AfDB Prioritizes Energy, Transport, Water, Agriculture In Malawi

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group on November 16 approved Malawi’s Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for 2023-2028.

The strategy paper focuses on two priority areas which include, improving economic infrastructure to develop the industrial sector by investing in energy, transport, water, sanitation, and hygiene, and supporting economic diversification through investments in agriculture value chains.

According to a statement signed by the Bank on November 30 noted that: “The primary objective of the CSP 2023-2028 is to promote inclusive and sustainable growth through agro-industrialization, improving connectivity and strengthening competitiveness,” said Leila Farah Mokaddem, Director General of the African Development Bank’s Southern Africa Hub.

“The Bank will continue to deepen its engagement with Malawi to further consolidate development impacts as envisioned in “Malawi Vision 2063.”

Macmillan Anyanwu, the Bank’s Country Manager for Malawi explained: “The Bank plans to increase its funding in the transport sector to improve national and regional connectivity and access to input and output markets for economic actors, especially farmers, reduce transport costs and to strengthen regional integration.

“The Bank will also support efforts to build resilience to climate change by using eco-smart technologies and materials in road projects and sustainable road maintenance.”

At the completion of the projects proposed in this sector, around 350,000 additional people will have access to improved road networks.

The Bank’s interventions in the energy sector will support the country’s efforts to expand access to power through grid and off-grid power systems, and to reduce blackouts and the cost of electricity.

Additionally, the Bank will assist Malawi in connecting to regional energy hubs to improve energy security and access to more affordable electricity by about 35%, as well as increased private sector power generation capacity.

For the second priority area, support from the Bank will contribute to developing agrobusiness through complementary actions to improve productivity, strengthen the development of priority value chains, especially the manufacturing sector, and support economic diversification and the agriculture sector reforms.

To achieve this, the African Development Bank’s interventions will focus on integrated investment, including increasing the area of irrigated land, adopting better agricultural technologies, such as mechanization, diversifying crops and food systems, and value addition through agro-processing.

As of September 2023, the African Development Bank Group’s active portfolio in Malawi comprised 18 projects, with total commitments of USD 222.7 million.