The government-run fund has been disbursing loans to various groups, including faith communities, as part of efforts to boost entrepreneurship and economic self-reliance across Malawi.

BLANTYRE, Malawi— The National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) held discussions with faith leaders Friday to address concerns about loan repayments, with officials revealing that religious borrowers have lower repayment rates than the national average, writes Mayamiko Phiri.

The day-long interface meeting in Blantyre brought together religious leaders from Christian, Muslim and Rastafarian communities in Malawi’s Southern Region.

According to NEEF Chief Executive Officer Humphreys Mdyetseni, repayment rates among religious leaders stand at approximately 60 percent, well below the national average of around 80 percent.

“The clergy are people the majority of them were yet to grasp the intricacies of entrepreneurship ,and those were also setbacks,” Mdyetseni said at the May 9 gathering.

Religious leaders at the meeting cited Malawi’s challenging economic environment as a major factor hampering their business ventures and ability to repay loans.

Some complained about lengthy loan processing times and the impact of recurrent devaluation of the kwacha on their business plans.

Despite these challenges, Mdyetseni expressed optimism about the outcome of the discussions.

“The good thing is that we have touched the base, we have sensitised each other, and we have agreed on important measures to be put in place so that those lagging can improve in terms of repayment,” he said.

He added that religious leaders who “have not been very prudent with the business” should “begin to be aggressive and reap the benefits from doing business.”

The government-run fund has been disbursing loans to various groups, including faith communities, as part of efforts to boost entrepreneurship and economic self-reliance across Malawi.