Maiic set to roll out
The long-awaited Malawi Agricultural and Industrial Investment Corporation (Maiic), a development finance institution under a public private partnership (PPP) arrangement, is set to roll out, government officials have confirmed.
Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Joseph Mwanamvekha and Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Governor Dalitso Kabambe confirmed the development.
Maiic has since hired Taz Chaponda, a development economist, to be its chief executive officer (CEO).
In an interview yesterday, Mwanamvekha said since the institution was already launched in November last year, what will happen now is to announce operational resumption as well as products and services to be offered.
He said it is important to announce to the public about the corporation’s specific products and services, lending terms and conditions as well as letting people familiarise with the management team.
Mwanamvekha said Maiic will help solve long-term lending gaps the country has grappled with over the past years, hampering progress in local investment opportunities.
He said: “Most of our banks lend in short-term maybe up to one or two years, but for bigger projects that take time, Maiic will be ideal. We did not have a bank or financing institution that was doing that and that was the gap we had which will be filled with the corporation.
“There will be a window also where Maiic will be financing microfinance institutions to ensure small and medium enterprises benefit from the financing facility. What will happen is that once we have Maiic, then we will have bigger and long-term projects that we ordinarily were unable to implement in the past.”
On his part, Kabambe said Maiic was ready to roll out, adding that the CEO and management team have have been hired.
“The cooperation will help financing a lot of local projects particularly in agriculture and those in manufacturing sector,” he said.
President Peter Mutharika launched Maiic, a government initiative but private sector-led development finance institution, in November last year to empower agro- businesses and industrial firms acquire financial assistance, management and skills training as well as loans.
Maiic will not be a bank, but a vehicle for spearheading private sector development in line with the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS III).
The establishment of Maiic follows findings of a feasibility study conducted by independent consultants in 2013 and 2018 that government-led development finance institutions were plagued by government hitches.
The Malawi Government has 20 percent stake with others taking up 80 percent under PPP arrangement. In Maiic, Malawi Government’s start-up capital comprises K22 billion and another K13 billion from the proceeds of the sale of Malawi Savings Bank (MSB).
