Category: Business

A fast growing Malawian owned Furniture company, BM Sofa Design and General Dealers has opened a new shop in Area 49, in Lilongwe.

Currently headquartered in Mzuzu City, BM Sofa Design and General Dealers has been in existence for 21 years now, having started its operations in 2002 in karonga.

“The company was registered on 1st December 2017; providing quality and durable sofas and other furniture products to Malawians and beyond.

“Your presence here is an indication of government commitment to seeing local business ventures thrive and contribute to the economy of the country.

“Buying furniture at BM Sofa Design gives you the best customer experience you can never find elsewhere. Our products are sold on a cash basis, lay-by up to 12 months and on credit. We also provide free transport everywhere,” said Dr Peter Kasewe, Managing Director for the company during the opening ceremony.

He said over the years, they have been receiving calls to consider opening branches in the other regions as a way of getting closer to our customers, hencer their opening of the Lilongwe Branch.

“It is due to this immense pressure from our central region customers that today we are glad that we have finally brought your desired furniture products closer to your homes,” he said

Taking her turn, Minister of Tourism Verah Kamtukule said the expansion of the company is a manifestation of a full social economic system that will spill over from this enterprise.

“They have 151 employees in Mzuzu alone and are set to have plus or minus 140 in Lilongwe . But I see a full social economic system that will spill over from this enterprise. The quality of their products is amazing.

“What’s impressive from my end is the fact that they have their own private forest of a special type of tree they need for production, which means they are not contributing towards deforestation.

“While materials used to make these are imported, the end product is surely an import substitute on its own. You can buy on credit, you can lay bye, and transport is provided for free when you make a purchase .

“I am moved by this solid country man, Peter Kasese who against all odds is geared to change the landscape of the furniture business in this country. Congratulations Sir

“My question to you is: why import when you can buy local? Imagine a situation in which all our tourism facilities have locally Made furniture. It’s possible truly,” she said.

Centenary Bank says it has made an after tax profit of K970 million from January to June 2023.

The financial statement which Centenary Bank released on Monday signed by the bank’s Managing Director, Zandile Shaba, and other directors, indicates that the profit is a recovery from after tax loss which the bank made in 2022.

“The Group has achieved a remarkable turnaround from the adverse performance that was prevalent in the past two years. All key performance areas are showing signs of recovery and are pointing in the right direction.

“Overall profitability for the Group stood at K970 million at the close of June 2023 compared to a loss after tax of K959 million up to June 2022, which represents a 201% increase in profitability,” reads part of the financial statement.

The statement revealed that, among other things, the bank has attained business volume growth and reduced the cost of doing business despite increasing economic pressures and this contributed in the making of the profit.

The statement further highlights that Centenary Bank is now well-capitalised following a change in shareholding and capital injection at the beginning of the year.

Centenary Bank has expressed confidence that it will continue to improve despite economic pressure.

“We are optimistic about the growth trajectory as we continue to implement various business growth strategies we have embarked on since the start of the year,” reads the statement.

The statement also stated that the Bank will continue to focus on cost rationalisation, prudent management of risk and liquidity and diversification of balance sheet funding while maintaining a healthy capital position.

Press Corporation plc (PCL) says it is working on an expansion strategy through mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and has lined up a number of projects to achieve the objective.

Speaking during the 39th Annual General Meeting in Blantyre on Friday, PCL chairperson Randson Mwadiwa, who reported a K36.3.1 billion profit after-tax in the year ended December 31 2022, said the group  remains committed to achieving strategic priorities while navigating the broader market and economic challenges.

“The group’s current strategy is centred around optimizing existing assets and investing in capacity for the future. It is with this in mind that the group envisages organic growth through expansion projects in ethanol businesses to unlock its performance and sustainable potential,” said Mwadiwa.

Mwadiwa further said PCL has also engaged in portfolio rebalancing to pursue greenfield projects in the renewable energy as well as processing and manufacturing.

He also told the shareholders that following the execution of the sale and purchase agreement on People’s Trading Centre (PTC), PCL group completed the exit process from the firm.

He said poor performance coupled with the lack of adequate capital to underwrite the business resulted in a decision to close down PTC.

Commenting on the underperformance of Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) and The Foods Company Limited, Mwadiwa said a decision was made to preserve shareholder value in these entities.

He said for MTL, they consolidated its investment in the telecoms sectors through TNM plc and Open Connect Limited.

One of the shareholders Joe Maele commended PCL board for the changes it has made at the conglomerate and TNM plc, one of PCL’s subsidiaries.

“The change at PCL was much sought after,” he said, referring to the appointment of Ronald Mangani as PCL chief executive officer.

Minority Shareholders Association of Listed Companies secretary general Frank Harawa commended PCL’s performance.

“PCL remains a competitive listed firm on the market with a good dividend payout of K29 per share for 2022. We are seeing progress in the company and we believe that there is a future in this company,” said Harawa.

Meanwhile, shareholders at the AGM approved a K3.487 final dividend representing K29 per share. This follows another interim dividend of K842 million paid on October 28, 2022, bringing the total dividend payable for the financial year 2022 to K4.329 billion being K36 per share, which is above the 2021 financial year dividend of K4.122 billion at K34 per share.

PCL is 47 percent owned by Press Trust, 16.29 percent by Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited and 36.13 percent by other shareholders.

Recapo Solar Systems Limited, a Malawian company and ENGIE Energy Access have signed a partnership agreement in which Recapo will be the company’s distributor of solar home systems products in Malawi. 

According to Recapo Solar Systems General Manager, Tendai Chambati, under the agreement, the company will sell ENGIE Energy Access’s products and related services.

“The partnership will go a long way in making sure that we meet our customers’ needs and expectations by providing them with high quality products and unmatched customer service. The partnership will also go a long way in complimenting government efforts on mitigating energy poverty in Malawi further more Recapo Solar Systems and ENGIE Energy Access`s partnership allows each to take advantage of the marketing reach and client base of the other hence automatically extending number of households reached in Malawi,” he said.

Recapo Solar Systems is the leading supplier of solar electricity and accessory products to rural and semi-urban communities in Malawi. Since 2014, Recapo Solar Systems has pioneered the use of renewable energy to replace traditional resources from fossil fuels and other dangerous and polluting resources. 

Recapo`s products mainly Solar Home Systems (SHS), TVs, refrigerators and irrigation pumps are now installed in thousands of households and used by smallholder farmers all over Malawi.

On the other hand, ENGIE Energy Access is the leading Pay-As-You-Go (“PAYGO”) and mini-grids solutions provider in Africa. 

ENGIE Energy Access Head of Wholesale and Partnerships, George Mudhune said the company develops innovative, off-grid solar solutions for homes, public services and businesses, enabling customers and distribution partners access to clean, affordable energy. 

The PAYGO solar home systems are financed through affordable instalments from $0.19 per day and the mini-grids foster economic development by enabling electrical productive use and triggering business opportunities for entrepreneurs in rural communities. 

With over 1,700 employees, operations in nine countries across Africa (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia), over 1.9 million customers and more than 9 million lives impacted so far, ENGIE Energy Access aims to impact 20 million lives across Africa by 2025.

“Recapo Solar Systems and ENGIE Energy Access are united in their determination to transform the energy sector and uplift communities through sustainable power solutions, by harnessing the power of the sun and extending the off-grid infrastructure. This landmark distributor partnership aims to empower Malawians with access to reliable solar electricity, enabling them to unlock their full potential through efficient energy for home and other productive uses,” he said

On a global business aspect the solar industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. In fact, over the past two years, it’s grown by nearly 40%. It only now makes sense for companies especially those in Europe to establish partnerships with local entities, one of the many reasons Recapo Solar Systems partnered with ENGIE Energy Access.

ENGIE Energy Access is the leading Pay-As-You-Go (“PAYGO”) and mini-grids solutions provider in Africa. The company develops innovative, off-grid solar solutions for homes, public services and businesses, enabling customers and distribution partners access to clean, affordable energy

The High Court sitting in Blantyre has granted the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) an injunction against new DStv tariffs by Multichoice Malawi (MCM).

According to a statement signed by MACRA Director General Daud Suleiman, the injunction refrains MCM from making any changes or modifications to DSTV tariffs, including those outlined in their letter dated 17th July 2023.

“This injunction will remain in effect until the ongoing judicial review case number 1 of 2023, which Multichoice Malawi initiated against MACRA, is concluded.

“It is important to note that any attempt by MCM to implement tariff changes or adjustments during this period will be a violation of the court order and could result in legal consequences. Therefore, the DSTV tariffs will remain unchanged until the conclusion of the matter.

“MACRA is dedicated to creating a fair and transparent regulatory environment for all stakeholders in the communications sector,” reads part of the statement

One of the country’s commercial Banks, First Capital Bank has encouraged people in the country to embrace digital transactions when conducting different businesses.

First capital bank a co-sponsor of Nyasa manufacturing company to the peoples team Nyasa big bullets.

Head of Marketing at FCB Twikale Chirwa was speaking in Blantyre on Friday when the Bank launched a promotion dubbed”Changu pa Foni”.

Among others Chirwa has told us that the promotion seeks to encourage their customers to develop the heart of transacting via digital means citing that it is fast and secure.
“As FCB we encourage all Nyasa big bullets supporters to take a leading role in transacting digitally in on line banking system” said Chirwa.

He said that winners in the promotion will be going away with Nyasa Big Bullets branded t-shirts,cups and also cash.

Minister of Trade and Industry, Simplex Chithyola-Banda has said government was aware of maltreatment which cross border traders are facing when importing their goods from neighbouring countries.

Speaking in Lilongwe on Wednesday during Parliament deliberations, he said the Ministry had received a petition from cross border traders and was presented in the Parliament.

Banda promised to engage Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on how they could handle such cases.

“Currently based on the standing of national procedures that we are putting in place these issues are being tackled and the center of all was about the inhumane treatment which is a challenge that cross border traders are experiencing,” he said.

Chithyola-Banda added that his Ministry was taking serious issues which were raised in the house and within 14 days the Ministry would provide a comprehensive response that would address them to avoid similar situation in the future.

Chairperson for Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Trade and Tourism, Thoko Tembo emphasized that they presented a report in the parliament which highlighted the problems that people especially women are facing in the borders after purchasing goods from outside the country.

“Women doing cross border business tend to travel long distances and to clear their goods it takes a lot of time. We were appealing to the Ministry that they should be clearing the goods in good time. They should consider on the duty that the cross-border traders pay at the border because some of them they were complaining that they pay exorbitant duty fees.

Reported By Sheminah Nkhoma

Press Corporation plc (PCL), through its subsidiary company PressCane Limited, has invested K11 billion in an ethanol plant which will produce high-quality potable ethanol  to be used in the pharmaceutical and beverage industries, with some intended for the export market.

PCL Chief Executive Officer, Ronald Mangani, said in an interview yesterday that the ethanol plant will also have a component of Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) capable of producing fertilizer, bio-gas and electricity from the waste of ethanol production.

“We are in the process of upgrading our versatile ethanol plant at PressCane Limited which will enable full utilization of its production capacity of 60,000 litres of ethanol per day. This can be used for fuel blending and, more importantly, high-quality potable ethanol called ‘pharma-grade’ which can be used in the pharmaceutical and beverages industries, apart from exporting it to bring in the much-needed foreign exchange into the country,” said Mangani.

He explained that the company has made an investment of K2 billion in the ‘pharma-grade’ potable ethanol production plant, and a further K9 billion in the ZLD plant. 

“The good thing with pharma-grade ethanol is that it is pure, and we are excited to introduce this new product because we are responding to the demands of our customers who desire a better-quality product, especially those that want a product that is capable for use in beverage and pharmaceutical production.”

“We are already in talks with foreign customers to export the product, and this will be good for our country especially now when we are having foreign exchange challenges,” said Mangani.

He also said the ZLD plant will make sure that PressCane is environmentally friendly in terms of its waste disposal as the plant is capable of producing fertilizer, bio-gas and electricity from the waste of ethanol production.

“We are happy that, with the fertilizer that we will be producing from the ZLD plant, we will save some of the forex used to procure fertilizer from outside Malawi,” said Mangani.

He further said under the pharma-grade project, PressCane will bring an additional standalone unit to process hydrous alcohol to produce an additional 30 kilolitres per day (KLPD) of anhydrous alcohol (AA).

“The unit will be capable of improving the produced AA to a quality suitable for both pharmaceutical and beverage applications.  This investment will, therefore, increase annual  AA production from the current 13 million litres to 18 million litres. In addition, the company will be capable of producing 7 million litres of potable ethanol in a year,” said Mangani.

The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) Director General Daudi Suleman has said the digital payments scheme holds immense potential in facilitating cross-border trade for Micro, Small, and Medium sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and advancing digital financial inclusion within the COMESA region.

He was speaking during the Fifth Digital Financial Inclusion Public-Private Dialogue focused on the COMESA Digital Retail Payments Scheme, in Lilongwe.

Suleman said at MACRA, they firmly believe that universal access to ICT services is cornerstone for socio-economic development and inclusive growth hence coming up with various initiatives to bridge the digital divide and provide equal opportunities for all.

According to Suleman, the first initiative MACRA has done is making sure that the population network coverage for broadband technologies, specifically 3G and 4G, has exceeded 80 percent.

“Through our diligent efforts, the population network coverage for broadband technologies, specifically 3G and 4G, has exceeded 80%. This achievement ensures that individuals and businesses, including MSMEs, have access to reliable and high-speed internet connectivity, thereby facilitating their participation in the digital economy and cross-border trade,” said Sulemani.

He added that in parallel with promoting universal access to ICT Service, MACRA is also committed to implementing robust Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations for mobile money services.

“This has been done after recognizing the importance of consumer protection and financial integrity and we have worked closely with industry stakeholders and financial institutions to develop comprehensive guidelines which ensures proper customer identification, fraud prevention, money laundering, financing of terrorism and other illicit activities, while simultaneously promoting digital financial inclusion,” said Suleman

He said by striking this balance, they facilitate secure and seamless digital transactions, thereby empowering MSMEs and individuals engaged in cross-border trade.

Suleman also said MACRA acknowledges the critical need to develop national Data Protection laws to align them with international regulatory frameworks, including the General Data protection Regulation (GDPR).

“we are steadfast in our commitment to safeguarding individuals’ rights to data privacy and protection. Through ongoing efforts, we are enhancing our legislative framework to provide a robust foundation for data protection, enforcement, and accountability,” said Suleman

He added that by aligning with global best practices, they foster trust in digital transactions, enable cross-border data flows, and ensure responsible data practices among businesses, thus promoting the commissioning of the digital retail payments platform within the COMESA region.

“By providing access to this information, we enable consumers such as MSMEs to make informed choices, hold service providers accountable, and contribute to a healthy and competitive telecommunications market. Furthermore, our efforts in monitoring data service pricing have yielded significant results. According to the January 2023 ITU Price Basket Benchmark for SADC countries, Malawi ranked 6th, with a cost of 5 USD per 2GB basket. This price falls below the averages for Africa, Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), showcasing our commitment to affordability and accessibility”.

On his part Chief Executive Officer for The COMESA Business Council Teddy Soobramainen said the payments scheme aims to revolutionize the way people transact and interact with financial services.

He added that by fostering an interoperable, instant and secure digital payment ecosystem across COMESA’s 21 member states.

“We envision a future where individuals and businesses can participate fully in the formal economy, irrespective of their location or financial circumstances” said Soobramainen

Minister of Trade and Industry Simplex Chithyola Banda said the COMESA Digital Retail Payment Scheme stands as a testament to Government’s vision and determination.

He said it holds the key to unlocking the untapped potential of the region, propelling the country towards a future where digital financial services and e-commerce are the norm rather than the exception.