Minister Kachale Banda and World Bank ED Nyamadzabo hold talks
The Minister of Industry Roy Kachale Banda on Tuesday held talks with World Bank Executive Director for Africa Group One Constituency, Dr Taufila Nyamadzabo, at the ministry’s headquarters in Lilongwe.
During the meeting, Kachale Banda and Nyamadzabo discussed a number of areas of possible cooperation between the ministry and the Bank as well as the projects that receive financial and technical support from the Bank.
The minister took advantage of the meeting to consider supporting what he described as a ‘game changing competitiveness enhancing project, which is targeting growth-oriented enterprises that can occupy the missing middle’.
“My ministry is championing implementation of Malawi 2063 pillar of industrialization, which requires for support for upscaling of cooperative formation and financing the rural industrialization programme, which currently suffers a huge financing gap,” he said.
On his part, the World Bank ED, while assuring the ministry of the Bank’s continued support, said the two sides should continue engaging.
Nyamadzabo suggested that the ministry should further have discussions with the Bank’s International Finance Cooperation (IFC) for financing private sector to help the sector make meaningful impact on the country’s development agenda.
He hinted the need for Malawi to ensure the business environment is conducive enough to attract foreign investors as well as improve on the period that is taking before commencement of actual work in most projects that World Bank is supporting saying currently it is taking too long.
The Ministry of Industry is currently involved in the implementation of certain components of projects such as the Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship Scaling (FINES) project, the Agriculture Commercialization Project (AGCOM) and Southern Africa Trade and Connectivity Project being supported by World Bank.
The initiatives are aimed at creating jobs for different groups of people such as the youth.
Job creation is among priorities of the Tonse Alliance administration.
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