Mapping Malawi’s Growth Potential: A New Infrastructure Index Reveals Opportunities for Business Expansion

Key Business Points

• Malawi’s infrastructure sector is hindered by weak disclosure, limited public participation, and poor enforcement, resulting in poor value for money, with the country scoring 25.41 percent on the Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI) 2025, below the global average of 43.07 percent.
• The construction industry’s legal and institutional framework is strong, with a score of 78.2 percent, but transparency at project level remains weak, with limited publication of key information such as project costs, contractors, timelines, and variations, a challenge that can be addressed through kuwongolera kwa ngozi (transparency) and kujulikana kwa habari (access to information).
• Public participation is crucial for achieving value for money from infrastructure investments, with Malawi scoring a concerning 3.72 percent, highlighting the need for ushirikishwaji wa raia (citizen participation) in decision-making processes.

The Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI) 2025 has shed light on the deep structural gaps between policy intent and project-level practice in Malawi’s infrastructure sector. The index assesses transparency and accountability across the full lifecycle of public infrastructure projects, covering planning, procurement, and implementation. While the country has a strong legal and institutional framework, enforcement and mainstreaming transparency across institutions remain major challenges. The Construction Industry Regulatory Authority chief executive officer, Gerald Khonje, emphasized that the index exposes implementation gaps rather than a policy vacuum, highlighting the need for sensitisation and capacity building alongside enforcement.

The report’s findings are worrisome, with citizens largely excluded from decision-making during the planning, procurement, and implementation of infrastructure projects. Governance expert Mavuto Bamusi linked Malawi’s poor ranking to persistent governance weaknesses in the construction sector, including allegations of corruption and weak oversight. The situation is described as infrastructure poverty, where strong policies exist on paper, but infrastructure outcomes remain poor across transport, water, health, education, and agriculture sectors. To address these challenges, mwambo wa uthenga (transparency) and kutumia mawild resources (effective use of resources) are essential for achieving value for money from infrastructure investments.

The ITI 2025 report highlights the need for improved digital capacity and institutional ability to publish information in accessible formats. The index records particularly low scores for project-level disclosure and digital capacity, pointing to fragmented data systems, weak reporting standards, and limited institutional ability to publish information in accessible formats. Kujenga uwezo (capacity building) and kuimarisha uthenga (strengthening transparency) are crucial for improving the construction sector’s performance.

In order to improve transparency and accountability in the infrastructure sector, regulators must prioritize sensitisation and capacity building alongside enforcement. Additionally, public participation should be institutionalized and embedded in routine operations, rather than treated as one-off compliance exercises. By addressing these challenges, Malawi can improve the value for money from infrastructure investments, ultimately driving economic growth and development. Ushirikishwaji wa raia (citizen participation) and uthenga (transparency) are key to achieving these goals, and business owners and entrepreneurs should take note of these opportunities to contribute to Malawi’s economic development.

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