Agricultural finance

Commercial banks' loans to agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting rose from K59.5 billion at the end of 2014 to K210.8 billion in 2023 and K374.5 billion at the end of 2025, about US$214 million¹²³. Agriculture's share of bank loans was between 17.8% and 23.6% in 2012–2017, fell to 14.5% in 2022 and was 15.2% in 2025 (own calculation for 2017 and 2022)⁴⁵¹². The Financial Stability Report gives 16.5% of industry credit for June 2026⁶. On the Monthly Economic Review basis, which relates sector credit to total private sector credit, agriculture's share was 24.2% in July 2025, 23.1% in February 2026 and 18.8% in July 2026⁷.

In dollar terms the stock fell from US$167 million in 2021 to US$124 million at the end of 2023, after the adjustment of the kwacha, and rose to US$214 million at the end of 2025³⁸. Private sector credit as a whole was 7.9% of GDP in 2024 on World Bank data⁹.

The banking sector's non-performing loan ratio fell from 15.7% in December 2017 to 6.1% a year later, rose to 9.4% in December 2024 and fell to 3.6% in June 2026, below the prudential benchmark of 5%^3031326. The Reserve Bank does not publish a non-performing loan ratio for agricultural loans. Agriculture held 10.2% of non-performing loans in December 2018, and in June 2026 four other sectors accounted for 90.5% of them³¹⁶.

The Reserve Bank raised its policy rate from 12.0% to 14.0% in April 2022, 18.0% in October 2022, 22.0% in April 2023, 24.0% in July 2023 and 26.0% on 1 February 2024^4546474849. It cut the rate to 24.0% on 5 March 2026 and held it on 6 August 2026, while raising the liquidity reserve requirement on local-currency deposits to 12.0% in April 2026⁵⁰⁵¹²⁶. The reference rate was 25.3% at the end of 2025 and 20.4% in June 2026, and the average maximum lending rate of banks 32.4%²⁷.

The official exchange rate has been held close to 1,750 kwacha per dollar since March 2024, when the Reserve Bank's posted selling rate moved from 1,700 to 1,751. The Reserve Bank stated in August 2024 that there had been no devaluation since November 2023²⁸⁵². The Reserve Bank's series of selected market rates, which the IMF republishes as the official rate, gives 1,749.93 at the end of 2024, 1,749.00 at the end of 2025 and 1,747.56 at the end of August 2026⁸. The IMF noted in July 2025 that holding the rate had largely erased the benefits of the November 2023 devaluation⁵³. A directive on the repatriation of export proceeds took effect on 1 August 2025⁵⁴.

The state empowerment fund operated as the National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) from September 2020 and returned to the name Malawi Enterprise Development Fund in February 2026⁷⁴. Its gross loan portfolio was MWK 61.2 billion in September 2024, and its collection rate rose from 58% in 2022/23 to 79% in September 2024⁷⁵⁷⁶. It reported a loss of MWK 13.6 billion in 2021/22 and a profit of MWK 814 million in 2023/24, fiscal years ending in March⁷⁶. The share of its lending that goes to agriculture is not published.

The World Bank's FInES project, which closed in March 2026, ran a partial credit guarantee for small businesses, and the M-THRiVE project approved in May 2026 (US$56 million) will move it to a portfolio guarantee with 50% risk sharing for exporters, later managed by MAIIC⁷⁷⁷⁸⁷⁹. The government holds sovereign drought insurance with African Risk Capacity, which paid US$14.2 million in 2022, US$11.2 million with the AfDB in August 2024 and US$3.38 million in July 2025⁸⁰⁸¹⁸². General insurers wrote agricultural insurance premiums of K960.0 million in 2024 and K1,225.6 million in 2025, after none in 2021–2023². No verified source on smallholder weather index insurance was found. The Insurance Act (No. 6 of 2025) came into operation on 1 May 2025⁸³².

Account ownership rose from 16.5% of adults in 2011 to 50.4% in 2024 on Global Findex data, as mobile money accounts reached 47.4% of adults while financial institution accounts fell to 12.4%¹⁰. 6.7% of adults borrowed from a formal institution in 2024¹⁰. Registered mobile money wallets numbered 19.9 million at the end of 2025, of which 11.7 million were active over 90 days⁸⁸. The National Strategy for Financial Inclusion III targets access for 95% of adults by 2028⁸⁹.

Two credit reference bureaus were licensed at the end of 2025, and in 2025 the Registrar ran a campaign with IFC on credit reporting and lending against movable assets². The Personal Property Security Act and its registry are referred to in official surveys, but the Act's details and registration statistics could not be verified⁹⁰. The sector comprised 8 banks, 3 development finance institutions and 218 microfinance institutions and cooperatives at the end of 2025².