Between 2017 and 2024, the Malawi Digital Foundations Project made strategic public investments to improve access to high-speed, affordable internet which brought benefits for over 8.5 million citizens, especially young people, as well as government, businesses, and higher education institutions. Of the 8.5 million people who benefited, around half were new internet users and the remainder were existing internet users who benefited from high speeds and lower prices. The project developed foundational digital infrastructure, including a new national datacenter, a data exchange platform (Bomalathu), and improved technical capacity to support digital public service delivery and to enhance the efficiency of the government’s operations.
Key achievements between 2017 and 2024:
- During the course of the Digital Malawi Foundations Project, nearly seven million Malawians joined the digital economy for the first time as internet users, while an additional three million existing users experienced faster internet speeds and lower prices—creating new job opportunities and reducing transaction costs.
- Over 19,000 youth (of which 10,000 were female) were trained in digital skills, basic ICT literacy, and entrepreneurship through 10 newly established Tech Hubs, supporting their access to income opportunities.
- Over 83,000 students from 81 higher learning institutions in Malawi gained access to cheaper and reliable internet connectivity though the Malawi Research and Education Network (MAREN).
- The wholesale price on internet access was cut from around $460 per megabits per second (Mbit/s) per month at the start of the project to below $10 by the end of the project.
- Over 100 Free Public Wi-Fi spots available in public locations including post offices, hospitals, schools, libraries, marketplaces, and airports, providing access to free internet for people in these locations.
- Over 600 government sites (including offices, post offices, hospitals, etc.) have internet connectivity, pre-paid for 10 years, which is critical for improved efficiency of government and service delivery.
- Data Protection Bill was passed by Parliament in December 2023, and the Data Protection Authority is being established at the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA).
- The National Data Center was constructed to serve the data hosting needs of the entire government.
83,000
Over 83,000 students from 81 higher learning institutions in Malawi gained access to cheaper and reliable internet connectivity.
“The coming of the campus-wide Wi-Fi, (provided free of charge by MAREN), solved issues of difficult internet access and affordability. For me, and I know for other needy students in similar circumstances like mine, it was a huge relief because the expenditure on mobile data was drastically reduced and I know it eased the constant burden on my mother to send me money for data. I will be graduating very soon and I know that the free Wi-Fi has contributed a lot to this achievement. It is now impossible for me to imagine going through university education without free Wi-Fi. With technology, every field is changing every day. Internet connectivity not only gives students a chance to find study material but also gives them a chance to get a glimpse of unfolding trends in the industry. I hope the program will continue to improve the speed of the internet but to also reach other institutions of higher learning to help students easily cope with studies.”
Wezzie Matalala, Student, University of Malawi
Challenge
Malawi has struggled to capitalize on the promise of digital economy due to high cost and low quality of information and communications technology (ICT) services. In 2016, when the Malawi Digital Foundations Project was conceived, the price of international bandwidth was over $460 per megabits per second (Mbit/s). The high price resulted in low mobile and internet penetration, and slow speeds, limiting productivity and access to information and services. Weak technical, institutional, and financial capacity within the government had led to poor use of digital technologies to improve government efficiency, transparency and service delivery. Key policy bottlenecks— such as high levels of sector taxation, limited regulatory authority, and lack of political will to address competition issues—further limited investment and growth of the ICT sector.
Approach
The Malawi Digital Foundations Project has helped Malawi to begin leveraging digital technologies and undertake significant policy, regulatory, and fiscal reforms in order to realize digital dividends. Through the project, strategic public investments were made to improve access to high speed, affordable internet for government, citizens, businesses and higher education institutions. The project developed a foundational digital infrastructure, including a new national datacenter, a data exchange platform (Bomalathu), and improved technical capacity to support digital public service delivery and to enhance the efficiency of the government’s internal operations.
Results
The Digital Malawi Program Phase I: Malawi Digital Foundations Project, aimed to increase access to affordable, high-quality internet services for government, businesses and citizens. Between 2018 and 2024, the project contributed to lowering internet prices and expanding service. The wholesale price on internet access was cut from around $460 per Mbit/s per month at the start of the project to below $10 by the end. This was achieved primarily through bulk pre-purchase contracts for government and Higher Education Institutions, as well as support to the Malawi Communications Regulatory Agency (MACRA).
During the course of the Digital Malawi Foundations Project, nearly seven million Malawians joined the digital economy for the first time as internet users, while an additional three million existing users experienced faster internet speeds and lower prices—creating new job opportunities and reducing transaction costs. Over 19,000 youth, of whom 10,000 were female, were provided training in digital skills, basic ICT literacy and entrepreneurship, through the 10 Tech Hubs established across the country to support improved access to income opportunities. Over 83,000 students (around 40 percent female) from 81 higher learning institutions in Malawi gained access to cheaper, reliable internet connectivity though the Malawi Research and Education Network, (MAREN).
Over 100 Free Public Wi-Fi spots are now available in public locations (post offices, hospitals, schools, libraries, marketplaces and airports) providing access to free internet. This was introduced during the times of the COVID-19 pandemic to address the need for people to stay connected. This also came in handy during the COVID-pandemic and after cyclones hit Malawi in 2023, as students could continue their studies from home, or from their dormitories, when universities and technical and vocational schools were closed. Moreover, some 640 government sites (including offices, post offices, hospitals) have been provided with internet which is critical for improved efficiency of government and service delivery (the original target was 400).
Support to the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), has allowed it to increase the level of competition in the market, including by licensing a new mobile operator, and allowing the provision of low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite services. Other technical assistance provided to MACRA included a review of the tax system applied to digital services, and preparation for MACRA to host the new Data Protection Authority. New assets for the government of Malawi include a new data center in Lilongwe, and a data exchange platform, which are key for streamlining e-services, and Phase 1 of an eProcurement system. Policy support has also resulted in the adoption of a new Data Protection Act and the establishment of a new Data Protection Act. This will increase the level of trust in the digital economy and support further foreign direct investment.
One World Bank in Action
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is a major investor in Airtel, one of the two main mobile network operators in Malawi. The World Bank and IFC teams worked together to tackle common challenges, such as high levels of sector taxes and shortage of foreign exchange.
World Bank Group Contribution
The Digital Malawi Program Phase 1: Malawi Digital Foundations Project, was funded through the International Development Association in the amount of $72.4 million. The project received technical assistance support through the Identification for Development Initiative trust fund, in the estimated amount of $300,000, focused on the ID diagnostic, best practices exposure and digital mapping of ID offices, as well as technical assistance through G2Px initiative since 2022, focused on finding ways to streamline social protection payments digitally.
Partnerships
The World Bank collaborated with UNDP on improving the digital ID ecosystem, including conducting diagnostic studies. This collaboration will be taken further in Phase 2, where both organizations are working to support the enrolment of Digital ID, with a target of enrolling an additional two million people, half of whom are expected to be female.
Looking Ahead
The Digital Malawi Acceleration Project, launched in November 2024, is a follow-up operation designed to scale up the successes of the Malawi Digital Foundations Project. This includes ensuring that the new data center serves the needs of the entire government and safely migrates the data, offering more digital services, and connecting an additional 500 government offices. The new project was designed to scale up activities that worked well under the Digital Malawi Foundations Project (including internet for the higher education sector, support to tech hubs, and support to the data protection authority), and also includes a few new areas of interventions, such as connecting 2,000 schools, providing support for digital ID, and an affordable devices program, which aims to support the purchase of mobile phones and laptops by low-income users..