Category: Business

The Ministry of Mining has retracted an earlier ban on mineral exports.

Earlier, the ministry said it had imposed a temporary ban on the export of all minerals until further notice to allow the Ministry to streamline all export procedures that will ensure efficient and transparent processes.

However, in statement signed by Secretary for Mining Joseph Mkandawire, the ministry that the ban has been retracted

“The Ministry of Mining wishes to retract the statement issued earlier on the temporal ban on mineral exports.

“The Ministry wishes to inform all stakeholders in the Mining sector and the general public that it has embarked on a process of reviewing the valuation framework for gemstones from 12th February 2025 and this process will take 21 days. During this period, the Ministry shall not process export licences / permits for gemstones.

“The decision has been taken to improve overall management and productivity of the artisanal sub sector of the industry. The Ministry will keep all the stakeholders informed and engaged throughout this process.

“Further updates will be communicated as they become available.Any inconvenience caused by our earlier communication is deeply regretted,” reads the statement in part

Lilongwe City Council (LCC) has generated K6 billion in local revenue as of December 2024 against a target of K15 billion in the 2024/2025 financial year which will end in March 2025.

In an interview, Chief Accountant for LCC Frank Simwaka said LCC’s total budget for the year 2024/2025 financial year was pegged at K 23 billion of which K 8 billion was to be financed under central government transfers and K 15 billion under locally generated revenue.

He said, in the financial year 2024/2025 the council has faced a number of challenges in generating local revenue such as an incomplete database for liquor licenses, the unwillingness of ratepayers to voluntarily pay property rates, and inadequate personnel, tools and equipment to support revenue collection.

“In the financial year of 2023/2024, the council collected 12 billion through local revenue against a target of K9 billion for the whole year.

The total budget for the particular financial year was K16 billion, K7 billion from government transfers and K9 billion from locally generated revenue,
“In the 2023/2024 financial year, the council surpassed its target on local revenue collection compared to the financial year 2024/2025.
Although we are remaining with three months to the end of the current financial year to be accounted for which are January, February and March, I do not think we can beat our K15 billion target because these months are considered lean, in as far as revenue collection is concerned,” Simwaka said.

He therefore said the council has put in place strategies that will be used to improve revenue collection in the 2025/2026 financial year such as dedicating eight vehicles for revenue collection, proposing payment of K12000 per year as squatter fees for those not in the register and will conduct more campaigns and awareness on payment of property and city rates and land regulation.

Meanwhile, Senior Chairman for Tsoka Free Market Steve Magombo has asked the city council to improve its service delivery at the market using the local revenue generated.

He said, vendors at the market try their best to pay revenue but they do not receive good services from the council saying for example, there is inadequate toilets, poor sanitation and improper water drainage system which affects their wellbeing.

” We have a shortage of toilets as we have four toilets against the estimation of over 5000 vendors water drainage system is also a problem as we experience water flooding from Bwalo la Njobvu to the market which usually disturbs our customers and affects our businesses at the end of the day,” Magombo said.

“Although we are facing a lot of challenges such as rising prices of items we sell which affects our profits, we try our best to pay revenue,” he added.

He further said, that as vendors they are waiting for the councils action because the issue of inadequate toilets, improper water drainage system and poor sanitation were already presented to the authority.

Reporter By Sellah Singini

FDH Bank Plc has reached a significant milestone on the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE), achieving a market capitalization of K2.161 trillion within just five years of listing.

As of February 4, 2025, the bank’s share price stood at K313.19, reflecting an extraordinary growth rate of 3032% from its initial public offering (IPO) price of K10 in 2020.

This achievement makes FDH Bank Plc the second counter on the MSE to surpass the K2 trillion market capitalization threshold, standing out among the 16 listed counters.

FDH Bank Plc Managing Director Noel Mkulichi attributed the success to the bank’s resilience, strategic vision, and customer-centric approach.

“We are pleased with this milestone, which underscores our commitment to delivering value to our stakeholders, particularly our investors. Our strategy is anchored by four strategic pillars: customer focus, operational efficiency, people development, and continuous innovation.”

“We aim to make FDH Bank Plc a significant enabler providing easily accessible and relevant financial solutions to both the private and public sectors of the economy, thereby significantly contributing towards the attainment of Malawi 2063,” said Mkulichi.

He further highlighted the bank’s dedication to adaptability, resilience, and sustainable growth while ensuring superior returns for shareholders.

Mkulichi also expressed gratitude to investors and customers for their trust and confidence in FDH Bank Plc.

“FDH Bank Plc’s strong financial performance has yielded lucrative returns for investors. In 2024 alone, the bank distributed dividends totalling K28.087 billion, comprising a first interim dividend of K13.043 billion in August and a second interim dividend of K15.044 billion. This translated to a total payout of K4.07 per share.”

“Additionally, shareholders received encouraging news in January 2025 when the bank issued a revised Trading Statement for the December 31, 2024 financial year. The statement projected a profit after tax ranging between K72.9 billion and K75.2 billion, further solidifying FDH Bank Plc’s position as a highly profitable institution,” said Mkulichi.

FDH Bank Plc continues to assert itself as a leading digital bank in Malawi, pioneering innovations and expanding its services.

Notably, it remains the only bank in Malawi offering Sharia-compliant banking and maintains a presence in every district, including the remote Likoma Island.

Business Partners International (BPI), a fund manager that provides debt equity financing, has disclosed that it has supported various business ventures in the country to the tune of K25 billion ($15 million).

BPI Country Manager, Bond Mtembezeka said this is part of its commitment to supporting entrepreneurs by providing tailored financial solutions.

Mtembezeka disclosed this during a customer interaction breakfast in Blantyre on Friday, bringing together entrepreneurs to engage with the financier on funding opportunities and business growth strategies.

“We would like to recommend to entrepreneurs that as Business Partners International, we are here for them. There are plenty of opportunities in the market, and we have established ourselves as a go-to financier. If they are looking to buy equipment and invest in property, we are ready to provide that kind of funding solution,” said Mtembezeka.

He highlighted that the session was highly interactive, allowing entrepreneurs to ask pertinent questions and gain deeper insights into BPI’s investment approach.

“We have answered a lot of questions that entrepreneurs had, giving them a clear understanding of what Business Partners invests in and what we don’t. We have also explained our pricing structure and emphasized that we agree on repayment terms with our clients.”

“So far, the response has been quite positive, and our portfolio is growing rapidly. We expect to see the desired impact in the coming years,” said Mtembezeka.

One of the entrepreneurs, Lucious Dzimbili, Managing Director of Meshozi Construction Limited, expressed gratitude for the session, stating that it provided valuable insights into how businesses, like his, can benefit from BPI’s financial solutions.

“As entrepreneurs, we are very grateful to BPI for organizing this interaction, which has enlightened us on how to grow our businesses. We had the opportunity to present our needs as contractors and understand how BPI can support us.”

“In the construction industry, we require significant capital investment in equipment, and this session has helped us understand the steps we need to take to secure funding. A partnership with BPI will indeed help us grow our business,” said Dzimbili.

Africa’s top mobile service provider, Airtel Africa on Thursday announced through its nine-month period ended 31 December 2024 performance report that the company has recorded a 7.9% increase in its customer base.

The increase has raised the customer base to 163.1 million.

The customer base increase has also seen data customer penetration rise by 13.8% with data customers to 71.4 million.  Data usage per customer increased by 32.3% to 6.9 GBs, with smartphone penetration increasing by 5.2% to reach 44.2%.

In reaction, Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar said despite the challenging environment for many customers, the telecommunication company continues to see strong demand for its services as it enables connectivity and facilitates access to the digital economy.

Taldar added that the scale of data traffic has grown across the company’s markets with an increase of 49% over the last year.

“We have delivered an improvement in both the operating and financial performance in the last quarter driven by our refined strategy which is focused on delivering great customer experience across all touch points. An increasingly important component of this is to provide a best-in-class network, digitize, and simplify the customer journey. Our focus on speed and quality execution is enabling us to unlock substantial opportunities for growth across our markets and business segments, where demand remains significant, resulting in a further acceleration of constant currency revenue growth to 21.3% in the most recent quarter. We remain committed to investing for the future by expanding our distribution and network to ensure that we capture this significant growth opportunity on offer”, Taldar said.

The telecommunications company has undertaken continued investment to increase financial inclusion across its markets which contributed to an 18.3% increase in mobile money subscribers to 44.3 million.

Malawi’s pioneer mobile telecommunications company, TNM Plc, has successfully commissioned new network capacity in key cities, reinforcing its commitment to providing high-quality and reliable connectivity to customers.

The new network sites in Blantyre, Zomba, Mangochi, Lilongwe, and Mzuzu aim to guarantee TNM Plc customers consistent quality of voice calls and internet experience.

TNM’s Chief Technical Officer said that the latest infrastructure upgrade will deliver faster speeds, increased reliability, and improved customer experience for residents and businesses alike.

“This milestone speaks directly to our mission of providing world-class digital solutions to empower every Malawian and connect Malawi to the whole world. To our customers, this means that they will experience even much higher quality voice calls and data services by offering guaranteed best connectivity onto our network,” said Gowera.

According to TNM, the commissioning of the new network capacity sites signifies the beginning of this year’s journey to building a more resilient and superior network that offers unmatched network quality and user experience.

“Our continued investment in state-of-the-art technology ensures that our customers can enjoy a seamless, high-speed connection. The new capacity sites, therefore, will go a long way to provide best-in-class services and satisfy ever-increasing demand from capacity and high-speed internet perspectives, complemented by our diverse and resilient international fiber network that links Malawi to the rest of the world,” he said.

Gowera said that key sectors that contribute positively to the economy will reap the benefits of the improved network by TNM.

“At TNM, we believe that access to quality network services in mobile communication is a catalyst to boost economic growth as it supports innovation and improvements in many sectors, such as agriculture, tourism, mining, health, economics, and education. The improved sites will open new economic possibilities for the country given that some of these sites either had no network signal before or experienced weak signal,” he said.

Through the additional sites, TNM is effectively increasing access to world-class mobile telecommunications and ICT services to customers as well as digital financial solutions offered through Mpamba.

As a leader in telecommunication innovation, TNM has announced the completion of the pilot phase for the introduction of 5G technology, which it pioneered in Malawi in 2023. After piloting for a year, TNM will now transition to a full rollout targeting the four major cities of Lilongwe, Blantyre, Zomba, and Mzuzu.

The company has committed to continue leveraging cutting-edge technologies to drive future growth while remaining committed to operational excellence and expanding its customer base.

NBS Bank plc has received a strategic investment of $5 million from Belgium-based EDFI Management Company (EDFI MC) through its EU-funded Agriculture Financing Initiative AgriFI, to support the diversification of the agricultural sector and contribute to the economic development of Malawi.

A statement from EDFI MC, a multilaterally owned impact asset manager said the investment is part of the ACP (African, Carribbean, and Pacific) regional window, supported by the Secretariat of the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) aimed at strengthening and supporting the ‘Caring Bank’ to become the reference lender to the food and agriculture segment in Malawi.

In his remarks, NBS Bank plc Chief Executive Officer Kwanele Ngwenya said the investment will help achieve the bank’s role of giving farmers access to financing to grow crops, produce, and add value.

“We are thrilled to receive this strategic investment from EDFI Management Company. This funding will enable us to enhance our support for strong agriculture sector businesses and related smallholders in Malawi, providing them with the necessary resources and financing to expand processing capacity and improve their productivity and livelihoods.”

“Our focus on key agricultural value chains will not only benefit the farmers but also contribute to the country’s economic growth,” said Ngwenya.

The statement further highlighted that NBS Bank plc is pursuing an ecosystem approach, identifying strong transformers and exporters in the tea and macadamia value eligible to receive the bank’s financing to support the diversification of the agricultural sector.

EDFI MC Chief Executive Officer Rodrigo Madrazo said by facilitating access to financing and resources the investment has a significant impact on smallholder farmers.

“Our investment in NBS Bank plc underscores our commitment to supporting smallholder farmers in Malawi. By focusing on key agricultural value chains, we aim to enhance productivity and livelihoods, and drive sustainable growth in the region,” said Madrazo.

In her remarks, OACPS Expert in value chain Yvonne Chileshe her organization is happy to support the significant investment in NBS Bank plc.

“By focusing on smallholder farmers and key agricultural value chains, this initiative aligns perfectly with our mission to facilitate access to finance for the missing middle thereby promoting sustainable development and improving livelihoods across the OACPS region. We believe that this collaboration will drive positive change and create opportunities for smallholder farmers to thrive,” said Chileshe.

In 2023 the ‘Caring Bank’ also acquired a 10-year Five million US dollar loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) with a similar purpose of providing specialized financial services and support to businesses involved in the agriculture sector.

NBS Bank has reached a remarkable milestone, becoming one of the few companies on the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) to achieve a market capitalisation of K1 trillion as of 22 January 2025.

The bank’s share price soared from K275.44 per share on 16 January to K316.75 per share by Wednesday’s close of market trading.

This impressive rise in share value represents a wealth increase of K41.31 per share for investors within just a few trading days, highlighting the growing confidence in the bank’s performance and long-term prospects.

Reacting to the achievement, NBS Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Kwanele Ngwenya, described the milestone as a testament to the bank’s resilience and strategic direction.

“As we progress through the 2025 financial year, I feel a deep sense of pride and gratitude reflecting on NBS Bank’s remarkable financial journey. Our achievement of reaching a market capitalization milestone of 1 trillion Kwacha is not just a number; it marks a significant moment for us all.”

“This accomplishment highlights the effectiveness of our strategy, the dedication of our team, and the steadfast trust of our stakeholders. These achievements are not merely numbers on a balance sheet. They represent the realization of a vision to create a financially resilient and forward-looking institution that delivers value to its stakeholders. They are the results of strategic decisions made to address past challenges, optimize operations, and position NBS Bank as a leader in Malawi’s banking sector.”

“As we stand on the threshold of new opportunities in 2025, I am filled with confidence and excitement for the road ahead. Our financial success is a collective achievement, made possible by the hard work of our employees, the trust of our customers, and the support of our stakeholders. Let us continue to build on this momentum as we strive for even greater heights, delivering value and contributing meaningfully to Malawi’s economic future,” explained Ngwenya.

Renowned stock market investor, Benedicto Nkhoma pointed out that the growth in NBS Bank’s share price reflects broader investor confidence in Malawi’s banking sector.

“The achievement means that in the current environment where inflation is above 30% shareholders, especially pension funds are cushioned from loss of value of their investment. It is an indication that stakeholders have confidence in the operation of the bank.”

“The milestone is an indication of the goodwill the bank is enjoying from stakeholders. Customers would like to associate with a growing institution because it is a sign of a good perception from the market as such, they should expect growth in customer base but also it means customers’ experience expectations are very high,” said Nkhoma.

Three months after Charles Kamoto left as Airtel Malawi Managing Director, the leading telecommunications company has on Tuesday announced Aashish Dutt as the new Managing Director effective 1 February this year.

Dutt, who has over 28 years experience in telecommunications, takes over from Abdul Khayyum Shaik who has been the Acting Managing Director since 1st November 2024.

In a statement signed by Acting Airtel Malawi Board Chairperson Kaisi Sadala, it is stated that Dutt has been in executive management for a long time and has a strong commercial background in telecommunications in multiple geographies across India and Africa.

“We are excited and would like to congratulate Mr. Dutt for his appointment. He brings vast experience as he was appointed Sales & Distribution Director for Airtel Malawi in January 2017 and subsequently promoted to the role of Chief Commercial Officer in January 2021. From there he served as Chief Commercial Officer for Airtel Kenya Networks from August 2021 to present. Additionally, he has been in acting capacity of Chief Commercial Officer in Uganda, working across both Kenya and Uganda.”

The statement adds that the new Managing Director is specialized in new business development and market expansion in both urban and rural markets, customer life cycle management, leading large cross functional transformational projects to enhance revenues, market share and accomplish business objective.

“He is responsible for market execution, setting and managing distribution infrastructure for Airtel for business unit development, identifying potential opportunities and for sustained customer base and business growth along with fostering and developing a learning culture while creating shared vision for the team,” adds the statement.

Dutt holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Calcutta University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from Symbiosis Center India.