INVESTMENT PROMOTION IN
MALAWI: FROM ZERO TO WORLD GOOD
PRACTICE
BY
Suzana Tangu MjuweniInvestment Promotion Manager
Malawi Investment Promotion Agency
26th October 2010
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Presentation Outline
MIPA’s Background and Objectives Website as an Investment Promotion Tool Website Management Long-Term Plans Conclusion
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MIPA: Background and Objectives
MIPA established in 1991 Mandate : to promote, attract, encourage, facilitate and
support investment in Malawi Responsibilities:
Developing favorable investment image of Malawi;Policy advice to Government.
5 sectors of focus: manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, mining, & infrastructure development
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MIPA: Background and Objectives Strategy for Investment Attraction:
The 5 sectors are in line with government’s development agenda and thus have government support through public investments and incentives
MIPA’s investment promotion strategy: increasing visibility and awareness of Malawi as a country
Promotional Strategy versus MIPA’s Website:Content: relevant and timely information; presents
positive image about Malawi, focuses on the 5 priority sectors
Allocation of funds: • to collect information on the 5 priority sectors• to create and increase awareness of the website globally
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Old versus New Website
Before 2007 MIPA concentrated on other modes of investment promotion without much emphasis on the website as a promotional tool.The old website was very basic, unattractive and non-interactive such that it provided poor information to its users.
Current MIPA Website Old MIPA Website
•User friendly•Dynamic•Interactive•Well organised information•Managed by IT section
•Not attractive•Not structured•Not interactive•Difficult to maintain•Took time to load•Contained inconsistent information
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Website: Achievements to-date
One of the top 7 COMESA websites according to the Global Investment Promotion Benchmarking (GIPB) –Eyes on COMESA
Winner of the Africa Investor Award for 2008 - Best IPA Category (praised for accurate and updated information on the website)
Website received a total of 150 enquiries through the website link from 2007 to date broken down as follows: 41 in 2007, 53 in 2008, 56 in 2009, 63 for 2010 to (October 2010)
These inquiries have been attended to and some have materialised into potential projects e.g. electricity generation project, Fruit and Vegetable Agro processing plant
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Secret Behind MIPA’s Website Development Wide consultation prior to the website development
phase with various departments within MIPA and stakeholders, including investors
Studied websites of Best Practice IPAs globally Adhered to the ‘Simplicity Principle’ Adhered to the ‘Consistency in Presentation of
Information’ Principle Developed with current technology that make websites
easily accessible Investment in ICT: Computers, Servers, LAN, training
of web managers
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Focus on Website: Importance of Management Support
The role of MIPA Management in developing and maintaining the website is emphasized and encouraged through: Coordination by Managers from respective
departments in providing website information Quality Assurance - information is verified before
being posted on the website by the Corporate Affairs Manager
Capacity Building - with the ever-evolving ICT industry, IT website managers go for training courses in data and website management regularly
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Website: Management, Content and Value-Added
Website Management: by a dedicated 2-man team in IT section in collaboration with:Planning and Research DepartmentBusiness Information DepartmentCorporate affairs DepartmentsOther departments on an as needs basis
Content: positive country information, brief, informative, variety in packaging e.g. profiles, news, feedback link, sectoral information, etc.
Benefits of providing timely information: prospective investors make informed decisions correspondence costs with investors reduced
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Putting Positive and Relevant informationabout your country on the website is essential tomake a business case for your country
One of the first pages that welcomes an investor On our website under the ‘Investing in Malawi’tab is a 4 line brief with 8 bullets emphasizing that Malawi welcomes Private Investors and 8 reasons to invest in Malawi.
Brief and to the Point!!!
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Website as a Powerful Marketing Tool
Marketing of the Website Website advertisement - funds are allocated to
promoting the website Ease of access-through continuous monitoring of the
availability of the website
Marketing of the website has translated into effective and efficient outreach
Effective and efficient outreach – why does it pay off? Investor inquiries are addressed expeditiously It is reachable everywhere in the world Reduced promotional & physical outreach costs Reduced production cost of promotional tools
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One key activity of MIPA’s IP Department is to Broker Local Private Investment Projects for Partnership with Foreign Investors.
Our website has a collection of such local projects aiming at:•Providing local project specifications in detail•Promoting domestic private sector projects•Encouraging foreign participation in Local Projects through JVCs, Loans, and grants
This ultimately allows Malawi’s private sector to learn from foreign firms through knowledge transfer and Exposure.
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Why is Online Inquiry Facilitation Important?
Online investor inquiry facilitation and feedback mechanism through the website
Improves efficiency: reminders are made every five minutes until an inquiry has been attended to
Improves investors confidence: inquiries go straight to investment promotion Department’s mail account where they are answered within the shortest time possible
Cost effectiveness: reduces number of physical investment promotion visits abroad and promotional materials
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Benefits of Effective Website Management System
1. Offers competitive advantage: # of investment license applications has increased due to improved communication and accessibility to up-to-date business information
2. Reduced operational costs: phone communication replaced by built-in email system through link on website
3. Improved efficiency: with the introduction of online inquiry/feedback mechanism time taken to get back to the prospective investor enquiries is reduced
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4. Reliability: business information is regularly updated, hence accurate
5. Reduced cost-of-doing business: communication cost on the part of an investor is reduced through the usage of online inquiry form
6. Improved Outreach: MIPA receives enquiries from countries that had never enquired before and from those without diplomatic ties with Malawi unlike in the past where enquiries were limited to a few countries
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1. Develop an IT Strategic Plan to address: Database based dynamic site Integrated I-Portal established for MIPA Online investment processing e.g. Investment
Certificate, Permits, and Land ICT capacity increased Integrated to the Management Information System
2. Information Collection and Coordination Should be regular Should be inclusive
MIPA’s Long-Term Plans
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3. Feedback and Inquiries Management Be monitored regularly Follow up Provide RELAY of information that has come
through us to relevant government institutions e.g. export promotion, Chamber of Commerce
4. Website Advertisement Through local and international media Branding
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Conclusion
Taking into consideration the issue of globalization and the coming in of E-commerce it is very important for IPA’s to invest in their ICT and link it properly with investment promotion
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