Reflections on a consulting assignment to Malawi

I have just completed my three-month assignment with Challenges worldwide on the Capacity Building for Enterprise (CBE) project, a consultancy assignment working with Business Consult Africa in Malawi.

The last few days not dissimilar to the eviction from the big brother house! One out, one in!

The final weeks were pretty frenetic with four largish consulting opportunities coming together at the same time. This is great news for the project as some of them have provided significant income to support the aims of the CBE. I was glad to be able to do my part with the Schools and Forex work.

I think from the outset I was impressed with the way that there was an opportunity to go back to grass-roots consulting, linked not only to the opportunity to work with and develop small and medium businesses in Malawi, but also the opportunity to support the development of a small but elite group of UK trained Malawian consultants.

This small team of consultants supported by an equally small team of supporting staff have been superb in their support of a regular flow of ‘Mzungus’  (white Europeans) like myself appearing every three months, their humour, humility and professional approach in everything  they do is outstanding

There is a balance needed as small and medium-sized enterprises find it difficult to pay for consulting support and therefore could miss out on advice for development opportunities if the reduced consulting cost were not subsidised by the income from UK-based consultancy support to bigger businesses.

I always believed that business development and the ability for businesses to start and grow and employ people were the way to prosperity anywhere in the world, however having seen  and experienced first-hand the challenges of one of the poorest countries in the world I wonder how you do it on a national scale and over what timeframe? Food for thought and maybe some future research for me.

That said people talk about Malawi as the ‘warm heart of Africa’ and whilst it might sound a cliché I have to agree with them.

Malawi...................The warm heart of Africa!

I have been offered nothing more than warmth and friendship and having talked to all manner of people in many places I have been made to feel comfortable in this amazing country.  Yes it has problems with aids and malaria (the biggest cause of infant mortality along with malnutrition!) and its challenges as a land locked country with the associated high cost of the importation of goods, and it’s lack of raw materials for export, but people are stoic and accepting of the shortcomings.

They also rely heavily on aid from foreign donors, in fact 40% of their national budget is from foreign aid with the UK being the largest donor to the tune of £90m +, I hope recent political differences do not impact upon the very people I have spent my time with.

So, if you find yourself drawn to Malawi what should you see and do? These are my top five tips:

Mount Mulanje

Just spectacular – climb it and look down on the world, sleep on it and the stars are in your face, awesome.

Mulanje - Magic!

Lake Malawi

Cape Maclear is stunning and the sunsets are amongst the best I have seen, warm, relaxed and amazing which I suspect you will experience wherever you may venture on Lake Malawi. There are places to suit every budget……

Visit the lake - anywhere!

Mustang Sally’s

This must be the foremost bar/club/food joint in Blantyre owned by an eccentric Englishman called Rob who has been here 20 years – helps if you live 200 metres away but worth a visit even if you live 20 miles away!

Steak and salad Kw800 - gorgeous!

Majete wildlife reserve

I have been here twice, Hippo, Rhino, Elephant, Zebra and soon to be introduced, leopard and Lion. This is a relatively small but well-managed and fascinating reserve that warrants a visit, the trip from Blantyre to Majete also takes you down the magnificent Thyolo escarpment with great views over the Shire River.

Brilliant....

Zomba plateau

Once the capital of Malawi and home to many old colonial buildings, but more magic is the view from the top. You can walk a circular route and see Lake Chilwell and Mount Mulange from the Emperors viewpoint.

The view from the top - worth the walk!

Anywhere else

In the three months I was in this wonderful country I only had the chance to visit the South of the country but if you visit the North I am sure you will find it equally fascinating – I am sure your welcome will be as warm as mine was on my first foray into the countryside – This sums it up for me………

Where ever you go you are made welcome!

Final approach and Mission started……

As I approach the final week things have turned frantic! Not much time to do anything other than focus on the first Strategic planning workshop. As with all these things you think you are nearly there and then you see an opportunity to improve, or more likely something you should have thought about earlier!

In good consulting fashion preparation was detailed and Tione (one of the Malawian consultants) came up trumps with his analysis of a pre planning questionnaire we had provided to the participants of the workshop. He did this over the Sunday (email timed at 23.05!) and sent it to Delphine and I the day before the start, saving us about 4 hours’ work – what a star!

The day was full with a client discussion to set the scene and an ambitious target to facilitate the creation of a Mission, Vision and values statement………so Vision Values and Mission started.

The workshop went well and the client had arranged a cross-section of all their staff which is a real win from a strategic planning context – maximum ‘buy in’ and a good foundation for the remainder of the process.  Next is the planning phase for the next three workshops, which they are keen to join together and relocate from their training centre in Blantyre to Lake Malawi!

The Vision creation exercise!

Having said it was all work I did find the opportunity to say farewell to a number of people I have met here in Malawi and fit in another day at Majete the game reserve south of Blantyre – this time with some better photo opportunities. I travelled down with the full team, Mike, Ian and Dephine my replacement and we hired a four-wheel drive game viewing vehicle with driver and guide which was so much easier than the last visit.

10 metres away and deciding 'food' or 'trample photographer!'

 

Bad breath!

 

Ok ok I will pose for the tourists.....

 

So...Why the target on my bum

 

 

Education, Agriculture and Banking – consulting success!

The system of consultants working here for three months at a time means that you sometimes reap what others sow! We learnt this week that we had secured another consulting contract to provide business planning training to an agricultural traders association. This was from a proposal co-produced and submitted by Neil back in February (who has since returned to the UK) handed over to Ian to lead on, and now handed to Mike, who has newly arrived as Ian returned to blighty last week! Did you manage to follow that?

Kondwani and the team say farewell to Ian.

This success added to the team’s success with our pitch at a recent ‘beauty parade’ for the bank subsidiary work in providing support to their 5 year planning process and the start of a feasibility study for an all-girls University in the capital means we are now pretty busy for the next month. As I alluded to before the feasibility proposal was created by Neil and will be delivered by Mike and the local consultants!

Maybe a recent proposal I was involved in, to provide a brand review for a well-known, but local food processor and distributor will end up being delivered by my successor! The benefit of the other role we have in supporting, training and coaching the Malawian apprentice and junior consultants is that they provide brilliant continuity because they are involved in all the proposals and the work that is undertaken out here.  We recently celebrated that success at a team BBQ and at the same time welcomed Mike and Delphine the two new consultants.

Tione with Mike and Dephine the two new UK consultants at the team BBQ

My focus the past week has mainly been on the development of four, one day workshops on the strategic planning process along with  the weekly training session with Frank, Rejoice and Oga the apprentices – We meet the client on Monday so should be able to thrash out the timetable for delivery then. I have also been involved with a potential client who wants to create an entertainment park with restaurants, sports facilities; outdoor adventure playground etc. sounds fascinating but has high start-up costs and my gut feeling is too many other challenges particularly around planning and land ownership. From previous work over here this is something I am more familiar with in Malawi than I am in England!

Finally – Malawian life and a quick look at the dangers of advertising. Recently I keep seeing these for sale at the side of the road, its harvest season and these are a tasty seasonal delicacy – garden mice known as mbewa, apparently a favourite with many Malawians! I haven’t tried them ……………..yet.

mbewa - 20 kwacha each!

 

Advertising board outside the College of Medicine!

There are nine million bicycles in…………Malawi!!!

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Transport and its infrastructure in Malawi – a first hand view! Malawi has a good road network by African standards and air connections with the outside world are generally through Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa with few direct flights to … Continue reading →

Fine, animals and Lake Malawi

 

  Had the opportunity over Easter to travel a little further afield and the must see place in Malawi is the lake. So Ian, Ian and I rented a decent off roader and headed for Lake Malawi via Liwonde National Park.  This is a four-hour journey with an overnight stay in a small but well-appointed lodge just outside the park allowing for an early morning game drive.

1500 Kwacha – I now carry the original!

Highlight of the drive was the numerous Police roadblocks on Easter Friday, one of which I finally fell foul of when asked for my driving licence. Happily producing a photocopy (in case I lost the real one) I found myself on the wrong end of the law – no photocopies allowed! After lots of ‘pepani’ (sorry in Chichewa) and a 20 minute formal process I was fined 1500 Kw (£6) for not having my licence. I now fear that I am on the Malawian Police central data base for life!

Liwonde National Park is just south of the lake and although relatively small it is one of the more popular game parks – that said we saw one other car the whole time we were there. Great game viewing as the Shire River flows down the western side of the lake. Similar game to my Majete visit but a great photo opportunity again.

No guns and pets?

Elephants and the local fisherman.....

And who was watching who?

Four more hours the following day via the Mozambique border and we finally arrived at the southern end of Lake Malawi. We stayed in Cape Maclear at the Cape Mac Lodge just up from Monkey Bay. www.capemaclodge.com . Recommended if you ever find yourself in this part of the world! I wasn’t sure what to expect at the lake but it’s fascinating – like being at the sea-side, just a massive expanse of water as far as the eye could see complete with sun and sandy beaches.

Sun, sand and miles of water..

As the tour book says ‘Lake Malawi is the jewel in the crown of the country’s tourist attraction “discovered” by the missionary-explorer Dr David Livingstone just over 150 years ago. Although totally landlocked, Malawi is not denied its “inland sea”. This vast body of freshwater is fringed by beaches of golden sand lush green woodland and mountains.  It is 365 miles north to south and 52 miles broad, hence the sobriquet: “the calendar lake”. The Lake, in the north, is quite extraordinarily deep plunging well below sea level. This reflects the enormity of the natural faulting of the Great Rift Valley, which is the origin of the Lake’.

Early evening trip to a local island

It was fascinating watching the general tourist population (mainly from Malawi or the surrounding countries) mixed in with the local villagers and fishermen who making a living from the water and the tourists. The nice thing about Malawi is if you don’t want to ‘buy’ there isn’t the hassle you get in so many other countries. Fascinating also watching the lake being used to wash, clean pots and bath in, and the kids all ran around unsupervised. Not sure that would happen in England!

                           Washing, bathing, cooking Malawi style

Locals play beach volleyball at sunset

Unsupervised fun…….

Because of its rich fish harvest, the Lake plays an important part in the economy. Fishing villages are scattered along the shore and the traditional industry and practices are an attraction to visitors and at night you can see the fishermen’s lamps offshore as they catch the fish for the following day. There was also the opportunity to snorkel of one of the islands and see the massive array of fish just under the surface – must remember to take the bilharzia tablets!

Education to Construction

I spent time with a construction company last week and there are interesting differences and some remarkably close similarities with the UK. Health and Safety is not among the similarities! In the past decade Malawi has come a long way and the construction industry ranges from big government projects to much smaller enterprises. It is also one of the largest employee sectors in the country. As the big projects are tied up by big companies using the larger consulting firms we started at the smaller end!

Local builders ladder!

The larger construction contracts are mostly out of reach for the SME’s and predominantly go to foreign companies. The Chinese are heavily into 5* Hotel complex’s and buildings such as the very smart and newly completed parliament building and the Japanese have been very involved in road building programmes. Most big projects are donor funded and lately with the current economic climate has seen a reduction in this type of funding (resulting in the delay to a number of projects)

Road started – road stopped!

On the SME side however the industry remains challenged.  Smaller companies need to look at investing in their own equipment or partnering with other smaller companies in order to bid for larger contracts. The larger contracts expect you to have the right equipment. That said there are a number of equipment rental companies here but it is expensive. A single backhoe loader (digger) with fuel and operator will set you back £250 per day to hire.

The company I saw was a well organised construction company, with a long building history and some forward orders operating in a challenging market place but with significant competition from about 50 other construction companies, and similar to the UK, the sector is crowded and has its fair share of ‘cowboy builders’.

The long wooden poles = scaffolding.......

That said if you want to follow the rules, to build a small warehouse for £250k can take 10 months, has 21 different steps and costs £2000 just to complete the paperwork. It takes on average 42 days to apply for a telephone line and 90 days for an electricity supply!

The challenge for this client was to find a part of the sector that wasn’t crowded and to specialise. To this end not only is he constructing private housing and completing office fit outs but he hopes to get a showroom up and running to specialise in suspended ceilings and dry partition walls – there is only one other player in this area and some of the contracts with major companies and banks can be very lucrative. We wait and see………..

Mad dogs and Englishmen……………

I had the chance to visit Majete Wildlife Reserve recently. This Reserve is seventy miles south of Blantyre, in the Lower Shire Valley.  The drive is only a couple of hours and has spectacular views as you descend from the relative heights of the Thyolo Escarpment into the valley. 

View over the Shire valley

Majete has been under new Management since 2003 and in a few years the park has changed a great deal! Many animal translocations have taken place and with 7 black rhinoceroses, 228 elephants, over 450 buffalo and many waterbuck, sable antelope, nyala, zebra, hartebeests, kudu, and many more species. Currently over 4000 animals are roaming the 700km Reserve, making Majete Wildlife Reserve unique for southern Malawi. I also understand that before 2012 the big cats will be introduced, starting with cheetahs and then lions and leopards will be back in Majete Wildlife Reserve.

Kapichira Falls and Hydro dam!

The Kapichira Falls offer one of the most astounding views in Malawi, with water crashing over rock formations that brought an end to David Livingston’s first expedition up the Shire River in 1859. Vegetation is diverse, ranging from moist woodland in the western hills, to dry savannah in the east with prominent thickets along the riverbanks.

Hippo

I travelled with Ian one of my fellow consultants and we drove there and back in a day, stopping for lunch at Ng’ona lodge. A well-appointed lodge with luxury infinity pool overlooking the Shire River (pronounced Shiree) and run by two very hospitable Austrians –pity they only do camping as they haven’t got around to building the accommodation.

Normally the best time to view game is during the cooler period of July onwards, and either early morning or early evening – I understand we were not the only English people to view at the height of the midday sun! No mad dogs were seen………..

That said we hired a guide called John, complete with American issue Armalite rifle and live rounds which appeared dramatic but he did tend to leaving it in the vehicle whenever we disembarked at a viewing point!

We were in luck with sightings of Elephant (5 metres away) Impala, Eland, Zebra, baboon warthogs, water buffalos and Hippos – resting serenely in the lee of some rocks in the Shire River.