LocationsAT THE BORDER, AT THE MARKET, IN THE MARGINS: MALAWI ACTS TO UNLOCK THE POWER OF ITS WOMEN TRADERS
June 11, 2026
Stakeholders from government, the private sector, financial institutions, and development partners gathered in Lilongwe to validate the ECoWYERT Country Scan findings and chart the path toward implementation.
At the break of dawn, a woman in Karonga loads her goods and heads for the Malawi-Tanzania border. In Mchinji, another entrepreneur crosses into Zambia with her produce, underpaid, under-protected and undervalued. In Blantyre, a young woman with a business idea larger than her borders struggles to access the capital needed to bring it to life.
These are not isolated stories. They reflect the daily reality of millions of Malawian women for whom trade is not just an economic activity. It is a means of survival.
On 10 June 2026, UNDP Malawi convened government ministries, financial institutions, private sector representatives and development partners in Lilongwe for the ECoWYERT Malawi Country Scan Validation and Project Appraisal Workshop, a significant step toward changing that reality.
What is ECoWYERT?
The Enhancing Capacities of Women and Youth-Led Enterprises for Regional Trade (ECoWYERT) Project is a five-year, multi-country regional initiative designed to facilitate participation of women and youth-led enterprises in regional trade under the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). In partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the project will be co-implemented by UNDP, the International Trade Centre (ITC), the COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB), the Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) and the Trade and Development Fund (TDF) across six countries: Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe from 2025 to 2030.
Charity Musonzo, Director of Trade at the Ministry of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism, highlights Malawi's commitment to translating its AfCFTA obligations into tangible economic opportunities for women and youth on the ground.
The programme works through three mutually reinforcing pillars: building the capacity of women and youth-led enterprises, expanding access to inclusive finance, and strengthening the trade ecosystem, so that the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) becomes a tangible economic opportunity for those who need it most.
Grounding the Programme in Malawi's Reality
The workshop validated the findings of the Malawi Country Scan, a comprehensive assessment of the trade ecosystem, financing gaps, and barriers facing women and youth-led enterprises across Malawi's key trade corridors.
With a minimum of 70% of programme participants targeted to be young rural women, and with women already making up over 80% of Malawi's registered cross-border traders, the stakes could not be higher.
"For millions of Malawians, especially women and youth, trade is not an abstract concept. It is survival. It is the small business that feeds a family, educates a child, and keeps a household afloat. ECoWYERT is designed to fill the gaps that have gone unaddressed for too long," said Charity Musonzo, Director of Trade at the Ministry of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism.
In her remarks, the Director of Youth, Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture Judith Msusa highlighted that, "The promise of AfCFTA can only be realized if young people are deliberately empowered to participate in regional trade. Young entrepreneurs across Malawi possess innovative ideas, energy, and ambition. What they need now are the knowledge, skills, financing, networks, and a supportive policy environment to compete and succeed. ECoWYERT is exactly where that contribution begins,"
Judith Msusa, Director of Youth at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, underscores the urgent need to deliberately empower young entrepreneurs to participate and compete in regional trade.
A Programme Built for Malawi
UNDP Malawi Deputy Resident Representative, Dr. Chika Charles Aniekwe, underscored both the urgency and the opportunity, noting that ECoWYERT is not an externally imposed initiative. It is directly aligned with Malawi's own development blueprint, MW2063 vision, and builds on the country's recently signed Simplified Trade Regime agreements with Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
"The AfCFTA, the regional integration agenda, the digital trade payments ecosystem, this opportunity will not wait. Today, we have the chance to say: Malawi is ready. Let us take it together," he said.
Dr. Chika Charles Aniekwe, UNDP Malawi Deputy Resident Representative, sets the tone at the opening of the ECoWYERT Validation Workshop, calling on Malawi to seize the moment for its women and youth traders.
What Comes Next
With the Country Scan validated and the Local Project Appraisal Committee (LPAC) endorsement secured, ECoWYERT moves closer to full implementation in Malawi. The validated findings will directly shape how the programme targets beneficiaries, deploys financing, and sequences its interventions across Malawi's most active trade corridors.
For the young woman at the border, the entrepreneur in the market, and the aspiring businesswoman with an idea bigger than her current circumstances, the work of turning ambition into opportunity is now firmly underway.
ECoWYERT is funded by the Mastercard Foundation and implemented by UNDP in partnership with ITC, COMFWB, TDF, and BTCA across six African countries.