LocationsThe 2026 MUBAS Research and Innovation Dissemination Conference has brought together researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, policymakers and industry leaders to explore how knowledge can support Malawi’s industrialisation and development.
Malawi urged to turn research and innovation into enterprises, jobs and inclusive growth
September 17, 2026
Deputy Minister of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism, Honourable Edgar Tembo and UNDP Malawi Deputy Representative, Dr Chika Charles Aniekwe, visit an innovation pavilion.
Photo: MUBAS/2026
Malawi must strengthen the link between local knowledge and research to produce products that are locally relevant and can easily be transformed into entreprises that are applicable for its economy.
This message emerged at the opening of the 2026 Research and Innovation Dissemination Conference at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) in Blantyre.
The two-day conference, to be held from 17 to 18 September 2026, is being convened under the theme: Research and Innovation: A Nexus for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in an Entrepreneurial Malawi.
Deputy Minister of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism, Honourable Edgar Tembo, officially opened the conference. Dr Chika Charles Aniekwe, UNDP Malawi Deputy Resident Representative, delivered the keynote address, while MUBAS Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Ishmael Kosamu welcomed delegates to the university’s inaugural research and innovation dissemination conference.
The conference has brought together researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, industry representatives, development partners and students to share knowledge and explore partnerships that can help move research from universities and laboratories into communities and markets.
Opening the conference, Honourable Tembo said research must respond to Malawi’s development challenges and contribute directly to industrialisation, business growth and employment creation.
“The future of Malawi cannot afford to have brilliant research sitting on shelves while industries continue importing solutions that could potentially have been developed locally. We cannot afford to have talented young innovators with promising ideas but without pathways to commercialisation. We cannot afford to have universities producing innovations that never reach the marketplace,” he said.
He called for closer collaboration among universities, research institutions, businesses, investors and the Government to create pathways through which research findings can become products and prototypes can develop into viable enterprises.
“A research finding should have the potential to become a product. A prototype should have the opportunity to become a business. A student innovation should have a pathway towards commercialisation. And a local solution should have the potential to compete not only in Malawi but across the African continent and beyond,” he said.
Honourable Tembo also stressed that the benefits of innovation must reach all sections of society.
“Women, young people, persons with disabilities, rural communities and small businesses must all have opportunities to participate in the innovation economy. That is how we build an inclusive Malawi,” he said.
“Malawi cannot build an entrepreneurial economy merely by consuming knowledge produced elsewhere. It must increasingly become a producer, owner and exporter of knowledge, innovation and intellectual property. Indigenous knowledge must be part of that journey."Dr. Charles Chika Aniekwe, UNDP Malawi Deputy Resident Representative.
Part of the audience at the research and innovation conference opening ceremony.
Photo: MUBAS/2026
From knowledge consumers to knowledge producers
In his keynote address, Dr Aniekwe challenged Malawi to become a producer, owner and exporter of knowledge, innovation and intellectual property.
“Malawi cannot build an entrepreneurial economy merely by consuming knowledge produced elsewhere. It must increasingly become a producer, owner and exporter of knowledge, innovation and intellectual property. Indigenous knowledge must be part of that journey,” he said.
Dr Aniekwe noted that approximately 270,000 young Malawians enter the labour market every year, while only about 40,000 formal jobs are created. He said Malawi must therefore prepare more young people not only to look for employment, but also to identify problems, develop solutions and establish enterprises that create jobs.
“Malawi therefore cannot solve its employment challenge simply by preparing young people to look for jobs. We must prepare many more of them to create jobs,” he said.
He called for greater recognition of indigenous knowledge and closer collaboration between communities, universities, scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs. He said knowledge is generated not only in universities and laboratories, but also by farmers, artisans, traditional healers and communities whose understanding of their environment has developed over generations.
“This is where decolonisation of knowledge begins: with the intellectual humility to recognise knowledge even when it does not arrive wearing academic robes,” he said.
Dr Aniekwe proposed a stronger pathway linking knowledge to research, innovation, prototypes, intellectual property, enterprises, jobs, exports and prosperity. He said universities should increasingly measure the impact of research through the problems it solves, the products and businesses it generates, and the employment opportunities it creates.
He highlighted the role of the UNDP suported University Innovation Pod (UniPod), MUBAS Business Incubation Centre and other initiatives supporting student innovation and graduate start-ups. He challenged the university to measure the success of these facilities not only by the number of people using them, but also by the prototypes, patents, businesses, investments, locally manufactured products and jobs they generate.
“Malawi’s greatest natural resource is not only beneath its soil. It is sitting in its classrooms,” he said.
MUBAS Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Ishmael Kosamu (left) presents a memento to UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Dr Chika Charles Aniekwe (right) following his keynote address, as Deputy Minister of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism Honourable Edgar Tembo looks on.
Photo: MUBAS/2026
Universities as engines of development
Professor Kosamu said the conference reflected MUBAS’s commitment to becoming an inclusive, engaged, entrepreneurial, innovative and research-intensive university.
“We have gathered here not merely to present research papers, display innovations or indeed just exchange academic ideas. We have gathered here because we believe in the power of knowledge to generate solutions that transform society,” he said.
He said universities must go beyond producing graduates and become engines of development by connecting teaching and learning with research, innovation, entrepreneurship, industry engagement and community outreach.
MUBAS is taking practical steps to support Malawi’s development through initiatives including MUBAS Commercial Limited and its subsidiaries, as well as its Agricultural Mechanisation Unit. These initiatives aim to strengthen the connection between academia, innovation and industrialisation.
“The future that we desire will not simply happen or pour down like rain. We must create this future. We must innovate the future. We must generate this future, and we must build it,” Professor Kosamu said.
The conference provides a platform for researchers and innovators to present their work, learn from industry, identify potential partnerships and consider how locally generated ideas can respond to Malawi’s economic, environmental and social challenges.
As Malawi works towards becoming an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation under Malawi 2063, speakers stressed that research and innovation must increasingly lead to practical solutions, stronger industries, competitive enterprises and decent jobs.
Concluding his keynote address, Dr Aniekwe challenged young researchers, innovators and students to believe in the global potential of ideas developed in Malawi.
“Every great enterprise started somewhere. Why not here? Why not MUBAS? Why not Malawi? And why not you?” he said.
"We have gathered here because we believe in the power of knowledge to generate solutions that transform society."Professor Ishmael Kosamu, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) Deputy Vice Chancellor.
A panel discussion underway.
Photo: MUBAS/2026
Related
content
content
