MPC develops survival strategies

Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC) has developed a turnaround strategy to keep the company afloat amid technological advancements that have rendered posting mail almost obsolete.

The strategy, which aims to focus on enhancing courier services, e-commerce and banking, is premised on cost reduction, postal network restructuring, automating business processes and growing revenue through introduction of post bank and digital finance services, which will largely depend on partnerships, according to MPC director of business development and marketing Harold Msusa.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the World Posts Day on Wednesday at Lwezga in Karonga, explaining that MPC will also assess individual post offices on what other vbusinesses they can do.

Mail delivering has declined from 11 million to 1.5 million a year, which has seriously crippled the company forcing it to identify ways to resuscitate itself.

He said: “We are looking at enhancing our courier services. We will also assess individual post offices on what business they can push without depending on mail.

“What we are looking at now is financial inclusion. This is key because it will bring and include rural communities in the financial service. So, we are procuring a digital platform which will take us from transmitting money from post office to post office, but we can also go into e-money and transfer money through mobile phones.”

Msusa said they will also take advantage of the e-commerce to bring back banking into post office.

“On revenue growth, we want to enhance existing products like courier, financial services and the mail itself. We are looking at potential partners who can bring in their services, even on digital finance,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Information Gospel Kazako has asked MPC to embrace new ways of doing things.

He said: “Our MPC has been left behind, because they didn’t pay attention to new trends in technology. MPC is a good example that we can’t continue living in the past.”

During a reforms meeting in August, Vice-President Saulos Chilima expressed worry over MPC’s failure to make profits for the past 20 years, with the institution accumulating K1.6 billion in utility debts and statutory obligations as well as K6.3 billion in taxes.

World Posts Day was set aside by Universal Post Union, an organisation which is under United Nations and this This year’s theme was More Than Mail.