Malawi

==Science and technology==
{{Main|Science and technology in Malawi}}
=== Research trends ===
[[File:Scientific publication trends in SADC countries, 2005-2014.svg|thumb|Scientific publication trends in the most productive SADC countries, 2005–2014<ref name=t2030/>]]
Malawi devoted 1.06% of GDP to research and development in 2010, according to a survey by the Department of Science and Technology, one of the highest ratios in Africa. This corresponds to $7.8 per researcher (in current purchasing parity dollars).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In 2014, Malawian scientists had the third-largest output in Southern Africa, in terms of articles cataloged in international journals. They published 322 articles in Thomson Reuters' Web of Science (Science Citation Index expanded) that year, almost triple the number in 2005 (116). Only South Africa (9,309) and the United Republic of Tanzania (770) published more in Southern Africa. Malawian scientists publish more in mainstream journals – relative to GDP – than any other country of similar population size. This is impressive, even if the country's publication density remains modest, with just 19 publications per million inhabitants cataloged in international journals in 2014. The average for sub-Saharan Africa is 20 publications per million inhabitants.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Malawi was ranked 107th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2021, up from 118th in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Innovation Index 2021  |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2021/|work=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]]|publisher=[[United Nations]]|access-date=2022-03-05 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Global Innovation Index 2019|url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2019/index.html|access-date=2021-09-02|website=www.wipo.int|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=RTD – Item|url=https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/rtd/items/691898|access-date=2021-09-02|website=ec.europa.eu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2013-10-28|title=Global Innovation Index|url=https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930|access-date=2021-09-02|website=INSEAD Knowledge|language=en|archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902101622/https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Policy framework ===
Malawi's first science and technology policy dates from 1991 and was revised in 2002. The ''National Science and Technology Policy'' of 2002 envisaged the establishment of a National Commission for Science and Technology to advise the government and other stakeholders on science and technology-led development. Although the Science and Technology Act of 2003 made provision for the creation of this commission, it only became operational in 2011, with a secretariat resulting from the merger of the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Council. The Science and Technology Act of 2003 also established a Science and Technology Fund to finance research and studies through government grants and loans but, {{as of|2014|lc=y}}, this was not yet operational. The Secretariat of the National Commission for Science and Technology has reviewed the ''Strategic Plan for Science, Technology, and Innovation'' (2011–2015) but, as of early 2015, the revised policy had not yet met with Cabinet approval.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

Malawi is conscious of the need to attract more foreign investment to foster technology transfer, develop human capital and empower the private sector to drive economic growth. In 2012, most foreign investments flowed to infrastructure (62%) and the energy sector (33%). The government has introduced a series of fiscal incentives, including tax breaks, to attract more foreign investors. In 2013, the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre put together an investment portfolio spanning 20 companies in the country's six major economic growth sectors, namely:<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
* agriculture;
* manufacturing;
* energy (bio-energy, mobile electricity);
*tourism (ecolodges);
* infrastructure (wastewater services, fiber optic cables, etc.); and
* mining.

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Life sciences and geosciences dominate, Cumulative totals by field, 2008–2014.svg|alt=Scientific research output in terms of publications in Southern Africa, cumulative totals by field, 2008–2014.|Scientific research output in terms of publications in Southern Africa, cumulative totals by field, 2008–2014<ref>{{Cite book|title= UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 |date=2015|chapter= Figure 20.6}}</ref>
File:Researchers (HC) in Southern Africa per million inhabitants, 2013 or closest year.svg|Researchers (HC) in Southern Africa per million inhabitants, 2013 or closest year
File:Seychelles and South Africa have the most publications per million inhabitants.svg|alt=Scientific publications per million inhabitants in SADC countries in 2014.|Scientific publications per million inhabitants in SADC countries in 2014<ref name=t2030/><ref name="Web">{{Cite book |title= Thomson Reuters' Web of Science, Science Citation Index Expanded}}</ref>
File:Gross domestic expenditure on Research and Development GDP ratio in Southern Africa, 2012 or closest year.svg|Domestic expenditure on research in Southern Africa as a percentage of GDP, 2012 or closest year<ref>{{Cite book |title= UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 |date=2015 |chapter= Figure 20.3}}</ref>
</gallery>

In 2013, the government adopted a ''National Export Strategy'' to diversify the country's exports. Production facilities are to be established for a wide range of products within the three selected clusters: oilseed products, sugar cane products, and manufacturing. The strategy makes provision for greater access to the outcome of international research and better information about available technologies; it also helps companies to obtain grants to invest in such technologies from sources such as the country's Export Development Fund and the Malawi Innovation Challenge Fund.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />