Protea Hotel Ryalls features true four-star facilities and services in the heart of Blantyre, Malawi’s top business centre. The hotel is owned and operated by two prestigious names in Africa’s hospitality sector: Blantyre Hotels and the Protea Hospitality Group, which has 120 properties in eight African countries. Ideally located just 15 minutes by car from the airport yet within walking distance of Blantyre’s main business and commercial venues, Protea Hotel Ryalls has earned a loyal following for its authentic style, exceptional comfort and warm hospitality.

Landmark property in the heart of the city

The landmark property opened in 1921 and has been completely upgraded and renovated over the years; a new section was added in 2002. Today, the hotel’s entrance is an elegant covered walkway through a garden leading to a spacious lobby which features natural light and modern furnishings with an authentic African touch. Protea Hotel Ryalls is regarded as one of the most technologically advanced hotels in Malawi, and a look at the guestrooms, public areas and conference facilities shows that this reputation is well earned.

Protea Hotel Ryalls has 117 air-conditioned, elegantly furnished guestrooms, all equipped with air conditioning, en suite bathrooms and showers, satellite TV, wireless Internet access (free data usage of 100MB daily), telephones and mini-bars.

Choice of dining and beverage options

Protea Hotel Ryalls continuously improves its services and recently upgraded its outdoor swimming pool. Other amenities include a fully equipped fitness centre, the Ryalls Restaurant for casual meals and snacks, a cocktail lounge known for its “sundowners” and wine list, and the stylish 21 Grill, named for the year the hotel was founded. 21 Grill is a favourite among hotel guests and Blantyre residents alike thanks to its delicious international and local specialities.

The nearby Blantyre Sports Club offers Protea Hotel Ryalls guests access to various sporting facilities, including golf, tennis, squash and lawn-bowling. Hiking and horseback-riding trails are also within easy reach of the hotel, and many restaurants, nightclubs and other entertainment venues are just steps away.

For visitors looking for bright lights and music, Blantyre’s top nightlife venues are all nearby.

World-class conference facilities

Protea Hotel Ryalls contains flexible, world-class conference and meeting facilities which can accommodate up to 200 guests. These facilities, equipped with the latest audio-visual technologies, are unique in Malawi and have made the hotel a popular choice for conferences, business meetings and exclusive events of all kinds.

The experienced Protea Hotels Ryalls Conference Centre team will take care of all the extras required for conferences, including conference brochures, photocopies, faxing and e-mail services. The hotel’s conference facilities are fully flexible in order to handle all sizes and types of meetings, including banquets. Another plus for conference-goers is the hotel’s location in the centre of the city.

Excellent base for leisure travellers

For leisure travellers, Protea Hotel Ryalls is the ideal base for a tour of Malawi’s many unique tourism attractions, including Lake Malawi along the country’s eastern border. Set among rolling hills covered with tropical vegetation, offering wonderful vistas across to neighbouring Mozambique, Lake Malawi is an unforgettable stop on a trip to Africa and just one of the sites waiting to be discovered by visitors to Malawi.

Popular on travel sites

Protea Hotel Ryalls mainly serves international travellers, including executives, diplomatic missions, aid workers and conference-goers. On Trip Advisor and other travel sites, guests at Protea Hotel Ryalls consistently praise the hotel’s clean and comfortable rooms, excellent beds, dependable Internet connections, modern amenities, delicious breakfasts, gourmet cuisine (especially at the 21 Grill), Malawian-press coffee, and top-notch swimming pool, fitness centre and conference facilities.

Most of all, visitors praise the hotel’s well trained, hospitable staff members, who make an effort to learn guests’ names and in general provide the kind of personalised service world travellers demand. Guests also appreciate the convenience of using the Protea Hospitality Group’s web site to make hotel reservations.

As one satisfied visitor commented, “Travel in Central Africa can be hit or miss but the Protea Hotel Ryalls in Blantyre is right on target. The African hardwood desk in my room was so beautiful I wondered if it would fit in my trunk, and after weak water pressure at other locations, the bath was beyond luxurious.” Another wrote, “For me there is only one hotel in Blantyre, and it is the Protea Hotel Ryalls.” With its four-star services and hospitable welcome, the Protea Hotel Ryalls definitely lives up to its motto, ‘Gateway to the warm heart of Malawi’.

2 Hannover Ave. – Blantyre
Tel: +265 182 0195 / 955
ryalls@proteamalawi.com
www.proteahotels.com/ryalls

Toyota Malawi represents the exceptional potential of international investment in Malawi’s innovative local companies. Toyota entered the Malawi market in 2001 by acquiring a leading family-owned enterprise founded in 1964. Rosemary Mkandawire, CEO, explains, “When we became part of the international Toyota group, we strengthened our systems and upgraded our services to live up to the global Toyota brand name. We have grown steadily and are currently planning to build a new facility in Lilongwe City.” Around 70% of Toyota Malawi’s clients are multinationals active in Malawi; the company also serves individual clients and local enterprises.

Rosemary Mkandawire, CEO

Toyota Malawi offers the full range of Toyota vehicles, from the economy-model Corolla to the Hilux, Land Cruiser, and Prado lines, as well as Toyota trucks. The company also distributes Toyota parts and provides world-class repairs and other services, all of which adhere to Toyota’s industry-leading international standards. Looking to the future, Toyota Malawi invests its revenues from vehicle sales in expanding its operations and covers its running costs from sales of parts.

New generation of world-class managers

Rosemary Mkandawire represents a new generation of female managers in Malawi’s business sector. She explains that she has the authority to make rapid decisions while working with the regional Toyota management team as well as the parent company in Japan. She says, “I believe my role as CEO of a company like Toyota Malawi will inspire other women in Malawi to work hard and reach higher levels in Malawi’s business world.”

Toyota Malawi is looking forward to continued strong growth as the country’s economy develops. Rosemary Mkandawire says, “The mining sector offers a lot of potential for us through sales of vehicles and accessories, and we will also expand along with Malawi’s export activities. We offer our customers top-quality vehicles, true international standards and a recognised international brand, all of which are essential in a growing economy.”

Toyota Malawi is very committed to supporting the people of Malawi and finances a number of community-service projects, including a children’s hospital. Rosemary Mkandawire concludes, “We aim to be a good corporate citizen here in Malawi by paying taxes, funding all kinds of local initiatives, working with garages to upgrade standards, and doing our part to improve Malawi’s business environment. Two years from now, I foresee that Toyota Malawi will have expanded its facilities, gotten involved in export activities, and made major contributions to the President’s drive to fight poverty in this country.”

Toyota Malawi Head Office
P.O. Box 430 – Blantyre
Tel: +265 1 841 943
customercare@toyotamalawi.com
www.toyotamalawi.com

Candlex is Malawi’s local market leader in home and personal-care (HPC) products. Driven by six key values – spirit, pride, determination, commitment, passion, and integrity – the company manufactures high-quality candles, lotions, cosmetics and soaps, all sold at affordable prices. Candlex focusses on the domestic market but also exports its products regionally.

The company contributes significantly to Malawi’s economic development by adding value, creating employment and generating forex savings. Candlex distributes its products through retail and wholesale chains as well as independent shops all over Malawi, and exports through agents.

To continue to grow, Candlex would like to form new local and foreign partnerships which will help the company access low-cost financing. Candlex offers strong local knowledge, an established client portfolio and proven business success.

Macleod Road, Makata
Tel: +265 1 876 600
candlex@candlexmw.com
www.candlexmw.com

Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Ltd. illustrates the potential of Malawi’s private sector. It is the country’s only sugar producer and the top single employer, providing jobs for over 10,000 people. Listed on the Malawi stock exchange, Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Ltd. is part of the Illovo Sugar group, which is headquartered in South Africa and active in six southern African countries.

Patrick Mitchell, Managing Director

In Malawi, Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Ltd. produces refined and specialty sugar for the local and regional markets and exports raw sugar to the EU and the US. Well known in Malawi for its high-quality sugar at affordable prices, Illovo is also one of the country’s biggest sources of foreign-exchange revenues.

It serves as a benchmark for its “green” practices, producing its own energy by operating a biomass plant fuelled with sugar-waste products.

Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Ltd. has significant agricultural, milling and refining assets at the Dwangwa sugar estate in central Malawi and at the Nchalo sugar estate in the southern part of the country.
The company processes around 2.3 million tonnes of sugar cane per year to produce around 300,000 tonnes of sugar. Illovo Sugar Malawi accounted for 43% of the Illovo group’s operating profits in the 2011-2012 financial year and will continue to lead the way in Malawi’s agriculture sector.

Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Limited
Private Bag 580 – Limbe
Tel: +265 1 843 988
illovomalawi@illovo.co.za
www.illovosugar.com

Jean Ciza, Governor of Burundi’s Central Bank, discusses the bank’s goals for the future.

Jean Ciza, Governor Burundi’s Central Bank

Jean Ciza: The Central Bank issues currency, supervises Burundi’s commercial banks, promotes a sustainable financial sector through providing supervision and regulation, supervises microfinance activities, serves as Burundi’s monetary authority concerning monetary policy, and promotes price stability.

European Times: What are some of the Central Bank’s recent accomplishments?

Jean Ciza: The Central Bank recently created two new instruments to strengthen the financial sector. One is an interbank market for banks needing extra liquidity so that they can provide more project financing, and the other is to provide financing for the development of Burundi’s coffee industry. The Central Bank participated in the government’s creation of a financial-sector development strategy, and we are helping to modernise payment systems. Burundi’s banking sector in general is currently undergoing extensive modernisation, including computerisation of services. We are now revising regulations concerning foreign-currency transfers in order to streamline the process, and we participated in the revision of the Banking Act of 2003 to adapt it to current realities.

European Times: What are your main goals for the Central Bank?

Jean Ciza: Through the current modernisation programme we aim to enhance connections between the Central Bank and Burundi’s commercial banks as well as further integrate Burundi’s banking sector into that of the East African Community as a whole, to prepare Burundi for EAC monetary union and an EAC Central Bank by 2022. Another goal is to provide banking services to more people in Burundi. We also plan to increase our supervision to further strengthen the banking sector. We are currently upgrading the Central Bank’s human resources and we are looking for software engineers to help us modernise our payment systems. We are working with many international institutions concerning our capacity-building and human-resources development, including the World Bank, the IMF, the National Bank of Belgium and the Bank of France.

European Times: What do foreign financial-sector enterprises need to do to operate in Burundi?

Jean Ciza: The Central Bank licenses all entries to the banking sector and we have set conditions for licensing that are designed to enhance banking stability. We are ready to help any new investors and we want them to know that Burundi has made great progress in upgrading the business environment. The public and private sectors here are working together to achieve economic progress, and we welcome private investors.

Déogratias Rurimunzu, Minister of Transport, Public Works and Equipment, discusses Burundi’s ongoing infrastructure development.

European Times: What are the responsibilities of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Equipment?

Déogratias Rurimunzu: While we are involved in building construction, our main task is to ensure modern infrastructure for Burundi, particularly good roads since many of our roads were destroyed during the war. Within the ministry is the Office of Roads, which works with organisations like the National Road Fund. We have launched a €329.3 million (BIF 665 billion) project for road improvement and we are receiving support for it from various international funding organisations. Other priorities are to develop transport services on Lake Tanganyika and to expand our port services, for example the port of Bujumbura Rumonge.

On the regional level, we are working with Zambia on a project concerning Burungu port and we are launching projects to create railway links with Tanzania and Rwanda. We have completed the feasibility study for a new rail link connecting Keza, Kigali, Gitega and Musangati, and we are working on a memorandum of understanding with Tanzania on a rail line which will particularly benefit our mining industry. Our building projects include a new presidential palace, a new parliament building, rehabilitation of University Hospital, and new housing in the Buyenzi area. We are also involved in various public-works projects. Over the long term, the government plans to develop Ougendana airport as an alternative to our main airport in Bujumbura, particularly for the mining sector.

European Times: How will these projects be financed?

Déogratias Rurimunzu: In addition to state funds, we are receiving support from many international institutions, including the African Development Bank, the EU, the World Bank and others. We also strongly support public-private infrastructure and transport projects and we welcome foreign investors.

European Times: What progress has been made recently in upgrading Burundi’s infrastructure?

Déogratias Rurimunzu: Burundi’s infrastructure has greatly improved over the past five years. Roads are being rehabilitated and more and more hotels are opening up. We are also privatising various operations in the transport sector, and the country as a whole has made significant progress in improving the business climate and making processes more efficient and transparent, as our improved ranking in the global ‘Doing Business’ report shows. Burundi’s infrastructure development is creating significant opportunities for foreign investors, particularly in our railway projects, new airport construction and transport services on Lake Tanganyika.

Tabu Abdallah Manirakiza, Minister of Finance and Economic Development Planning, discusses Burundi’s economic strategies.

Tabu Abdallah Manirakiza, Minister of Finance and Economic Development Planning

European Times: What are your priorities as minister?

Tabu Abdallah Manirakiza: This ministry is in charge of public finances as well as economic-development planning. My first task is to promote Burundi’s economic development, since this will generate revenues for the state. We are particularly focussing on ensuring adequate energy for the growth of our main sectors. Information technology is another important vector of growth, and we will foster ICT development, particularly a fibre-optic network in Bujumbura, through a public-private partnership supported by the World Bank. Another priority for this ministry is to manage public finances with the help of our international partners. We are also working on a financial-inclusion strategy to give more people access to credit.

European Times: What progress have you made in reaching these goals?

Tabu Abdallah Manirakiza: We have been praised by our international partners for our efforts to strengthen the economy under difficult circumstances, and Burundi has improved its international ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking and continues to do so. Improving the business climate means we will attract more of the FDI we need to develop our economy and boost our exports.

European Times: What are the main challenges Burundi faces?

Tabu Abdallah Manirakiza: The greatest challenge is a lack of reliable energy. We have devoted a large portion of the state budget to developing thermal energy because it is necessary for the country’s survival. Energy prices in Burundi are low, which discourages investors, but raising prices would be difficult for our vulnerable population.

European Times: What is your personal message to potential international investors, partners and visitors?

Tabu Abdallah Manirakiza: Travellers should know that whatever media might report, Burundi is now safe, with a democratic government and a free press, and it is really moving forward. In just one example, we have built more schools over the past five years than over the previous 50 years! For investors, Burundi is a high-potential virgin market. Magnificent Lake Tanganyika, for example, has not yet been exploited. We also have many natural resources waiting to be developed. Burundi is managing its finances better than ever before, as the African Development Bank recently recognised by increasing its support. In addition, a 2012 report by Transparency International showed that Burundi is the second-least-corrupt country in the East African Community thanks to new anti-corruption initiatives like the Burundi Revenue Office. Burundi is definitely on the right path.