UK dangles project finance opportunities
Local project promoters have an opportunity to access project financing from the United Kingdom (UK) through the UK Department of International Trade-Africa Network platform called the Investment Deal Room.
In a statement, Mitc public relations manager Deliby Chimbalu said the deal room platform was featured during the one-day virtual Africa Investment Forum hosted by the UK government last Thursday.
She said the conference was a huge opportunity as it offered various financing opportunities to African businesses, including those from Malawi.
Chimbalu said: “Our friends from the UK through their Department for International Trade-Africa have what they call an investment deal room, which is a platform that aims to provide an online deal matching service to bridge the gap between UK corporates and investment opportunities across the African continent.”
“As Mitc, we are encouraging project promoters to utilise this platform for us to benefit from these financing opportunities. What is required now is for those that have projects that are bankable to submit through this platform for possible funding provided that they meet the requirements.”
Investors and project promoters can submit their proposals through https://ukditdealroom.africa/companies/.
The Africa Investment Conference was aimed at inspiring further UK investment into Africa.
The conference provided an opportunity for Malawi’s development and private sector growth as the UK government is making efforts to strengthen its economic ties with African countries through investment and trade.
Earlier, the UK government singled out Malawi, among other developing countries to benefit from the proposed new United Kingdom Developing Countries Trading Scheme (UK-DCTS), which aims to grow trade with lower income nations, supporting jobs and growth.
In a statement, the British government said through post-Brexit, it is taking a more ambitious, generous and pro-growth approach to trading with developing nations.
The UK officially withdrew its membership from the 27-member States European Union (EU) dubbed Brexit on January 31 2020 and the rules governing the new relationship between the EU and UK took effect on January 1 2021.
The statement said the UK-DCTS is a major opportunity to grow free and fair trade with developing nations.
The proposed scheme would apply to 70 qualifying countries and include improvements such as lower tariffs and simpler rules of origin requirements for countries exporting to the UK, allowing countries to diversify their exports and grow their economies.
The UK operates a similar scheme rolled over from the EU, but as an independent trading nation it can now take a simpler, more generous, pro-growth approach to trading with developing countries.
The proposed new UK scheme, according to the statement, will mean more opportunities and less bureaucracy for developing countries by simplifying rules of origin requirements or reducing tariffs on imports.
