Blantyre, Malawi Launches New Investment Promotion Website

Blantyre, Malawi (September 10, 2013) Today Blantyre, Malawi’s commercial capital and second largest city, officially launched its new investment promotion website, InvestinBlantyre.com. With profiles of investment opportunities in areas ranging from agro-processing and manufacturing to telecommunications and tourism and a step-by-step guide to setting up a business, the site connects investors with the support they need to get established and thrive in the region.

A city of almost a million people, Blantyre offers a pleasant highland climate, a low-cost labor force and access to abundant natural resources. Some pro-business policies and incentives are already in place, and the Malawian government continues to work to simplify the process of setting up a business. The city also enjoys a low crime rate and a good quality of life, with warm people and a beautiful mountain setting.

At this time, opportunities exist in manufacturing, textiles, telecommunications, and agricultural production and processing. The region produces an abundance of agricultural products, including soybeans, groundnuts, tobacco, tea and pigeon peas. In addition, it boasts considerable mineral wealth, and mining is a priority sector for the Government of Malawi. With its rich cultural heritage and proximity to Liwonde National Park and Lake Malawi, the third largest lake in Africa, the area presents further opportunities for developing tourism facilities and services. Telecommunications and energy development are also ripe for investment.

The website was produced with the cooperation of the Blantyre City Council and the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI). “We hope that the welcoming new website will make Blantyre’s many advantages better known to investors, both local and foreign, as this region offers so many untapped opportunities,” commented MCI Director Dr. Susan M. Blaustein.

This is the second investment promotion site launched with MCI’s support this year, following a site for Kumasi, Ghana, InvestinKumasi.com. A third site, for Tabora, Tanzania, InvestinTabora.com, will officially launch in early fall.

For more information about the site or any of Blantyre’s private sector development efforts, please contact Dennis Chinseu, Director of Commerce and Industry and the Blantyre City Council, at d.chinseu@bccmw.com. For general information, email MCI.