When was the Malawi Development Corporation developed and what have been the most notable developments?
MDC, as it is known was established by an act of parliament in 1964 and operations began in 1965 purely as a statutory body with wide development powers. The emphasis was to be a catalyst in development to assist government, developing with other technical partners in various fields of the economy, ranging from Agriculture, Agro-processing, Industry and property. Today, MDC has been in action for approximately 35 years. Whilst originally within industry it concentrated on import substitution industries and various objectives were achieved. We then had to move to the next stage of development, export oriented industries. This has been a slow experience in taking off but generally due to external economic pressures there have been many competitive issues to deal with. We went into the financial sector and have had a lot of success. We had investments in insurance, banking, and many local industries. Towards the end of the 90´s, MDC saw itself in a position where it had to diversify but also to be more aggressive.
Can you enlighten us on the present strategies that you are implementing?
We would like to be a little more selective in our investments. We want to focus on a few economic sectors so that we become involved in highly commercial projects in order to create a highly economic impact on the economy, creating employment and having a more diverse economic base from which to work. Our main strategy will be for tourism and the hospitality sector.
After having recently arrived back from Mexico where we completed a project that concentrates on tourism, we saw a country that was once full of potential but has through its’ strategy managed to develop one of the world leaders in this industry. We have seen the vast Lake Malawi, the national parks and the potential of business tourism that Malawi has to offer……
Our strategy in the tourism and hospitality sector is that we are looking at the three A’s of the tourism sectors. They are ATTRACTIONS- we are blessed with the Lake and wildlife. ACCOMODATION- Our hotels and lodges which need to be improved and increased. Lastly, we have to look at how to get there- ACCESSIBILITY, where we are working very closely with the central government who is our sole shareholder to try to encourage and improve the infrastructure of the country. For example Cape Maclear, which is an attractive and beautiful site. We would like the government to assist us in the development of the roads, telecom and power facilities. MIPA is helping us with investment promotion. We are constructing in Blantyre a world class hotel, with about 200 rooms. We are presently in the last stages of putting together the financial package, and the project is viable, costing approximately 16 million USD.
From the research conducted we saw that in many of your projects you have put approximately 1/3 of the investment. Has the rest of the investment come from outside?
We would like to spread the risk of cost as a development bank. At the same time, we would like to attract external technical partners. In the hotel development, we are not just attracting investors but also shareholders. In the tourism industry, this is a new idea that has never been seen in the country.
How long do you anticipate to take for the tourism projects to be complete and the infrastructure in order?
We are beginning with this hotel in Blantyre, it should take about 15 months to complete. It will be built in a novel way by a consortium group composed of Malawians and South Africans. This will be a joint-venture with local architects and hopefully will assist in the transfer of skills to Malawians.
What is the role that MDC has as far as its involvement with the development of the country, how important is your role?
I think circumstances are changing internationally and regionally. We are now looking at MDC as developing the private sector to team up with the international investors and bring in capital. We, as local partners will be financing as well but we are eager to see ventures coming in to the country and privatise, allowing the private funds to be re- invested into other projects. We own through Sunbird Tourism, 8 hotel units in the country. We have 77% shares in the group. We are forming another set of hotels and feel that this is a healthy situation. It gives a variety of standards and encourages competition. It will also encourage innovation and further investment with other tourism segments.
What other areas are you presently active in?
Apart from tourism, we are in Mining and property- We have a large property Portfolio from MPICO. We are in the service industry, insurance and banking. Our objectives are set to create solid long- term projects, privatise them and then move into new fresh areas.
Right now it is essential to attract investment from outside groups. What can you tell us about your target groups internationally, are you open to the world market?
We are very open! Since we liberalised the economy, we are open and interested in speaking with anyone who is interested in the development of Malawi but naturally, we are interested in priorities. Number one is the tourism and hospitality sector. Number two is the Agro-industry sector where we are going into fish farming. We have some very unique fish, found only in Malawi. Mining has potential. We will be working with local partners in a fertilizer company in which we have a 54% stake. | Within the agro-industry, are you aware that there has to be diversification of products and do you have your own projects?
We will be carrying out sector studies to look at those possibilities. Tobacco is slowly phasing out. Fish farming has a higher yield than sugar and tobacco……… If we develop our hotels, for example in Cape Maclear, we would like the vegetables to come not from Blantyre or Zimbabwe but to create a self-sufficient fully integrated development approach-to provide guidance and support with the Ministry of Agriculture. A certain quality of vegetables can be provided to the Hotels. This way the local community has an all round benefit and theft will be reduced, in essence the social effect is empowering.
We are talking about infrastructure and the development of the tourism sector. Once all is in place what will the strategy be to bring in tourism?
As we move into the tourism focus we will be working with the top players in the market. We recently brought in the international group, Meridien, as well as Legacy Hotels, a south African Group. As Malawi is a member of the SADC and the continual developments of the region we will be doing a lot of marketing: not only for tourism but for all our projects as a whole.
Before entering into the report on Malawi , we also researched the neighbouring countries and saw that there is not enough information on this country at present. We feel that the time has come to create the ideal awareness of what the possibilities are in Malawi. We need to get the message to the international community…
You are right! At an international delegation meeting recently, on the last day, MDC and various other Malawian institutions, a tour operator had never seen a map of Malawi. After presenting our projects, he showed interest in coming to Malawi and discussing further the possibilities that are here. The group will be coming from Germany to see us shortly.
Everyone has been to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and many other countries in the region. Why should they choose to come to Malawi?
Malawi offers a few characteristics: STABILITY-unique in the region. We are the only multi-party democracy where there was a very smooth transition from one party to multi-party politics. Secondly, Lake Malawi offers a unique experience, a fresh water lake, one of the largest lakes in the world. It caters for water sports and also for the discerning traveller in search of peace and tranquillity. Finally, although we have a small population, we are very friendly and welcoming.
When you look at other investments groups in the region are you competing with any of them directly.
Mozambique has port facilities and that is an advantage. Also, we have to compete with South Africa for so many products but as time goes on, we will be more cost effective as a country. This will allow us to concentrate on our objectives and not the setbacks of transportation for example. We would like to emphasise on the positive issues that will eventually show for themselves.
Image as a tool is essential in todays global village, what in your opinion are the perceptions of MDC?
Malawi is unique. Our agriculture is of quality, when you try our products, you can instantly see that they have no need to be seen next to our neighbouring countries products. We are members of SADC and COMESA. These markets are all competing for their share of the market and we are sure that we will become very competitive. Malawians look at MDC as a leader in commercial and industrial development. The Private sector also sees us in this same light but we lack in resources and have challenges ahead. Outside of Malawi, our board is seen as a group of people that are competent and professional.
If we next come back here in the next 3-5 years, hopefully we will have the opportunity to sit and discuss issues of what has happened, what will the country be looking like and what would have been MDC’S contribution to that change?
If you come back in three years time, MDC will look like a very different organisation. The tourism sector will be in full swing. The Chileka airport will have been developed and we would have expanded our agro-processing base into export. Mining will have developed in the areas of phosphate and lime mining as apart of our fertiliser production strategy.
You mentioned that you invested in marketing and created image awareness, do you also invest in finding potential investors. Do you have a plan or strategy?
We have our web-site and are well represented in world forums. We have also done extensive advertising in the media. I have just returned from Mauritius where the SADC chief executives have formed a network that gives MDC additional information and funding. The future of the economy in the next few years will be a vibrant private sector. MDC will be divesting and we will see a lot more portfolio investment from international investors. By that time MDC will have implemented many projects that at the moment are on the drawing board. These projects will be ventures of both local and foreign investors. The economic landscape would have changed and MDC’s role will have been evident.
Our readers are the top global decision- makers, they are your potential investors, What would be your message to them?
Please take a look at my business card, it reads MALAWI DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION- "PARTNERS IN DEVELOPMENT". The message is pretty clear. We stand ready to team up with potential investors and partners. The future of our projects will yield high returns for all those who participate.
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MALAWI DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (MDC) 