The Malawi Stock Exchange was inaugurated in March 1995 and opened for business for the first time on 11 November 1996, under the aegis of the Reserve Bank of Malawi, with 2,300 Malawian citizens buying shares in the first company to be listed – Malawi's largest insurance firm, the National Insurance Company.

International Finance Corporation, a World Bank affiliate, and the Financierings Maatschappij Ontwikkelingslanden, a Dutch development bank with close ties to the Dutch Ministry for Development Co-operation, provided 40% of the $500,000 required for establishing the stock market in Blantyre, and the European Union sponsored seminars and publicity campaigns.

It has a supervisory committee which comprises representatives of the central bank, the government and the private sector.

It is a member of the African Stock Exchanges Association.

As of December 2024[update][2] Trading takes place from Monday to Friday with the following times: