Lazarus Chakwera dates Dubai investors

President Lazarus Chakwera Wednesday engaged a consortium of Dubai-based investors who have shown interest to investing in Malawi.

The investors have expressed interest in injecting resources in areas such as health care, tourism, housing and infrastructure development, food processing, agriculture and aquaculture.

Speaking during the meeting, Chakwera told the investors that he had a vision of transforming Malawi into a self-sustaining nation.

Among other things, Chakwera said he wants a Malawi which has food ensures food security, a thriving healthcare system, improved and mechanised agriculture production, industry and infrastructure development, and youth and women empowerment projects which would create entrepreneurs.

“I don’t want a country where you have one or two people as the only trillionaires and the rest are languishing in poverty.

“I want a country where millions are billionaires. I welcome foreign direct investment, job creation and creation of entrepreneurs. That will help us achieve our goal,” Chakwera said.

Team leader of the consortium Prince Franklin Omene hailed Chakwera for creating a conducive environment for foreign direct investment.

“We, as potential investors, were very pleased to meet him and we are confident that, with his assurances, we are going to be assisted accordingly so that our desire to quickly invest in Malawi is not frustrated, but quickly materialised.

“Our consortium is ready for Malawi and we are pleased with the current leadership of the country and we look forward to engaging government officials to turn this into reality,” Omene said.

Exim Finance Dubai Chief Executive Officer Salah Al Nasser told Chakwera that they have 27 projects in countries across the world. He said, in Africa, they have projects in Kenya and Uganda, adding that their focus is in areas of health, wind and solar energy.

Radiant Star Group and Synergy Consulant LLC Managing Director Abid Janaid said his firm, which is into project development and finance has been involved in several projects in Dubai.

Janaid said the firm is also working on a project in Rwanda called Vision City.

AS Agri & Aqua expressed desire to invest in agriculture and assured Chakwera that their sustainable agro-based ecosystem investment would provide not less than 500,000 direct and indirect jobs.

AS Agri & Aqua Director for Global Markets Shailesh Bondre said they have ready markets for whatever they would produce in Malawi.

On his part, WTIA/ Omene Holdings Managing Director, Roman Brittos expressed interest in digitalising Malawi’s underground resources and setting up a block chain eco-system which could connect Malawi to the rest of the world.

SOURCE: THE TIMES GROUP