LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Malawi is expanding its formal gold-trading network through a partnership between the Export Development Fund (EDF) and FDH Bank that will establish four new Gold Trading Centres in Karonga, Jenda in Mzimba, Mangochi and Blantyre, bringing official gold-buying services closer to miners and traders.
Malawi’s gold trade has historically operated largely through informal channels, leaving the state with limited oversight of production, purchasing and the movement of precious metals across borders.
The government established a formal gold market in 2021, with the Reserve Bank of Malawi owning the Gold Purchase Programme and EDF acting as its implementing agency, partly to address losses associated with informal trading and smuggling to neighbouring countries, including Mozambique and Tanzania.
The latest expansion will take EDF’s formal buying network beyond its existing centres in Lilongwe and Liwonde.
FDH Bank will host the new centres at its branches in Karonga, Jenda and Mangochi, while the Blantyre operation will be based at Reserve Bank of Malawi premises.
EDF Acting Managing Director Inglis Nyamilandu said the limited number of existing buying points had made it difficult to reach traders operating in different parts of the country.
He said bringing the service closer to mining areas was expected to increase the volume of gold entering the formal market.
The partnership also gives EDF access to FDH Bank’s established branch infrastructure, allowing the fund to expand its physical presence without having to build separate facilities.
FDH Bank Managing Director Noel Nkulichi said the arrangement forms part of the bank’s growing involvement in Malawi’s mining sector and the development of the country’s mineral value chain.
The expansion comes as gold becomes increasingly linked to Malawi’s efforts to generate foreign exchange.
The Reserve Bank told a parliamentary committee that it exported 589.95 kilogrammes of doré gold for US$75.09 million on April 29, 2026, describing the transaction as a pilot for the country’s gold-export programme.
EDF says it has purchased 1,630,368.68 grams, or about 1.63 tonnes, of gold since the formal market was established in 2021. The figure illustrates the growing volume moving through official channels while also highlighting the importance of expanding access to formal buying facilities.
The government and central bank have said expanding the network of buying centres is intended to bring formal services closer to miners, improve traceability and supply consistency, reduce reliance on informal and parallel markets, and strengthen confidence in Malawi’s structured gold market.
The expansion therefore places Malawi’s gold sector at the intersection of mining, financial services and foreign-exchange policy, with the success of the formal system likely to depend on whether miners and traders find the official market sufficiently accessible and attractive to use.
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