ACCESS TO FINANCE WEAKENS INDIGENOUS BUSINESSES INVESTMENT VIGOR

The local business community has responded on claims by authorities that they have not been forthcoming in making joint ventures on big investments.

The Chief Executive Officer for Public Private Partnership Commission PPPC Jimmy Lipunga said this after observing that the locals did not bid during both Air Malawi Privatization and Fiber Optic project – which were respectively awarded to Ethiopian airlines and SIMBA Net.

“No local entrepreneur bid during the two processes, so we cannot force the locals to invest.” The PPPC boss Said.

In response, the local entrepreneurs through their grouping; Indigenous Business Association of Malawi IBAM said access to finance remains the barrier to locals as such investments require more capital.

IBAM’s President Mike Mlombwa has since said his grouping is contemplating on meeting the president to among others share the challenges facing the operators and possibly give policy suggestions to correct the situation.

Said Mlombwa, “The problem is access to finance, you know, such projects are very big, they need millions of USD and without government’s intervention, we cannot raise the required capital to partner with them (Preferred bidders).”

Meanwhile, Mlombwa said IBAM is prepared to work with the new government on how they can improve some of these challenges.

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