1. Partnership For Economic Inclusion
  3. Malawi

Country Factsheet

Malawi

This factsheet provides an overview of economic inclusion programs in Malawi. Economic inclusion programs are a bundle of coordinated, multidimensional interventions that support individuals, households, and communities in raising their incomes and building their assets. The data used for this factsheet comes from the Partnership for Economic Inclusion’s Landscape Survey 2023.

Country Facts

Region
Sub-Saharan Africa
Population
19.89 million
Income Group
Low income
FCV country (WB FY24 list)
No
Poverty Headcount (share of population below the poverty line)
National Poverty Line
50.70%
Multidimensional Poverty Index
49.88%
$2.15/day (2017 PPP)
70.10%

Programs

Number of economic inclusion programs
12
Institutional delivery (lead agency)
12
  • Nongovernment-led
  • Government-led
Geographic area
10
2
  • Rural only
  • Urban/peri
  • Mix (urban & rural)

Participants

Number of participants
427,522
Number of people benefiting
1.88 million
Participants served by government-led programs (%)

Main Program Objectives

Wage employment
Self-employment
Income diversification
Productivity
Food security
Market access
Women's empowerment
Social inclusion
Social cohesion
Financial inclusion
Social services
Climate resilience
  • More than 2/3 of programs
  • Between 1/3 and less than 2/3 of programs
  • Fewer than 1/3 of programs

Participant Profile

Targeted Poverty Segments
Poor
Extreme poor
Ultra-poor
Those above the poverty line
Doesn't target by poverty level
Targeted Population Groups
Women
Children
Youth
Older people
Persons with disabilities
Displacement-affected
Climate-affected
Marginalized
Conflict-affected
  • More than 2/3 of programs
  • Between 1/3 and less than 2/3 of programs
  • Fewer than 1/3 of programs

CORE PROGRAM COMPONENTS

Transfer
Business capital
Wage employment facilitation
Skills training
Coaching
Financial services facilitation
Market links
Climate resilience support

ECONOMIC INCLUSION PROGRAMS SURVEYED

Program Name Year program began Lead Agencies Program Description No. of Current Participants % Female Participants Poverty Targeting Digital
Strengthening Capacity of Religious Women in Early Childhood Development (SCORE ECD) 2014 Association of Sisterhoods of Kenya, Zambian Association of Sisterhoods, Association of Women Religious in Malawi, and Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa The program supports women with children aged 0-3 by providing nurturing care and family strengthening services, and strengthening caregiver capacity, service delivery and partner organizational capacity. 9,879 76-99% of participants Targets poor broadly Yes
Graduation of Families from Dependence to Dignity 2019 World Relief The program aims to graduate rural households from the Government Social Cash Transfer Program to sustainable livelihoods through strategies including improved household decision making, household coaching, seed capital distribution, linkages to financial institutions, financial literacy, business management, and nutrition-sensitive agriculture. 2,500 26-50% of participants Targets XP/UP only Yes
Improving Self-reliance and Livelihoods for People of Concern and Host Communities 2019 Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD) The project aims to enhance self-reliance for both refugees and host communities, providing them with consumption support, skills training, financial access, start-up inputs, and coaching. 863 51-75% of participants Targets XP/UP only Yes
Integrated Support for Orphans, Vulnerable Children and Youth Project 2020 Catholic Relief Services (CRS) The program supports participants through consumption support, livelihoods support, inclusion in microfinance institutions and savings groups, and bundled positive messaging. 4,000 51-75% of participants Targets XP/UP only Yes
Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project 2020 Community Savings and Investment Promotion (COMSIP) Cooperative Union Limited The project aims to build the capacity of beneficiaries of social cash transfers and public works programs to sustainably improve their livelihoods, build resilience, and graduate out of poverty. 345,742 51-75% of participants Targets XP/UP only Yes
Raising Assets and Income for a Sustainable Environment (RAISE) Project 2021 Concern Worldwide The program aims to increase food and nutrition security for vulnerable households and enhance resilience to food shocks to chronic and acute food insecure populations in the districts of Chikwawa, Mwanza, Neno and Nsanje. 62,974 51-75% of participants Targets poor broadly Yes
Resilient Economic Development (RED) Gains Project 2019 Save the Children The project aims to improve child well-being by targeting households with out-of-school youth, children under five, and women of child-bearing age, aiming to ensure resilient livelihoods that enable year-round expenditure on children, improved food and nutrition security, and preparedness for shocks. 2,250 51-75% of participants Targets poor broadly Yes
Titukulane Resilience Food Security Activity 2019 CARE The project aims to support the implementation and effectiveness of Malawi's National Resilience Strategy, focusing on sustainable, equitable, and resilient food and nutrition security for ultra-poor and chronically vulnerable households in Mangochi and Zomba Districts. 51-75% of participants Targets poor broadly Yes
Usiwa Watha Ultra-Poor Graduation Program 2021 Opportunity International Malawi The program follows BRAC's ultra-poor graduation approach, which aims to create resilient and sustainable pathways out of extreme poverty for ultra-poor households. 320 76-99% of participants Targets XP/UP only No
Yamba Malawi FARMSE project in Chikwawa, Nsanje, and Phalombe Districts 2023 Yamba Malawi The program provides training and coaching in entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and parenting, along with business capital transfers, to current beneficiaries of a social cash transfer program who care for young children. 2,500 51-75% of participants Targets poor broadly Yes
Yamba Malawi's Childhoods & Livelihoods Program 2017 Yamba Malawi The program is a child-focused poverty graduation initiative that operates at the household and community-wide levels to improve early childhood development outcomes by empowering caregivers. 815 76-99% of participants Targets XP/UP only Yes
Zoe Empowers 2013 Zoe Ministry Malawi The program empowers orphaned children and vulnerable youth to overcome poverty through a family-based and peer-led program that promotes safety, health, and skills for long-term success. 5,558 51-75% of participants Targets XP/UP only Yes

Only programs that have given their consent to share their program data are included in this table

The Partnership for Economic Inclusion (PEI) is a global platform that unites non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, research institutions, funding partners, and the World Bank to support government adoption and scale up of economic inclusion programs that empower vulnerable people to lift themselves out of extreme poverty.

DNA: Does Not Apply; FY: Fiscal Year; FCV: Fragility, Conflict, and Violence; MPI: Multidimensional Poverty Index; NPL: National Poverty Line; N/A: Not available; WB: World Bank