Malawi aspires to become an inclusive, wealthy and self-reliant industrialised country, with the target to graduate to a lower middle-income country by 2030 and an upper middle-income country by the year 2063. Malawi 2063 rests on three key pillars, namely:

• Agricultural productivity and commercialisation,
• Industrialisation and
• Urbanisation,

supported by seven “enablers”, namely mind-set change, effective governance system, public sector performance, private sector dynamism, human capital development, economic infrastructure and environmental sustainability. The EU firmly supports this agenda for growth through various programmes, which are fully aligned to the national development strategy and key policy documents of Malawi.

Malawi and the EU signed in May 2015 the National Indicative Programme for the period up to 2020 with an overall allocation of EUR 560 million. With the launch of the new Multi annual Indicative Programme 2021-2027 the European Union has committed to provide Euro 352 Million for the next three years; while the financial allocation for 2025-2027 will be determined following a review in 2024.

For more information about programmes and projects funded by the European Union in Malawi, please visit  the Malawi Page on International Partnerships Website https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/countries/republic-malawi_en

The relevant section in our website https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/projects_en?f%5B0%5D=project_site%3AMalawi&s=107 

Key objectives under ongoing interventions of the European Union include:

1. Agriculture: The EU is committed to help transform agriculture from a sector largely based on low-value and subsistence production to a competitive, sustainable and private sector driven agricultural sector that brings economic growth, improved livelihoods, and food and nutrition security.

2. In the education sector the focus is on

• Improving the facilities and strengthening secondary schools and vocational and technical education bodies and training institutions;
• Improving the quality and relevance of secondary education and vocational training, including through the rehabilitation of school infrastructures and (iii) promoting equitable and gender-based access to secondary education and vocational training.

3. On governance, the EU continues to focus on supporting the Government's plans to improve financial and economic management, and contribute to strengthening democratic governance, accountability and access to justice.

4. Also in the sector of transport, the EU and Malawi have a long standing partnership that has resulted in significant  improvements in the road network and the transport sector in general. The EU continues to work on rural roads and other rural infrastructure. Infrastructure activities related to Malawi' regional integration are also supported by the EU through the regional programme for Southern Africa, including through blending of grants with EIB loans.

Under these key objectives, the main programmes currently being implemented include:

• Sustainable agriculture (KULIMA, EUR 100 million grant + EUR 20 million loan) and Nutrition (AFIKEPO, EUR86 million):  Kulima supports extension services through Farmer Field Schools, agricultural research, access to finance through blending with European Investment Bank and value chains.
• Nutrition programme (Afikepo, EUR 86 million) focusses on improving dietary intake of safe and nutritious food, to improve nutrition of women of child bearing age, adolescent girls, infants and young children. This includes the use of enhanced nutrition knowledge and awareness and hygiene practices increased. . The programme also includes provision of school meals in Early Childhood Development Centres and primary schools mainly through home grown school meals and slow food concept school gardens and orchards following a productive school environment.
• Skills for Jobs Programme (Zantchito – EUR 55 million). The action aims at satisfying the economy’s need for skilled professionals and providing decent jobs and self-employment opportunities for young technical and vocational education and training (TVET) graduates and entrepreneurs, in particular women. Expanding existing TVET institutions with additional infrastructure and equipment and continuing support to the Ministry of Labour, and at the same time support to the ecosystem of Business Incubators and to providers of Business Development Services (BDS).
• Skills and Technical Education Programme (STEP): EUR 32.6 million. Rehabilitation and equipment of workshops is ongoing. 28 beneficiary institutions are: 4 Technical Colleges, 10 Community Colleges, 3 trade testing centres, the Polytechnic and 10 Skills Development Centres. TEVETA and Ministry of Labour also receive support.
• Improving Secondary Education in Malawi (ISEM): EUR 36 million. Construction works for 17 out of 21 Community Day Secondary Schools were completed and handed over to government. In addition, the rehabilitation and equipment of workshops at 12 secondary schools has revived technical subjects in secondary schools.  The programme has also supported bursaries, decentralisation of secondary education and the roll-out of the new curriculum.
• Improving Secondary Education in Malawi (ISEM) II: EUR 55 million. ISEM II is the continuation of ISEM I with the  overall objective of providing young people with equal opportunity for accessing and completing good quality secondary education and developing skills needed by the labour market. ISEM II aims at addressing areas of equitable access, quality and relevance, and governance and management of secondary education.
• Rural Roads Improvement Programme (RRIMP): EUR 35 million. Rural roads have been rehabilitated in 12 districts of Malawi selected by the Government.
• Irrigation schemes: Malawi’s Green Belt Initiative (GBI) aims to expand the area under irrigation and make farming more resilient to climate change. The EU has funded six irrigation schemes including Bwanje Dam, Malawi’s largest irrigation dam. The project supplies water to the 800 ha Bwanje Valley Irrigation Scheme, allowing year-round cultivation.
• Governance, Chilungamo programme: EUR 52 million. Chilungamo continues and scales up EU support to i.a. the Ministry of Justice, the Judiciary, the Police, the prisons, CSOs, NICE and the Malawi Electoral Commission. Significant support is also provided to the National Registration and ID System (EUR 8 million).
• A programme to support Social Cash Transfers and Resilience (EUR55 million) has been designed together with the Ministry of Gender and the Department of Economic Planning and Development.

The EIB has worked with Malawi since 1977. Over the years it has supported high-impact projects across a wide range of sectors. Currently, the EIB is helping Malawian people in major cities get better access to clean water and to a more reliable and sustainable energy supply, safer air travel, more efficient agricultural production and warehousing.

Recently, the EIB signed its largest single facility in Malawi of EUR 95.5 million, blended with the largest-ever EU grant of EUR 44 million, to rebuild 300km of the M1 road. This crucial road not only links all of the country’s major cities, but is also part of a strategic corridor linking Malawi to its neighbouring countries and the port of Dar es Salaam. This transformational project aims to boost trade, reduce transportation costs and improve road safety.

Through local financial services providers, the EIB enhances access to finance for small businesses ensuring the availability of loans at favourable conditions. This comes in combination with grant funds to provide much needed technical assistance, as well as guarantees to finance high-impact projects and reduce public sector investment costs.