In 2020, Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM), a subsidiary of Press Corporation Limited, invested approximately US$ 39 million as part of an ongoing drive to digitally modernise and reinforce operations in telecommunications infrastructure development.
Malawi’s oldest telecommunications service provider, TNM board chairman George Partridge stated that the country’s telecommunication penetration is only at 48 per cent, which is low in contrast to other markets.
He further remarked on the country’s low smartphone penetration, “which has grown at a rapid rate of more than 240 per cent since 2018. Fifty-five per cent of Malawi’s adult population still has no access to financial services of any kind”. Thus, implying the existing enormous company growth potential.”
According to Partridge, the company’s net profit has been declining since 2019, impacting dividend payments to shareholders. In addition, TNM expects the macroeconomic situation to remain challenging in 2021, putting tremendous pressure on the business and revenue due to the unpredictable currency rate and the ongoing impact of COVID-19.
However, the corporation projects a surplus in the maize harvest, which will result in food security, providing rural subscribers with disposable income to spend on telecommunication services. Civil rights organisations such as the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa, a research and analysis centre to assist policymakers in understanding global ICT policy issues, blamed the country’s low smartphone penetration for the 17.5 per cent VAT imposed on mobile phone sales in 2015.
