2026: Navigating ICT Sector Challenges to Fuel Malawi’s Economic Growth

Key Business Points

• Digital transformation is crucial for Malawi’s economic growth, and the government must prioritize implementation over announcements to achieve this goal.
• The private sector faces significant challenges, including forex shortages and high import duties, which hinder the adoption of digital technologies, such as 5G expansion and network maintenance.
• Policy enforcement is necessary to drive digitalization, including the operationalization of the Enterprise Service Bus, the Digitalisation Policy, and the removal of VAT and import duties on entry-level smartphones, which can stimulate volume-based growth and help reach the target of 80 percent device ownership by 2026.

Malawi’s information and communications technology (ICT) sector was marked by ambitious digital initiatives in 2025, but these efforts were undermined by persistent implementation failures. The passport saga, which began with the government awarding a $29.9 million contract to Madras Security Private Printers, exposed the country’s digital infrastructure weaknesses. The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority’s introduction of an integrated system to track misinformation and disinformation sparked debate among digital rights activists, who raised concerns over mass surveillance and potential curbs on freedom of expression.

The Malawi Electoral Commission’s deployment of 6,500 electoral management devices during the September 2025 elections faced public scrutiny due to offline glitches in rural polling stations, raising questions about the readiness of critical digital infrastructure. The Department of e-Government failed to operationalize the Enterprise Service Bus, which meant that government services remained trapped in silos, denying Malawians access to online services such as passport registration and driver’s license payments or renewals.

The private sector faced significant challenges, including a persistent forex shortage that hindered the importation of specialized hardware needed for 5G expansion and network maintenance. Despite 5G being live in 10 cities and towns, the usage gap remained high due to the high cost of 5G-enabled devices, which was exacerbated by high import duties and a weak Kwacha. However, the Digital Malawi Acceleration Project continued to lay the groundwork for high-speed fiber connectivity to over 500 government buildings, and the National e-Payment Gateway project made progress, despite integration hurdles.

The outlook for 2026 signals a necessary shift from pilot projects to policy enforcement. The public sector must focus on clearing the 100,000-plus passport backlog and ensuring the Madras system is fully operational and integrated. The Department of e-Government faces immense pressure to onboard all major ministries onto the Enterprise Service Bus for interoperability of government systems. The Digitalisation Policy must move from a document to lived reality, where driver’s license renewals and national ID applications and payments are fully online.

To drive digitalization, the government must treat ICT as a key performance indicator of governance, with performance appraisals for principal secretaries tied to the Malawi Digitalisation Policy 2023-28. The government should also partner with telecommunications companies to zero-rate all traffic to official government portals, making it free for citizens to access digital services. Additionally, the government should remove VAT and import duties on entry-level smartphones and maintain modest service taxes to stimulate volume-based growth.

The private sector can also play a crucial role by offering lower transaction fees for micro-merchants, such as market vendors, to discourage cash usage. Establishing AI innovation hubs to develop voice-based interfaces in local languages, such as Chichewa, can bypass the literacy barrier, allowing non-readers to access digital services via voice commands. This can be achieved through initiatives such as "Kuwerenga kwa mtundu" (reading with a phone), which can increase digital literacy and promote the use of digital services.

Overall, Malawi possesses the policy frameworks and technical ambition for digital transformation, but what remains missing is the political will to enforce accountability and the fiscal discipline to prioritize implementation over announcements. As the country moves forward in 2026, the question is no longer whether Malawi can digitalize but whether its leaders will finally match their rhetoric with results, and whether the private sector will take advantage of the opportunities presented by digitalization to drive growth and innovation.

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