IP Policy under Review

Solicitor General and Secretary for Justice and Constitutional Affairs Gertrude Hiwa, SC, has underscored the strategic role of intellectual property (IP) in driving Malawi’s transformation agenda, as she opened a national stakeholder consultation workshop on the review of the successor National Intellectual Property Policy (2026–2030) at the Bingu International Conference Centre in Lilongwe today.

Hiwa said the new policy must serve as a “strategic bridge between innovation and economic transformation,” aligning with Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term vision of becoming an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation. 

She emphasised that achieving the vision’s three pillars, which are agricultural productivity and commercialisation, industrialisation, and urbanization, requires deliberate integration of knowledge, creativity, and innovation into national development.

“The draft National Intellectual Property Policy framework must catalyse creativity and innovation, support agricultural productivity and commercialisation, and enable Malawi to participate in regional and global knowledge economies,” Hiwa stated. 

She noted that IP systems can incentivise local creativity, protect traditional knowledge, attract sustainable foreign investment, and facilitate technology transfer.

The SG highlighted that intellectual property is central to fostering entrepreneurship, supporting small and medium enterprises, and adding value to local resources across sectors such as agriculture, mining, tourism, health, manufacturing, and the creative industries. 

She stressed that IP protection is not only about safeguarding rights but also about unlocking economic diversification, job creation, and inclusive growth.