World bank highlights development roadmap

World Bank Group country manager Abdu Muwonge has outlined a development roadmap for Malawi anchored on macroeconomic stability, stronger institutions, private investment and job creation, saying that financing alone will not deliver economic transformation.

He told The Nation that Malawi needs to address structural and governance weaknesses that have constrained the impact of development financing while creating an environment in which businesses can invest, expand and create jobs.

Muwonge, a Ugandan economist who recently replaced Firas Raad of Jordan, said: “Malawi’s development challenge is not primarily a shortage of financing.

“Rather it reflects a combination of macroeconomic imbalances, structural constraints and institutional and governance vulnerabilities that have undermined the impact of development assistance.”

He said the Bretton Woods institution will continue to support macroeconomic stabilisation while increasingly linking investments to reforms that strengthen institutions, improve governance and create conditions for private sector-led growth.

The approach is expected to feature prominently in the bank’s new Country Partnership Framework for Malawi, which is under preparation.

Muwonge: The challenge is not shortage of financing. | Nation

Muwonge have taken charge of a portfolio of 23 International Development Association-financed operations with commitments of about $3 billion (about K5.2 trillion), covering agriculture, education, health, social protection, governance, private sector development and public finance management.

However, only about $1.3 billion (about K2.2 trillion) has been disbursed, with implementation affected by macroeconomic pressures, institutional capacity limitations, staff turnover, weaknesses in public financial management and climate and commodity-price shocks.

The Country Partnership Framework also places job creation at the centre of the World Bank’s engagement, with about 270 000 young Malawians entering the labour market annually against about 40 000 formal jobs created.

Muwonge said that there is no single solution to the employment deficit, but identified macroeconomic stability, reliable infrastructure, stronger human capital, an improved business environment and policies supporting private investment and innovation as critical.

The World Bank’s 2026 Country Private Sector Diagnostic identifies nature-based tourism, agribusiness and mining as sectors with strong potential to attract investment, generate exports and create employment.

The diagnostic aligns with Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development blueprint that seeks to turn Malawi into a lower middle-income economy by 2030 and an upper middle-income by 2063, which positions agriculture, tourism, mining and manufacturing as key drivers of economic growth.

The push comes as the World Bank Group increases its reliance on private capital to support development and employment in developing economies.

In a September 17 statement, the World Bank said private capital mobilised globally increased from $35 billion (about K61 trillion) in 2022 to a record $112 billion (about K196 trillion) in 2026, while the amount mobilised in Africa rose from about $9 billion (K15.7 trillion) to $22 billion (about K38 trillion).

World Bank Group president Ajay Banga said the institution’s focus was increasingly on ensuring that the additional capital translates into economic opportunities.

“The number only matters if the capital goes where it can create opportunity and jobs,” he said.

For Malawi, however, the bank said attracting such capital will require tackling foreign exchange distortions, unreliable and costly electricity, difficulties accessing land, poor connectivity, regulatory uncertainty and high financing costs

In an earlier presentation at the launch of Public Sector Diagnostic Review, Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Ronald Ngwira identified perennial forex shortages, high financing costs, unreliable electricity supply and rising production costs, as the key constraints faced by businesses locally.

The post World bank highlights development roadmap appeared first on Nation Online.