Malawi’s Digital Economy Strategy to expand affordable internet by 65%

Malawi revealed a five-year Digital Economy Strategy to improve connectivity by 2026. The strategy, which was designed by Malawi’s National Planning Commission (NPC) with support from local outlet ITWeb, intends to promote internet access from 14% to 80%. It further aims at providing affordable internet by cutting out taxes including the 10% excise duty on purchasing data and SMS tariffs and the 3.5% revenue tax for telecom providers imposed by the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA). The Malawi government further expressed its commitment to establish a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to set up a backbone network between Malawi’s capital Lilongwe and the city of Nacaroa in Mozambique.