Category: Business

National Bank of Malawi (NBM) Plc has registered an increase in the half year profit after tax ending June 30, 2023  to K35.48 billion from K22.12 billion reported in the same period  last year, which represents 60 percent growth. 

 According to the financial statement released by the Bank, signed by Board Chairperson, Jimmy Lipunga, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) McFussy Kawawa, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Masauko Katsala, and Board Director Dorothy Ngwira  the results were driven by growth in both net interest income and other income which grew by 25 percent and 87 percent respectively.

 “Overall net revenue grew by 44 percent, operating expenses increased by 28 percent, and Net Impairment losses decreased by 61 percent on account of more recoveries. Customer deposits increased by 28 percent while the Bank’s loan book grew by 9 percent. Investment in Fixed Income securities grew by 13 percent. All the subsidiaries and an associate of the Bank posted profits that contributed positively to the Group’s half-year performance,” reads the statement in part.

 The Bank however says the growth in the first half of 2023 was adversely affected by some factors.

 “The growth in the first half of 2023 was adversely affected by exogenous weather-related shocks in the aftermath of tropical cyclone Freddy and dry weather conditions in the Northern Region,” reads part of the statement.

The Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) listed commercial bank also notes that the excess foreign exchange demand conditions remain the catalyst for continued local currency depreciation against the currencies of the major trading partners despite the ongoing tobacco auction season.

 “The monetary policy authorities signaled the introduction of a foreign exchange rate price discovery initiative by introducing currency auctions, the first one of which was conducted in mid-June 2023 resulting in a mild 3% depreciation of the Malawi Kwacha while the country also experienced fuel supply shortages,”  reads the statement in part.

According to the Bank, headline inflation increased to an average of 26.5 percent in the first quarter of 2023 from 26.0 percent in the last quarter of 2022 closing at 27.30 percent in June 2023 and the reference rate closed at 21 percent.

 NBM further says the outlook for 2023 is for inflation to remain elevated, premised on the short crop size and heightened demand-side inflationary pressures emanating from fiscal risks, second round effects of cyclone Freddy, and the exchange rate depreciation.

 “The Board envisages a continuing challenging operating environment. Pressure on inflation and foreign exchange is expected to continue. In spite of this, the Board remains cautiously optimistic and expects the Bank to continue with its strong performance in the second half of the year,” reads the statement.

 

Vehicles Giant and Africa’s Green Revolution pioneer Agilitee has introduced a new delivery scooter called Agilitee LoadMo.

The three wheeler scooter is truly an African vehicle as it has been developed to use even in the village roads.

Agilitee Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Mandla Lamba said the Agilitee LoadMo has a max speed of 50kmph and a range of 200km per charge. It uses swappable batteries that can be swapped for full ones within 2 minutes, and it can load up to 250kg of delivery weight.

“The raw materials used to build this model have strengthened its durability to a degree that it is not easy to damage.

“Agilitee will unveil the vehicle for the first time on the evening of the 18th of October 2023 at the Red capert event where the company will be celebrating 5 years in business and the event will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa,” he said

Agilitee is Africa’s first electric vehicles manufacturer, and the company became a public company on the 1 September 2022.

Agilitee Limited has a total issued share capital of 1 billion shares, and the company’s board is chaired by Lori Bishop, an American businesswoman who has been at the helm for a year now.

TNM Mpamba Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of TNM Plc has become the first mobile telecoms network service provider in Malawi to offer overdraft facility using mobile phone wallets.

Dubbed TNM Mpamba Kankhe, the facility offers a financial envelope allowing customers to complete their transactions using their TNM Mpamba wallets even when they do not have enough balances in their wallets.

TNM Mpamba General Manager Christopher Sukasuka explained at the launch in Lilongwe that electronic money/value will be credited to qualifying TNM Mpamba wallets on demand for withdrawals either at agents or be pushed to banks or for use in Mpamba-related transactions when customer wallets run out of electronic money/value or below requirements.

“Mpamba Kankhe marks the continuation of our pioneering spirit as a mobile payment technology platform provider. With it, TNM Mpamba customers will be able to borrow electronic money for a wide range of Mpamba transactions based on qualifying criteria,” he said

He said apart from the option of cash advances. Mpamba Kankhe will provide overdrafts for payment categories such as utilities, merchant (POS) payments, television subscriptions airtime and bundle recharges and person to person (P2P) transfers.

A key eligibility requirement is customers who have used Mpamba for a minimum of 90 days (three months) and satisfy KYC requirements.

“An interest rate of 6 percent per month, prorated will apply and a penalty of 0.5% may accrue where customers exceed a prescribed repayment period of 30 days. Such interest will be necessary to cover the service costs when customers exceed 30 days before crediting their wallets. Repayment will be through the same Mpamba wallet” said Sukasuka.

The General Manager said TNM Mpamba Ltd reserves the right to scrutinize customers eligibility to access the overdraft facility based on their profile kept in TNM’s KYC database, and history of usage.

He says Mpamba kankhe is the smartest way to manage one’s finances as it provides the easy access with no need for documentation and is available 24/7

“It brings convenience to our customers. No need to panic or stress when your wallet balance is low. I encourage those who are not using their Mpamba wallets to start now to improve their credit score and start enjoying the service (the cheapest overdraft facility in the country),” said Sukasuka.

Apart from individual customers, the overdraft facility has also been extended to agents to allow them to transact with more than their wallet balance.

Determination of agent overdraft registration/limit will be based on agent’s monthly commissions, transaction volumes (Cash in, cash out, airtime top ups and agent bill payments) and duration on Mpamba (6 months)

Through the facility, agents will be able to carry out customer cash in, ESCOM token sales, TNM airtime/bundle sales plus other Mpamba agent bill payments that may be introduced.

He said Mpamba Kankhe is safe as it is protected by TNM Mpamba’s safety features that include PIN encryption, and privacy settings. Mpamba kankhe will operate within the legal framework provided by the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM).

Sukasuka said Mpamba Kankhe highlights TNM’s commitment to contribute to economic growth activities by applying mobile telecoms technology.

“TNM Mpamba strongly believes that providing our customers with credit at concessional rates as Mpamba Kankhe does, will shred the barriers to financial inclusion while accelerating growth of the credit society and fulfilment of personal and institutional financial goals,” he said.

NBS Bank Plc has said it expects an increase in the half year profit after tax ending June 30, 2023 to be between K11.8 billion and K12.3 billion from K5.9 billion in the same period last year.

Initially, in the First Trading Statement, the Malawi Stock Exchange listed Bank projected an increase of the half year profit after tax ending June 30 2023, to between K10 billion and K11.5 billion.

According to the latest statement released by the Bank, signed by company secretary, Marsha Ovi Machika, the increase is as a result of improved revenue.

“The company is pleased to inform the public that a reasonable degree of certainty exists that profit after tax for the half year ended 30th June 2023 is now expected to be between K11.8 billion and K12.3 billion compared to K5.9 billion reported for the half year ended 30 June 2022.

“The change in expected profit is due to improved revenue performance and lower credit impairments in the month of June 2023 than had been the forecast at the time of issuing the First Trading Statement,” reads the statement.

Recently, during the Bank’s 19^th Annual General Meeting (AGM), board chairperson, Vizenge Kumwenda also announced growth of the profit after tax from K7.7 billion to K18.9 billion representing an increase of 146% in 2022.

“The Bank invested in technology to support digital transactions; focused on development programs for its staff and customer service over the past five years. The investments allowed the Bank to offer convenience and significantly improved customer service to its customers which in turn contributed to growing transaction volumes and related income. Further, customers entrusted the Bank with more deposits in 2022 as manifested in the growth of customer deposits by 67% year-on-year,” he said.

National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc has launched a new social media campaign called ‘Two Truths and One Myth’ aimed at educating the youth about financial inclusion.

The campaign comes a few days after the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) listed company wound up Independence Trivia through the same channel.

NBM Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager, Akossa Hiwa said the ‘Two Truths and One Myth’ campaign is designed to spark curiosity and promote meaningful discussions among the Bank’s online community.

“The primary objective of this campaign is to educate and inform the youth about financial inclusion while debunking common misconceptions around the topic. By utilizing an interactive and thought-provoking format, we aim to increase engagement and drive traffic to National Bank of Malawi’s Facebook page. By implementing this campaign, we can foster a deeper understanding of financial inclusion among the youth of Malawi.”

“The campaign will run throughout the month of August as NBM is focusing on the Youth through the #YazaNgini initiative,” said Hiwa.

Through the campaign, the Bank posts three statements on financial inclusion, where followers need to differentiate the truth and the  myths.

The first session about investment received overwhelming response with one of the followers, Samuel Kathawi commenting: “Thanks for sharing this information we really misinterpreted the true definition of investment. Though it is free but what matters most is knowledge you have shared. l hope l will now think of investment. Thanks, National Bank, you are really the Bank of the Nation.”

An American cybersecurity company, Array Networks has partnered with Luna Technologies in Malawi to provide networking and data security products in the country.

Speaking during the cybersecurity training for various companies in the country in Blantyre on Wednesday, Array Networks regional sales head of Africa, Jayesh V said with the collaboration Value Added Distributors (VAD) is introducing Array Networks load balancer, Web Application Firewall, AG Series SSL VPN and DDoS protection into the Malawi market.

He said using these integers, organizations can ensure availability, security, remote access, SSL visibility from any platform, application and business.

“We are delighted to have this opportunity to collaborate with Luna Technologies in Malawi. The timing is perfect as we expand our team and the capabilities of the Array Networks in Malawi to help our customers achieve Security, Access, scalability, performance and security. As Array continues to grow and expand, we aim to work together in commitment to offer tremendous business benefits to its customers.

“Array offers a complete range of application delivery and security solutions aimed at maximizing employee productivity, ensuring always-on availability, optimizing the end-user experience, and guarding business infrastructure against attack and data leakage. For over two decades, Array has pioneered advances in integrated traffic management and secure application-level communications, setting new standards for innovation, quality, price-performance, and commitment to customer service and customer satisfaction,” said Jayesh.

Luna Technologies Managing Director, Warren Nkonjera hailed the partnerships saying it will extend Array’s APV Series Application Delivery Controller, Web Application Firewall, AVX Series Network hyperconverged Infrastructure and range of solutions to enterprises, Banks and Government Organization across their network in Malawi.

“We are excited for the partnership which will bring a great change in both entities and transfer of skills to the local entity and individuals including creating employment. The threats and vulnerabilities that Organizations face in data protection, Luna Technologies through their partnership with Array Networks products and services, will cover the gap in the market through the wide range of solutions on Cyber Security as customers will achieve scalability, performance and most importantly, security.”

“Our objective is to bring enhanced security to Financial Sectors, Government and customer data in a world where data is key to the success or collapse of enterprises,” said Nkonjera.

Luna Technologies is one of the largest WAN and network performance solutions distributors in Malawi.