A local information technology service provider, Easybooks Solutions, has called for greater support for local innovators and indigenous systems engineers instead of relying on foreign technology, saying this could help Malawi save much-needed foreign exchange.

Managing Director of Easybooks Solutions, Samson Fiado, made the call on Tuesday in Lilongwe during the handover of Easybooks Accounting Software to the Nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi (NMCM).

“For too long, our public institutions have sent millions of dollars in foreign exchange abroad every year for licences, for support, for systems that do not understand our context and do not answer our calls on time,” said Fiado.

According to Fiado, the NMCM evaluated Easybooks on merit against other foreign systems and found that the locally developed system could deliver the required services better.

Meanwhile, NMCM Board Chairperson Angela Chiotcha said the council did not procure the service out of sympathy, but because of the competence demonstrated by the company.

“Malawi cannot keep sending forex abroad for capability we now have at home,” Chiotcha said.

The Nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi has become one of the first public institutions to adopt a locally developed financial management and accounting system that was built, coded, tested and supported in Malawi.