangzhou Thunder International Investment Co owning the remaining majority interest of 65%. The company has already been registered in South Africa this week and a Chinese delegation to South Africa is expected to arrive in April to come and finalize the set up. Choose which province to build a plant and create manufacturing jobs. A shipment of the 350 semi assembled scooters by Guangzhou Thunder International Investment Co to South Africa is expected in weeks and the arrival of the scooters is expected by the second week May in line with the Arrival of the Chinese delegation from Guangzhou Thunder International Investment Co.

After suffering a lot of set backs and racial bias attacks over the years, Agilitee has become a brand to respect. The company has had to go launch its vehicles in Zimbabwe first before it launched them in South Africa as a result of the racism directed attacks on its leader. Yet today, the company’s electric scooters are in every corner or every road where food deliveries are needed across the whole country of South Africa. As Agilitee continues to inspire Africa, it is not easy to ignore the resilience and tenacity of the its CEO. His complete rejection of failure is truly inspiring.

The EV LEADER has also seen its revenue jump 860% this financial year, which is enough proof that Agilitee is truly on a the right path to exponential growth and with the China deal, definitely the sky is the limit.

An initiative by one of the World Bank Group’s member, International Finance Corporation (IFC), in partnership with the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has intensified a campaign for financial literacy in Malawi, sensitizing citizens about credit and loan facilities.

A statement on the initiative that was launched in Blantyre in January this year acknowledges gaps in the public’s awareness on financial services like credit reference, asset based lending, among others.

“While many Malawian consumers are aware of credit and loan facilities, far fewer understand how the management of these facilities affects their financial health,” the statement reads.

The statement, released this week, further says access to credit aims to assist consumers and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in achieving their long-term financial goals.

“That’s why the first step on the journey to financial health starts with regularly checking and understanding your credit report,” it further reads.

Recently, the IFC acknowledged Malawi’s strides in credit referencing with the proliferation of credit reference bureaux and their mandatory role in the financial sector.

However, the campaign still aims to lure more Malawians into utilisation of credit reference services to help them maintain clean credit records and utilize their healthy records for access to finance that helps them grow their businesses and contribute more to the economy of Malawi.

“A credit report is one of the most powerful financial tools available to consumers. It tells you the state of your financial background, your personal payment history, and your creditworthiness. It can also help you protect yourself against identity theft and fraud. To get the full benefit from a credit report, you have to know how to use it to your advantage,” the statement reads.

With other people unaware of credit reference system, reckless loan defaults and failure to guard clean credit records occur while their records are being sent to credit reference bureaus.

Banks, micro finance institutions and telecommunication companies are some of the major players in the financial services and often get information about their customers financial transactions, building patterns of financial behaviour that show creditworthiness.

Minister of Trade and Industry, Vitumbiko Augeans Mumba, descended on Chipiku Plus Supermarket in Lilongwe this afternoon for hoarding sugar.

Customers at Chipiku were told the shop had run out of sugar leading many to despair but intel revealed that the management of the shop had instructed stoppage to sales while some people were still dubiously getting bales of sugar from the same shop.

The Minister who was in the company of the Secretary for Trade and Industry and CEO for the Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) upon finding bales of sugar in the shop’s warehouse, ordered the shop to take all the sugar to the shelves so that customers could start buying.

According to the Minister, this tendency is creating a distorted and artificial panic regarding sugar availability in the country and it had to be stopped.

CEO for CFTC, Lloyds Vincent Nkhoma, said hoarding of sugar is a gross violation of the Competition and Fair Trading Act.

A similar inspection was done at ShopRite and Chipiku Main along Paul Kagame Highway.

The Minister sounded a warning that his administration will not condone any deliberate distortion and crookery in sugar distribution including inflation of sugar prices above the recommended price by both wholesalers and vendors.

He further assured Malawians that the country has enough sugar to take them to the next production season.

Chipiku Plus has since been closed until they resolve the anomalies.

By Ministry of Trade

In a significant move to honour its commitment to the overall winners of the 2023 Innovation Jam, the National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc has announced a cash compensation totalling K12.3 million for the awardees.

In the initial arrangement, the winners, Richard Mtukula and Matthews Jere were set to attend the prestigious 2nd Annual TICON Africa Conference in Kenya in September 2024 as part of their prizes.

However, unforeseen circumstances prevented their participation thereby compelling the Bank to split the total expenditure amount for the trip equally between Mtukula of ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’ and Jere of ‘Khungu Langa’ software innovations.

Each winner received K6,150,000 as a reflection of NBM’s dedication to supporting innovation in Malawi.

NBM Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager, Akossa Hiwa, emphasized the bank’s commitment to fostering creativity and honouring its promises.

“We recognize the importance of honouring our commitments to those who contribute to the spirit of innovation. While logistical challenges prevented us from facilitating the winners’ attendance at the TICON Africa Conference, this cash compensation demonstrates our ongoing support for these brilliant innovators and ensures they are celebrated for their achievements,” said Hiwa.

In his remarks, Jere, whose software is a platform for skin care and diagnosis, commended NBM plc for its dedication.

“This recognition and financial support will help us continue developing our innovative ideas and expand our business. Currently, we are working on integrating our system for further analysis and aiming to expand to other countries. This financial boost will help us engage AI developers and host the system on global servers to improve our analysis,” Jere shared.

In 2023, the Bank managed to fly the 2022 Innovation Jam winners to Uganda for a similar conference.

NBM plc partnered with the ICT Association of Malawi (ICTAM), committing an annual K75 million for innovation incubation support, in addition to K40 million for the Innovation Jam initiative.

A Rwandan company, London Winners has launched the ‘Win Big Promotion’ which will see players winning various prizes.

The company has also unveiled celebrated musician, Onesmus as the promotion brand ambassador, in a contract worth K100 million.

Announcing the launch in Lilongwe on Wednesday, Winnie Foseki said the promotion targets each and every person who owns a cellphone.

Fosekosaid the promotion is easily accessible and just needs people to dial 474# for personal tickets and *474100# for purchasing a ticket for a friend.

The  competition’s highest award is a Mazda Demio car that will be rewarded every month for six months.

Participants can also win  weekly prizes such as 1 million kwacha, a motorcycle, a TV, and Samsung AO5 mobile phones.

The whole promotion is worth K600 million.

The company is in partnership with Zodiak Broadcasting Station and MBC 2 Radio, where they will be announcing the daily, weekly, and monthly winners.

Chikondi Banda and Billy Shaibu, who residents of Lilongwe and Mangochi districts respectively, can now walk tall after winning millions of Kwachas in the Betpawa online casino

Banda became the highest winner with a whopping K140m after playing the Aviator and Jext.

The new millionaire in town said his secret was never to give up after many attempts.

“I have played this game for several occasions and I almost gave up after yielding nothing but I’m happy it has finally paid off,” Said Banda

On his next move, Banda said he is intending to put his money on the stock exchange as part of his investment and long time treasure.

On the other hand, Shaibu who is a fuel attendant was all smiles after winning K127m.

“This is more like a miracle, I have played many times but it came like a surprise to me.

“I have won some money before through the same game but wasn’t sure I will become this far,” Shaibu said

Shaibu said is since consulting his family before he can invest his money in any business fearing for loss.

Southern Regional Marketing manager for Betpawa, Bita Nakanga acknowledged the overwhelming response the company has been receiving since it’s introduction in the country.

“We are so impressed with the response coming through which shows we are doing what we had intended to our valued customers,” said Nakanga

Nakanga added that; “we are also advising our customers to avoid taking gambling as a daily source of income as this could lead them to disastrous.

“Otherwise the feedback has been very overwhelming and we expect more people to enjoy the game”.

Currently, Africa’s record winning amount on Aviator is held by a BetPawa customer from Ghana, holding a record winning amount of K841.3 million on Aviator last year.

BetPawa is a mobile betting company operating in 17 countries across Africa.

Food Lovers Market franchise operating at Gateway Mall in Lilongwe has closed business due to Forex shortage.

In a statement which we have seen, shareholders of OneStep Trading (Pty) Ltd, the operators of the Food Lovers Market franchise said they decision was not taken lightly but is necessitated by the prevailing and challenging trading environment, including the severe forex shortages and diminishing consumer disposable income.

“Despite management’s best efforts to navigate these challenges, the business has become unsustainable, incurring significant financial losses at an unsustainable rate. As a result, the Shareholders have passed a resolution to wind down operations in an orderly manner.

“Please be assured that the Directors, in collaboration with management, are committed to ensuring a structured and responsible closure process. Our priority is to protect the interests of our valued suppliers and stakeholders to the best of the company’s legal and financial ability. We will engage with you individually to discuss outstanding obligations and a mutually feasible way forward during this transition period.

“We appreciate the support and partnership you have provided over the years and deeply regret the impact this closure may have on your business. Our team will be in contact shortly to discuss the next steps.

“Should you have any immediate concerns or inquiries, please do not hesitate to reach out to Mr. Bukhosi Sibanda at phone number: 0992 76 84 24 or Mr. Lloyd Malola at Phone Number: 0996 85 18 81. We sincerely thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this challenging period,” reads the statement signed by Arson Malola on behalf of obo Management