Standard Bank Group’s We Believe in Here content series continues, highlighting the solutions that power Africa’s environmental sustainability.
In Episode 9, we look behind the scenes at the Malawi Roads Fund project, an ambitious rehabilitation project to upgrade Lilongwe’s Kenyatta Drive and Mzimba Street from a two-lane road into the country’s first-ever six-lane highway.
This project is vital to Malawi’s development, as it will lead to the decongesting of traffic and accelerate movement of people and goods in Malawi’s administrative capital. At MWK34.5 billion (about ZAR500 million), it’s the largest local currency [investment] ever undertaken by the private sector with the Malawian government.
‘The government of Malawi, acting through its Roads Fund Administration, approached us in 2021 requesting funding,’ says Marilyn Maki, Head: Energy & Infrastructure, Trade & Corporate Financing Solutions at Standard Bank. ‘We had to evolve our thinking throughout that transaction, and through a partnership with our client, we began to understand their needs.’
‘The Bank is impacting Africa, impacting Africa’s people, but most importantly, living its own purpose and driving Africa’s growth,’ adds Jonas Malebye, Head: BCB Business Solutioning at Standard Bank.
Watch the video to find out how Standard Bank Group drove the project as lead financier and joint arranger, and how it’s changing – and saving – the lives of millions of people across Malawi.
