Standard Bank Plc – a leading financial institution in Malawi – intensified its efforts in fighting climate change through reforestation aimed at preserving land and protecting communities from climate shocks.

During the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with World Vision International at BICC in Lilongwe, the bank’s Head of Business and Commercial Banking, Graham Chipande, said the partnership will drive sustainable growth and create strong value chain linkages for the benefit of communities.

“This initiative will enhance the ability in driving sustainable growth as for the past few years the country suffered from natural disasters that affected agriculture and other sectors hence the intervention to restore the nature,” said Chipande.

Under the M’bwezera Nkhalango Project, Standard Bank will inject K80 million annually from January 2025 to December 2027.

Charles Chimombo, Director of Operations at World Vision Malawi disclosed that the agreement aims to restore 200 hectares of land in Traditional Authority Mazengera, Lilongwe and he cited alarming statistics showing that between 2015 and 2020, Malawi lost forests equivalent to 59,000 football pitches.

He also urged more stakeholders to take part in the fight against deforestation and to support ongoing reforestation efforts.

“Our agreement with Standard Bank is based on restoring degraded land and the gesture made is extraordinary as we need a lot of efforts to bring back the environment,” said Chimombo.

World Vision Malawi plans to restore 200,000 hectares of land across the country with support from partners like Standard Bank.