The National Association of Business Women (NABW) is a nonprofit organization in Malawi that supports small, women-operated businesses and promotes their interests within the government. In its "National Call to Action" the NABW identifies some barriers that women face in starting and developing businesses in four sectors: agribusiness, soft goods (textiles, garments, handicrafts), tourism, and professional services (legal, accounting, health, and consulting). The National Call to Action was launched at a national meeting in 1998, attended by high government officials. At the meeting, NABW members called on the government to reduce the barriers identified in the National Call to Action. They expressed particular interest in reforming Malawi's discriminatory land-titling system that prevents women from owning land and thus using land as loan collateral. NABW's work has begun to bear fruit. The NABW is providing input to government committees that are exploring ways to change the land-titling policy and improve government services to women-operated businesses. In addition, the government has agreed to adopt a preferential purchase plan whereby it will increase the amount of government supplies purchased from women-run businesses, and it will increase the number of women who can enter vocational training centers.

For more information, see the online Economic Reform Today article: Strengthening the Voice of Business