Strategic Partnerships Take Centre Stage in Malawi’s Sustainable Transformation Agenda
17–19 September 2026| Sun n’ Sand Hotel & Sunbird Nkopola Hotel
21st September 2026
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi (ICAM) convened its premier professional gathering once again on the shores of Lake Malawi, drawing accountancy professionals, business leaders, policymakers, development partners, entrepreneurs, and regional colleagues from ZICA and BICA. Under the theme “From Silos to Synergies: Strategic Partnerships for Malawi’s Sustainable Transformation,” the three-day conference transformed high-level discourse into a practical call for collaboration that can deliver measurable national progress.
Malawi’s Lake provided a powerful metaphor throughout the event. Just as the lake is sustained not by a single river but by many streams flowing together, sustainable national transformation requires government, the private sector, the professions, development partners, and communities to move in the same direction.
The ICAM Annual Lakeshore Conference remains Malawi’s flagship platform for examining critical issues facing the accountancy profession and the broader economy. Through presentations, panel discussions, the Annual General Meeting, and a high-impact Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, the 2026 edition reinforced the profession’s role as the connective tissue of economic transformation.
OPENING CEREMONY – THURSDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2026
Sun n’ Sand Hotel | 17:00 hrs
Guests were seated by 17:00 hrs. The Guest of Honour, Honourable Simon Itaye, Minister of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism, arrived shortly before the National Anthem.
Opening Function of ICAM 2026 Annual Lakeshore Conference
Noel Zigowa, ICAM Chief Executive Officer, opened proceedings with warm welcome remarks. He evoked the image of fishermen hauling a boat ashore together, no single pair of hands could succeed alone, and reminded delegates that the conference itself is a rehearsal for the larger collaboration Malawi needs. He acknowledged colleagues from ZICA and BICA, the ICAM Council and Secretariat, and the membership that continues to show up year after year.
Daniel Jere, ICAM President, followed with a reflective presidential address. He shared the story of a young Mzuzu agro-processor whose talent and market interest were undermined by the absence of credible financial statements and patient banking support, an illustration of Malawi’s recurring “failure of connection.” He underscored that silos are costly not merely in money and time, but in opportunity. Accountancy, he argued, is the profession that makes it safe for strangers to cooperate.
President Jere also unveiled the ICAM 2026–2028 Strategic Plan, framing it as the Institute’s own commitment to practise what the conference theme preaches: moving from silo to genuine partner of Government, business, and the public. He thanked the Council, members, CEO, and Secretariat for support during his 2024–2026 term and appealed for the same, and greater, support for the incoming leadership.
Address by Guest of Honour- Hon. Simon Itaye
Honourable Simoni Itaye then delivered the keynote speech that officially opened the conference. Drawing on the lake’s many rivers, he declared that silos are expensive, in money, time, and opportunity. Malawi has articulated Malawi 2063 and its First 10-Year Implementation Plan (MIP-1), yet the shift from raw commodities to value-added goods and services will succeed only through synergy.
The Minister spoke directly to the accountants in the room: “You are no longer simply the people who close the books at the end of the month. You have become the connective tissue of Malawi’s economic transformation.” He committed his Ministry to working with ICAM on financial governance frameworks that underpin industrialisation, ease of doing business for SMEs, and data-driven trade and tourism strategies. He called for a standing platform, joint working group or annual review, to track whether the partnerships forged in Mangochi deliver results.
The Minister closed by declaring the ICAM 2026 Annual Lakeshore Conference officially open: “Malawi’s transformation will not come from a single ministry, a single profession, or a single sector acting brilliantly in isolation. It will come from many streams of effort… finding the confidence and the discipline to flow in the same direction.”
Symbolic Cheque Presentation by ICAM President to Mangochi DHO Official and Beit Cure Official
In a powerful demonstration that the conference theme extends beyond rhetoric, ICAM presented a symbolic cheque of MK20 million to support medical treatment for children in Mangochi at Beit Cure. Officials from the Mangochi District Health Office and Beit Cure accepted the cheque on behalf of the beneficiaries. The funds were raised through the Charity Golf Tournament held on the final day of the conference at Mlambe Golf Club, continuing ICAM’s tradition of translating professional gathering into tangible community impact (the previous year’s tournament had raised MK15 million for Nkope Health Centre).
DAY TWO – FRIDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2026
Parallel sessions at Sun n’ Sand and Sunbird Nkopola
The programme ran concurrently across the two venues, maximising participation while ensuring every delegate could engage with the core themes.
Keynote: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges – Teamwork as the Engine of Malawi’s Sustainable Transformation
Dr. Choolwe M. Choolwe, Managing Consultant at Success Practitioners (Zambia), delivered a compelling keynote grounded in the Balanced Scorecard model, the people factor in national transformation, and the laws of teamwork. He warned that without genuine teamwork and synergies, “economic leopards will keep winning.” Drawing on the true story of William Kamkwamba—the boy who harnessed the wind—Dr. Choolwe illustrated resourcefulness and the power of collective action, while noting the missed opportunity when even Malawi’s own stories are told primarily by external voices. He called for the deliberate activation of true teamwork as the engine of sustainable change.
From Number-Crunching to Business Synergies
Clara Kamlomo, Founder and Managing Director of Amazing B Projects, shared a powerful personal journey. Starting with a Diploma in Horticulture, scarce capital, and approximately MWK 100,000 saved from selling freezes and cold water, she planted two acres of borrowed land with groundnuts, accounting for every kwacha. That notebook discipline grew into a multi-enterprise agribusiness spanning 10.6 acres, permanent and seasonal employment, horticulture, piggery, fish farming, beekeeping, rice, and mushrooms, plus investments in farmhouses and hostels.
Her central message resonated deeply: “Passion may start a business, but discipline in managing the numbers is what allows that business to grow, and partnerships and synergies are what allow it to scale.” Credible records opened doors to partnerships with IFAD, GIZ, DAPP, Land O’Lakes, LUANAR, ILO, and others. She challenged the room: agriculture cannot be transformed in silos. Financial institutions, development partners, government, research institutions, and entrepreneurs must connect land, finance, technology, expertise, and markets.
Let the Silos Fall: The Unfinished Dream of Malawi 2063
Representatives from the National Planning Commission presented a candid account of why implementation of MIP-1 continues to fall short of the plan. Malawi does not lack vision; it lacks an honest, accountant-style account of the binding constraints. GDP per capita trends show Malawi lagging peers. Actual growth has averaged far below the 6.4% MIP-1 target, with GNI per capita declining in recent years. The presentation examined political economy and corruption, statistics versus usable data, trade and value capture, and the subsidy paradox—areas where the accountancy profession’s instincts for verification, variance analysis, and distrust of headline numbers are urgently needed at the policy table
ICAM AGM at Sun n Sand
In the afternoon, the ICAM Annual General Meeting was held at Sun n’ Sand, providing members the opportunity to transact the Institute’s formal business and engage on governance, strategy, and professional matters.
DAY THREE – SATURDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER 2026
Panel Discussion and Closing Sessions
The morning featured a high-level panel, “From Silos to Synergies: Strategic Partnerships for Malawi’s Sustainable Transformation,” with three powerful contributions:
- Dr. Mayamiko Nkoloma, Director General of the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), outlined a practical path “From Fragmented Systems to Digital Government.” Using the real-world friction of starting a small business or completing vehicle compliance checks, he showed how citizens become messengers carrying the same data between institutions. He presented a connected digital government model built on shared identity, data exchange, reusable services, and platforms such as Bomalathu—the one-stop e-services portal—together with a 12-month execution roadmap and the leadership commitments required for success.
- Michel A. Hebert, Chief Executive Officer of TNM, shared the transformation of the telecommunications company. Between 2019 and 2023, TNM faced declining market share, weakening GSM and mobile-money performance, and its first net losses. Leadership diagnosed reinforcing problems across network, products, distribution, finance, and risk appetite. Transformation began when every function accepted the same reality. By aligning around shared purpose, clarity, belief, empowerment, and accountability, TNM delivered remarkable results. The lesson for Malawi: decline is not destiny when leadership turns partnership into performance.
- Counsel Ahmed Mussa, Partner – Mining and Energy at Ritz Attorneys at Law, dissected the legal provisions governing mining and forex management. He highlighted Malawi’s significant deposits (rutile, coal, uranium, rare earths, graphite, gemstones), the world’s largest rutile deposit at Kasiya, and World Bank and MEITI projections of substantial mineral export potential. The Mines and Minerals Act 2023, the independent Mines and Minerals Regulatory Authority, environmental compliance requirements, resource rent tax, and royalties create a more predictable framework for investors and financiers. He emphasised the critical role of financial capacity, transparent reporting, and local financial institutions developing specialised mining-finance products.
Sustainable Finance and ESG
Joseph Owolabi, CEO of Rubicola Consulting and former Global President of ACCA, delivered a comprehensive session on Sustainable Finance and ESG. He covered the relevance of ESG, double materiality, the regulatory landscape (including IFRS S1 and S2), sustainability reporting in the public sector, assurance, the green revolution and finance, and strategic opportunities and risks for Malawi. Rubicola’s status as the first African firm approved by the Climate Bonds Initiative as a green-bond verifier underscored the practical pathways available.
After announcements and closing remarks, delegates proceeded to lunch.
CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT – SWINGING FOR A CAUSE
Mlambe Golf Club | 14:30 hrs
Golfers at Mlambe Golf Club
The conference culminated in the Charity Golf Tournament at Mlambe Golf Club. Golfers, sponsors, and well-wishers swung for a cause, raising the MK20 million that had been symbolically presented at the opening ceremony for children’s medical treatment at Beit Cure in Mangochi. The tournament continued ICAM’s proud tradition of ensuring that the Lakeshore Conference leaves a lasting positive footprint in the host community.
An evening cocktail and entertainment at Sun n’ Sand provided the perfect setting for informal networking and celebration of new connections forged over the three days.
LOOKING FORWARD
The 2026 ICAM Annual Lakeshore Conference succeeded because it refused to treat “partnership” as a ceremonial word. From the Minister’s call for a standing platform with ICAM, through the President’s unveiling of a strategy that positions the Institute as a genuine collaborator, to the practical roadmaps offered by speakers on teamwork, agricultural scaling, digital government, corporate turnaround, mining finance, and ESG, the message was consistent: vision without connection remains a dream; connection without discipline remains temporary.
As Honourable Itaye reminded the gathering, and as the lake itself demonstrates every day, lasting results come when many streams flow together. The accountancy profession, custodians of credible numbers, trusted advisers, risk managers, and increasingly sustainability professionals—stands uniquely placed to help design, resource, and defend those connections.
The real test, as both the Guest of Honour and the ICAM President emphasised, begins after the photographs are taken and the energy of the shoreline dissipates. It lies in the months and years ahead: in the joint working groups formed, the silos quietly dismantled, the young entrepreneurs whose books now meet bank standards, the inter-agency data exchanges that remove friction for citizens, and the measurable contribution of the profession to Malawi 2063.
ICAM thanks every speaker, panellist, sponsor, member, partner organisation, and the communities of Mangochi for making the 2026 Lakeshore Conference a landmark gathering. The bridges built this week are only the beginning.
Editor-in -Chief