The year is coming to an end and for most Malawians, business has been good.Malawi is slowly rising with new opportunities emerging in the Warm Heart of Africa. We have conducted several entrepreneurship trainings in Lilongwe and Blantyre giving us an opportunity to discuss business opportunities and below we list the top 10 opportunities to look forward in 2019.
- Agro-processing
- Real Estate
- Auto-parts
- Kilombero Regional Markets
- ICT
- Tourism
- Sourcing goods from China
- Alternative Energy
- Hat making
- Network Marketing opportunities
Agro-processing: Perhaps the biggest opportunity for Malawians. The country is expected to experience another great farming season but there are few people involved in processing raw agricultural products in order to produce processed oil, soap, cool drinks, fruit juices and icecream on a smaller scale. We encourage Malawian Nationals to visit Zim and assess our small scale agro-processing industry especially the machines available.
Real Estate: There is a real estate boom in Malawi. A lot of new suburbs are coming up with most of the opportunities grabbed by a few. We witnessed areas in Lilongwe which have developed in record speed. A lot of new commercial buildings coming up. Some peri-urban areas are being incorporated into urban areas.
Auto-parts: Have you witnessed the massive influx in Ex Japanese cars? Who is servicing these cars? Who is providing service kits? The number of cars is expected to continue to rise and creating opportunities for car service providers.
Kilombero Rice: There is a huge appetite for Malawi Rice across the region! Massive potential for innovative entrepreneurs who can push volumes beyond Malawi. Unbelievable interest in Zimbabwe and South Africa-sadly Malawians can only push less than 1% of the volumes required.
The ICT field is fast growing in the beautiful country creating opportunities for young entrepreneurs interested in selling ICT gadgets and services. The source of products is RSA and China.
Tourism has been on an upward trajectory over the past years. There is massive potential on tour packages, accomodation and other support services. Have you seen the number of new lodges being set up along Lake Malawi Shores? You need to carefully study the new developments along the lake and join too.
It looks promising in 2019 for Malawi and do not be left out of new opportunities. Our organisation has also been shaping the entrepreneurial landscape with a number of trainings on carpets and hat making. We return in 2019 with more trainings and researches.
A good number of entrepreneurs are visiting China in order to buy custom made goods and the book by Siku Nkhoma has helped many in the sourcing of goods online from China. The energy deficit is supposed to increase due to urbanisation and growth in the economy-so great opportunity for entrepreneurs interested in providing solar products and invertors.
So look around you, check trends, visit other countries, read entrepreneurship books and take advantage of opportunities in your country and beyond.
