[RetroTechie]

As the article explains: landlocked doesn't help, but it's not a big factor overall.

It's the combination of factors that make up the environment to work in: geography, politics, education, healthcare, culture, etc.

Seems like Malawi is stuck in a kind of "local minimum" where the direction to get unstuck is a political no-go area. A charismatic (and competent!) leader with a long-term vision might help. Maybe that is what's lacking?