Shared Hosting Tips in Malawi

VirtualTechMalawi.com is a company in Malawi dealing with system development, website design, web hosting, email hosting, mobile application development, and IT support. Being in the business for a few years now, the company knows ins and outs of the internet market in the country. That’s why, to understand the digital landscape of Malawi better, we’ve met with Blena Chisenga, the CEO of the company, for a little chat. In the interview, we talked about everything about the shared hosting tips market in the country, and more.

Malawi in Numbers

A country of around 20 million people, Malawi is still at the beginning of its digital journey. With 3 million people connected to the Internet, the country has only around 14% Internet penetration rate, but also huge growth potential.

There are currently around 4000 registered local .mw domains, but there are a lot more international domains like .com and .org registered. The whole market is around 30,000-50,000 websites. This is in part because the .mw is costly, and in part due to the process: the process of receiving an .mw domain takes a bit of time and is somewhat complicated.

Those choosing the .mw domain are mainly organisations, companies, and governments, while a lot of smaller businesses go for .com, .org, and whatnot. For bigger organisations, the trust factor also plays a role: they are looking for a local service with local support that they can trust.

According to Blena, before the pandemic, the growth was going slowly. However, during the pandemic, a lot of businesses realised they can’t do it without going online. So many people and companies tried to go online as soon as possible so that they could catch up. 'It’s a positive thing, more people coming online, but another challenge that we have is the Internet connectivity. Cable Internet is slower, and people are mainly using mobile connectivity,' says Blena.

Domain and Hosting Costs

In Malawi, the prices for hosting are almost twice as high as in Europe. For example, the minimum package would cost around $10/month, while in Europe it would be around $4-5.

While the prices are high, it’s because there are few players in the market. In the words of Blena, they set up a price, and because not so many options are available, people don’t have anywhere to go. 'Some companies raise the price to have some other expenses covered, but I think the more players in the market, the more accessible hosting will be. Actually, from the trends, the numbers are going down, compared to even a few years ago.'

For the local .mw domain, the cost is around $100 for 2 years. Because of this, people sometimes get .com, .org, .net, or other domains that are more accessible.

Payment Gateways

Before, it used to be very problematic to purchase services online in Malawi. Now, less so. For the past few years, some banks realised that they are sleeping on the job, so now people can use their cards to purchase. The only problem remains mobile money; people still can’t use them freely. Mobile money has huge potential in Malawi, and the transactions API will change e-commerce in the country, according to Blena.

Website Builders in Malawi

When it comes to Website builders, local people still do not use them much. 'I think one thing is about knowledge. A lot of people don’t want to take the time and learn about what’s new out there in the world of technology. People are used to the fact that they need to get a web designer, who will design something for them. They will then get feedback and change, so it takes longer, but people are just used to it.' However, it’s another opportunity that can be utilised in Malawi. 'Sometimes, people don’t really appreciate something until they try it out. But then they see the benefits, and stick to it.'

Final Thoughts

With its large population and newly-emerging digitisation process, Malawi has an untapped potential, and a market hungry for investments and new players. Businesses slowly start to go online in the country, and people realise how the digital world can benefit their economy. As this is happening, we are looking forward to seeing how the shared hosting market of the country is developing, and where it goes next.