The Malawi Leader said this when he officially opened Malawi Investment Forum at BICC in Lilongwe on Monday 11, 2018. He said Malawi is the African paradox of a rich country with poor people.

“When you come to Malawi, you see what you choose to see. For us, Malawi is a land of great opportunities and possibilities. Malawi is a land of untapped investment potential. Malawi is a small but great country.

Where many see poverty, we see potential riches. Where others see challenges, we see opportunities. Our story is the story of Africa. Africa is a great continent of immeasurable riches and treasures. We are the richest continent yet with the poorest people,” said President Mutharika.

Professor Mutharika added that Malawi is spearheading the investment drive within the Pan-African spirit of promoting private sector development and trade integration. He said Malawi has taken necessary steps to encourage private sector investment growth.

"Our goal is to have a smaller government and a bigger private sector. We have undertaken aggressive reforms and ensured that we have a legal environment that protects investments. We have instituted systems that provide security to our investors and your investments. We have sufficient raw materials and hardworking citizens. And above all, we have ensured that Malawi enjoys political peace and stability,” he added.

The Malawi Leader however said the key challenge has been energy deficit. On this, he said for the last fifty years, Malawi did not invest sufficiently in energy expansion. The President said his administration has lined up projects that will double the current power supply of 360MW to 720MW by 2020.