Creating Markets in Malawi: The Road to Recovery : Turning Crisis into Economic Opportunity - Country Private Sector Diagnostic

Publication:
Creating Markets in Malawi: The Road to Recovery : Turning Crisis into Economic Opportunity - Country Private Sector Diagnostic

dc.contributor.author	International Finance Corporation
dc.date.accessioned	2022-08-08T23:55:06Z
dc.date.available	2022-08-08T23:55:06Z
dc.date.issued	2021-06
dc.description.abstract	Malawi is at a turning point in its political, social, and economic trajectory. Lazarus Chakwera was sworn in as Malawi’s sixth president in June 2020. This marked a historic moment: the first time in Africa that an opposition candidate won a presidential election following initial results being overturned. After widespread unrest prior to the election, Malawians, especially the youth, have been demanding greater accountability, an end to corruption, and tangible progress on eradicating persistent poverty levels that exceed 70 percent of the population. The average gross national income (GNI) of a Malawian is the third lowest in the world, just US$380 as of 2019. The Chakwera administration will need to find a way to unify the country’s fractured political landscape and deliver on development promises. On top of these challenges, the new administration must also navigate the ongoing and evolving economic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth expectations for 2020 have been lowered from 4.8 percent to 0.8 percent. Recent efforts to build fiscal and institutional resilience have helped but need to be strengthened. The pandemic’s fallout has weakened the country’s macroeconomic foundations, and the overall risk of debt distress is now high. Meanwhile, human capital gains are at risk. Poverty reduction is expected to stagnate, and overall poverty could potentially worsen. The pandemic will likely exacerbate existing inequalities in economic opportunities for women. Women-owned firms, for example, are primarily concentrated in informal agriculture and services, sectors that lack basic social protections to buffer against economic distress. Female farmers, for example, generally have lower access to productive inputs, information, and liquidity than male farmers, so in times of crisis, their farm productivity and food security can be hit harder.	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1596/37847
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10986/37847
dc.language.iso	en_US
dc.publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
dc.rights	CC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holder	International Finance Corporation
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo
dc.subject	PRIVATE SECTOR
dc.subject	FOREIGN INVESTMENT
dc.subject	MARKET ORIENTATION
dc.subject	GOVERNANCE ISSUES
dc.subject	NONCONDUCIVE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
dc.subject	INFRASTRUCTURE GAPS
dc.subject	ENERGY SECTOR
dc.subject	CONECTIVITY
dc.subject	AGRIBUSINESS
dc.title	Creating Markets in Malawi	en
dc.title.subtitle	The Road to Recovery : Turning Crisis into Economic Opportunity - Country Private Sector Diagnostic	en
dc.type	Report	en
dc.type	Rapport	fr
dc.type	Informe	es
dspace.entity.type	Publication
okr.crossref.title	Creating Markets in Malawi
okr.date.disclosure	2022-08-08
okr.date.doiregistration	2025-05-07T10:03:58.679481Z
okr.doctype	Economic & Sector Work
okr.doctype	Economic & Sector Work::PSD, Privatization and Industrial Policy
okr.identifier.report	174862
okr.language.supported	en
okr.region.administrative	Africa Eastern and Southern (AFE)
okr.region.administrative	Africa
okr.region.country	Malawi
okr.topic	Private Sector Development::Business Environment
okr.topic	Private Sector Development::Business in Development
okr.topic	Private Sector Development::Emerging Markets
okr.topic	Private Sector Development::Private Sector Economics
okr.unit	EFI-FCI-TIC-Markets,Compet.&Tech (ETIMT)