At Goodwell, we’ve built our reputation on being pioneers, unafraid to go where impact is needed most. From microfinancing in India to e-waste recycling in Nigeria, our desire to keep exploring new frontiers remains as strong as it was 21 years ago. When we launched our partnership with IYBA WE4A last year, it was the ideal impetus to look for investment opportunities in Malawi and get to know some entrepreneurs working there.
In October 2025, three members of Goodwell’s investment team undertook a five-day origination and market feasibility trip to Malawi. They aimed to assess the investment landscape, engage and foster local networks, and better understand the country’s economic outlook.
Hlawutelo Khosa, Goodwell Investment Manager shared that “we didn’t know of anybody within our ecosystem that had actively invested in Malawi, or of any businesses that were gaining noticeable traction in Malawi. Our perception [of the country] was quite unknown, and that’s why – as a team – we’re quite excited.”
Malawi’s investment environment
Malawi is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, bordered by Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique, and is home to an estimated 21.1 million people. While it is a politically stable democracy that has undergone significant economic and structural reforms, it remains one of the poorest countries in the world.
In 2021, the government launched Vision Malawi 2023, a long-term strategy intended to accelerate the country towards a self-reliant, industrialised, upper-middle-income economy. The country’s ambitions are evident, but a cycle of economic volatility remains its main obstacle.
Economy
Malawi’s economy has faced persistent macroeconomic instability over the past decade, driven by unsustainable fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policies. The result has been high inflation, widening trade deficits, scarcity of foreign currency, and declining living standards. The economy is highly dependent on agriculture, which employs about 80% of the population. This increases Malawi’s vulnerability to climate and external shocks – but also provides ample space to make significant social and environmental impact for those who need it most.
This translates to tangible impact on the ground; “When I was talking to the locals [during our 2025 visit], the biggest complaint that they had was the sugar price had gone up fivefold from the last presidency,” said Hlawutelo. “Sugar is a pretty big deal in Malawi. I realized it’s how the locals gauge the economic standing of the country at any given point in time: if the sugar is expensive, something is horribly wrong. But if the sugar is affordable, we are okay.”
Geographic location
Malawi’s geographic positioning as a landlocked country does pose specific challenges to businesses. The small- and medium enterprises Goodwell engaged during our trip – particularly in agribusiness, construction, and design – cited import costs, foreign exchange access, and delivery timelines as challenges to address.
At the same time, however, Malawi’s location offers important regional opportunities, and the majestic Lake Malawi has the potential to become a massively enabling national resource. As a member of SADC and COMESA, Malawi benefits from preferential trade arrangements that enable access to neighbouring markets. A cross-border, regional mindset will clearly be a strong asset in this setting.
Investment ecosystem
Malawi’s investment ecosystem is tightly controlled by the government and banks. There is very little private capital operating outside of these two groups. Banks act like traditional lenders, and maintainfull control over credit decisions, making it difficult for small entrepreneurs to access loans. This barrier particularly stands out to Goodwell, marking a clear (and addressable?) gap in funding for early-growth stage companies.
Other challenges are that for funding to move efficiently, a wide variety of parties need to be tightly aligned (which is often not the case), and that foreign direct investment is only available to larger companies. Any investment that succeeds in Malawi is therefore likely to be targeted, partnership-driven, and impact-oriented.
A land of opportunity?
It’s clear that Malawi’s operating system is a challenging one, especially for investors like Goodwell and IYBA WE4A. There is a highly uneven distribution of enterprises across growth stages in Malawi. From micro- and informal businesses at one end, to large corporations and estate-based agribusinesses at the other, our focus is on the small but important group of early-growth stage SMEs stuck in the middle, constrained in their ability to scale. They are, essentially, financially neglected: these early-growth businesses – typically operating in agriculture, agro-processing, construction-linked services, and light manufacturing – could be able to attract foreign investment, but face common barriers like high interest rates and collateral requirements.
From where Goodwell stands, it seems that at this moment in Malawi, impact investing might be the best route to attract investors. There are a number of “investable” sectors closely aligned with Goodwell’s investment mandates for our Growth Capital Fund and our partnership with IYBA WE4A. Opportunities to further our aim to make basic goods and services more accessible, affordable, and adequate in Malawi could include investing in agriculture and agro-processing, renewable energy and energy-efficient solutions, sustainable materials and practices (green transformation), and enabling financial services. It might seem risky, but we’ve built our reputation on being pioneering first-movers; once we establish a foothold, we can help attract other investors.
Our first steps in engaging Malawian entrepreneurs
In February of 2026, we kicked off the second IYBA WE4A technical assistance cohort with events in Malawi and Kenya. Participants held highly practical discussions and knowledge-sharing sessions that deepened our drive to create impact in Malawi. We recently announced our DroneLink as our first loan recipient in Malawi for IYBA WEA4, and are busily building a healthy pipeline of additional loan candidates – expect more announcements in the coming months!
For Goodwell, the most practical near-term route to deployment is patient, right-sized, and staged capital coupled with technical assistance, executed alongside credible local partners (like MAIIC, Standard Bank, and GIZ), while pressing ahead with immediate pipeline opportunities in agriculture, agro-processing, renewable energy, and construction-linked SMEs.
Long-term vision for Goodwell in Malawi
Goodwell’s experience working in Malawi so far shows that many of the investment fundamentals differ from our usual operating environments, and institutional support structures for entrepreneurs still have a long way to go. This is exactly why we think this is not a moment to “wait and see”; this is a moment to be a part of. Impact investors like Goodwell are well-placed to support Malawi’s entrepreneurs to become more “investable” and prepared for their next stage of growth. We can help lay the foundation for enduring, systemic change, supporting the growth of impactful businesses and related infrastructures, propelling the country towards a more inclusive society, where no one is left behind.
That desire is already deeply embedded in the hearts of the Malawian people; it just needs to right support to make it a reality. During our research trip, Hlawutelo was repeatedly struck by the country’s mindset: “You see it in the entrepreneurs that you interact and engage with. When you say resilience, you can actually see it in play because, yes, the country has many challenges, but every single day everybody is making it work. And you find that in making it work, they have a sense of community amongst them. So there is a spirit of sharing, whether it’s resources or even knowledge. I guess they understand the spirit of community, togetherness. We call it Ubuntu. Ubuntu is ‘I am because we are.’ And you see that spirit in the Malawian people.”
