Africa-Press – Malawi. President Lazarus Chakwera has described his visit to Nigeria as important for Malawi.
Chakwera said this at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe Monday on arrival from Abuja, Nigeria, where he attended the 32nd African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) annual meetings.
According to Chakwera, he has returned home encouraged that one of Malawi’s treasured projects, the Magwero Industrial Park, will begin to take off.
“I’m also happy that we were able to touch base with a number of Nigerian businesspeople who are willing to invest in this country.
“So, in terms of investment, industrialisation and movement towards our 2063 vision, I believe that we are on the right path,” Chakwera said.
On the sidelines of the meetings, Chakwera had meetings with Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah as well as Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote.
The meeting with Dangote, who is president of Dangote Group, focused on issues such as exploring trade and investment opportunities that the Dangote business empire can establish in Malawi.
Chakwera shared with Dangote an overview of Malawi’s economy and singled out opportunities for investment in agriculture, tourism, mining and manufacturing.
The Malawi leader also met businessman Anthony Onyemaechi Elumelu, of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, whose initiatives are empowering a new generation of young entrepreneurs on the continent.
During the meeting, Elumelu expressed interest in including Malawi within his foundation’s catchment scope.
Chakwera and Elumelu agreed to set a roadmap to establish linkages with the Ministry of Youth to facilitate a programme to provide $5,000 seed capital per young person to thousands of Malawi’s youths.
During the meetings, Afreximbank launched its flagship African Trade Report 2025, themed ‘African Trade in a Changing Global Financial Architecture’.
The report looks at the performance of Africa’s trade in a challenging global environment, characterised by rising geopolitical tensions, new trade barriers and financial uncertainty— and analyses how the continent could leverage these challenges into opportunities to enhance its resilience and navigate the evolving landscape.
The report shows that Africa’s total merchandise trade recovered, surging by 13.9 percent in 2024, to $1.5 trillion, following a 5.4 percent contraction in 2023.
It, however, revealed that Africa still makes up only 3.3 percent of global exports.
The report observed that the continent must do more by moving away from commodity exports and accelerating its industrialisation process if it is to enhance its integration into global value chains and boost intra-African trade.
Orama said this year’s report provides a compelling roadmap for Africa to reposition itself in a volatile global economy.
Afreximbank Group Chief Economist and Managing Director of Research Yemi Kale said despite global headwinds, Africa’s trade rebounded strongly in 2024, with trade between African countries growing by 12.4 percent to reach $220.3 billion, from a contraction of 5.9 percent in 2023.
“This shows the tangible benefits of AfCFTA implementation, even as the continent contends with rising inflation, sovereign debt risks and a persistent trade finance gap,” Kale said.
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