Malawi has received a US$14.2 million grant from the African Development Fund (ADF) to enable the southern African country to upgrade its information technology infrastructure and create a more efficient digital payment system.
Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe said on Friday that the grant would contribute to Malawi’s efforts to develop an inclusive financial system and digital economy being pursued under his government’s Support for Digitalization, Financial Inclusion and Competitiveness (DFIC) project.
“The DFIC project is aligned with the Malawi Digital Economy Strategy (2021-2026) and the Third National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (2022-2026); both contribute to achieving Malawi’s long-term objective of inclusive wealth creation supported by an inclusive financial system and digital economy,” Gwengwe said.
The project is expected to widen financial inclusion in the country, in particular to women, youth and rural dwellers, as well as to facilitate efficient business transactions.
It is anticipated that the project would boost Malawi’s domestic financial inclusion rate from 58 percent in 2019 to at least 65 percent by 2025.
AfDB country manager Macmillan Anyanwu described Friday’s signing of the DFIC project grant agreement as an important step towards promoting the use of electronic transactions in Malawi to increase access and use of affordable financial services.
“The project will also enable more efficient business transactions, offering small businesses the opportunity to gain access to new markets,” he said.
JN/APA