Chakwera popularity goes beyond Malawi borders

By Linda Kwanjana

Malawi President is trending in one of Nigeria’s major newspaper This Today. This is not an ordinary paper but has huge following and large circulation.

In the articles which is trending in Nigeria, Chakwera is seen discussing with Airtel Africa Group CEO and Managing Director Dr. Olusegun Ogunsanya.

President Chakwera met Dr Ogunsanya at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe few days ago.

During the meeting Dr Ogunsanya pledged on behalf of his company to boost investments in Malawi in line with digitalization agenda.

Dr. Ogunsanya pledged the firm’s full support to Malawi in achieving the benchmark of not less than 20% internet access by 2030 as per the Malawi 2063 Implementation Plan 1 (MIP1).

This is what President Chakwera said verbatim: “In the quest to become a self-reliant and industrialized middle income economy, Malawi will count on digital technologies that create new value of its economic system thereby facilitating the creation of sustainable wealth and jobs.”

Chakwera said they have agreed to continue growing business: “We have agreed to continue growing our government-to-business partnership so that we create meaningful socioeconomic value for all Malawians via pro-growth modern digital services.”

Airtel Africa Group is a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries in Africa, primarily in East Africa and Central and West Africa.

Airtel Africa’s vision is to enrich the lives of Africans, addressing inequality and creating personal and economic opportunity through digital and financial inclusion.

Before joining Airtel in 2013, Dr. Ogunsanya held leadership roles at Coca-Cola in Ghana, the US, Nigeria and Kenya (as CEO).

He has also been the managing director of Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd (Coca-Cola Hellenic-owned) and Group head of retail banking operations at Ecobank Transnational Inc, covering 28 countries in Africa.

Dr. Ogunsanya is a chartered accountant and an engineer. In September 2021, he was awarded African Business Leader of the Year.