Malawi Mangoes diversifies its export base
Malawi Mangoes, a local start-up and agribusiness venture, has opened a new 200-hectare banana farm in Salima to boost and diversify its mangoes export base.
The firm is implementing the first large-scale fruit processing facility in Malawi and to develop a banana and mango puree export business using both commercial and smallholder fruit suppliers.
Malawi Mangoes is an example of how a value-added business development opportunity can be created in the country, potentially encouraging other industry players to copy their approach and generate further export opportunities with associated pro-poor impacts.
The move by the firm to diversify comes barely a few months after three major international investment agencies, including the World Bank’s private sector arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC), announced an investment of $15 million to support its expansion on production and processing.
The Malawi Investment Trade Centre (Mitc), the country’s one-stop investment hub, has since described the increasing good fortunes for the company a result of good business model which should be emulated across the agriculture sector.
Mitc chief executive officer Clement Kumbemba told Business Review this week it is encouraging to note the developments taking place at the Salima-based agribusiness firm.
“Malawi is sitting on gold. We have huge potential as a country to transform our economy and we just need to remove some of the unnecessary challenges we create for investors if we are to move forward,’’ he said.
Malawi Mangoes co-managing director Jonathan Jacobs said the acquisition of the new land was a statement of intent on the company’s growth aspirations.
He said the venture eyes further expansion and applauded the support the government of Malawi is rendering to the company.
Stewart Newton, one of the company’s shareholders, is optimistic that Malawi Mangoes will transform Malawi’s agriculture sector through the promotion of value addition and agro-processing.
Recently, the World Bank announced that IFC and the private sector window of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (Gafsp) will each invest $5 million while the Dutch development bank, FMO, will also invest $5 million to Malawi Mangoes through the Dutch government fund FOM-OS.
Malawi Mangoes, co-founded in 2009 by Jonathan Jacobs and Craig Hardie produces mangoes and banana primarily for export markets in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
