The US State Department publishes annual Investment Climate Statements for countries worldwide, providing detailed assessments of the business and investment environment from an international investor’s perspective. The 2025 statement for Malawi offers a comprehensive and candid overview.
Key findings from the 2025 statement
Investment framework: The Investment and Export Promotion Act 2024 is noted as a significant improvement to the formal investment framework, establishing the MITC One-Stop Shop and strengthening investor protections. The report notes that implementation is ongoing and the practical experience of using the new system will take time to assess.
Corruption: Corruption is identified as a significant challenge. The report notes that foreign companies operating in Malawi report encountering requests for facilitation payments and that anti-corruption enforcement, while improving in intent, remains inconsistent in practice.
Contract enforcement: The legal framework for contract enforcement is present, but court processes are slow. International arbitration clauses in contracts with local partners and suppliers are recommended.
Land rights: Land tenure and rights remain complex, particularly for agricultural investment. The Land Act 2016 (fully implemented from 2022) updated the framework, but practical navigation of customary land rights requires local expertise.
Labour: The Labour market framework is broadly adequate for foreign companies. Skilled labour availability is limited in some sectors; the expatriate permit process adds lead time to hiring plans.
Mining: The statement highlights mining as a priority sector with significant potential, while noting governance challenges including the opacity of ownership structures that was later highlighted in the February 2026 ICIJ investigation.
Sectors with the most active foreign investment
According to the 2025 statement, active foreign investment was concentrated in:
- Tobacco processing and trading (declining)
- Mining exploration and development
- Financial services (banking, insurance)
- Telecommunications
- Agribusiness and agro-processing
- Tourism and hospitality
The practical investment barriers
Beyond the formal investment framework, the statement identifies infrastructure — particularly energy and transport — as the primary constraint on investment scale and competitiveness. The energy situation (load shedding, generation shortfall) and road quality in rural areas are the most commonly cited barriers.
Our read
The State Department Investment Climate Statement is one of the best free resources for companies beginning their Malawi due diligence. It is frank about the challenges in a way that official Malawi government materials are not, and it covers the regulatory landscape comprehensively.
Where it is less useful is on the practical, informal dimension of doing business in Malawi — the networks, the relationships, the way processes actually work versus how they are designed to work. That is where local presence and experience add the value that no report can replace.
Sources: US State Department 2025 Investment Climate Statement: Malawi, September 2025.