Standard Bank Malawi commits to financing mining sector amid push for local capital mobilisation
Standard Bank Malawi has signalled its intent to deepen its role in the country’s mining sector, offering advisory services, financing arrangements and project funding as the industry enters what officials describe as a new phase of mineral development.
The commitment emerged from a meeting between Standard Bank Malawi chief executive Phillip Madinga and Minister of Mining Thoko Tembo, at which Madinga positioned the bank as a partner, adviser, financier and thought leader for the sector’s expansion.
Madinga said the bank was particularly focused on supporting artisanal and small-scale miners, including strengthening the gold value chain and establishing formal mechanisms for purchasing gold directly from small-scale operators.
He proposed a phased roadmap that could include a partnership with the Malawi Mining Investment and Company on an artisanal gold-purchasing programme, aimed at formalising the sector and drawing more small-scale miners into the formal economy.
Tembo welcomed the commitment, framing it within a broader push to secure financing for Malawi’s mineral development ambitions.
“At the moment, the mining sector is in what we call a new phase of mineral development in Malawi, and in order for that to happen, we need financing,” he said.
The minister noted that despite the country’s mineral endowment, Malawi has historically relied heavily on external markets to finance resource development.
He called for greater efforts to mobilise financing domestically, while continuing to draw on technical expertise from countries including China, Australia and Germany.
Director of Mines Bunnert Msika welcomed the proposed support for small-scale miners, describing access to financing and infrastructure as essential to unlocking the sector’s potential.
He clarified that restrictions on exporting unprocessed minerals were intended to promote domestic value addition rather than constrain the industry, and said Malawi needed mineral processing facilities across its Northern, Central and Southern regions — investments in which financial partners such as Standard Bank could play a central role.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Mining, Dr Rodwell Mzonde, said formalising the proposed partnership through a memorandum of understanding would provide a concrete framework for collaboration, adding that the ministry’s priority was to move beyond discussion and develop bankable projects capable of attracting financing and driving growth in the sector.
