{"id":25147,"date":"2025-08-26T21:27:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T21:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/25147\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T21:27:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T21:27:24","slug":"food-jobs-hope-mozambique-seeks-investment-route-to-economic-recovery-business-and-economy-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/25147\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Food, jobs, hope\u2019: Mozambique seeks investment route to economic recovery | Business and Economy News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maputo, Mozambique \u2013<\/strong> Down the main aisle of a bustling conference pavilion in Mozambique\u2019s capital, Maputo, Lucia Matimele stands surrounded by lush green leaves, peppers on the stalk, and bunches of ripe bananas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have land, we have water, we have farmers!\u201d she enthuses. \u201cWhat we need is investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matimele is the director of industry and commerce for Gaza province, a region about 200km (125 miles) away that is one of the country\u2019s main breadbaskets. She and her team packed up some of their most promising crops and joined thousands of others \u2013 from within and outside Mozambique \u2013 to exhibit their wares and make industry connections as the government works to promote economic growth and development in what has been a politically challenging year.<\/p>\n

More than 3,000 exhibitors from nearly 30 countries are in Mozambique this week for the 60th annual Maputo International Trade Fair (FACIM) \u2013 the largest of its kind in the country. Tens of thousands are expected to attend the seven-day event, the government said.<\/p>\n

Crowds of exhibitors and eager attendees gathered at the sprawling conference site on the outskirts of Maputo for day one of the event on Monday. A dozen pavilions are hosting local businesses, provincial industry leaders, such as Matimele, and regional and international companies looking to trade in or with Mozambique.<\/p>\n

Standing before delegates and businesspeople at the opening ceremony, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo focused on the need to ensure a good environment for foreign investors, while also building an inclusive and sustainable local economy.<\/p>\n

\"MozambicanPresident Daniel Chapo at the opening of FACIM 2025 [Courtesy of Mozambican Ministry of Economy]<\/p>\n

\u201cMozambique has a geostrategic location, with ports, development corridors and various other potentialities; vast resources, mineral, natural, agricultural, tourist, and above all a humble, hard-working, friendly and welcoming people,\u201d Chapo said in Portuguese, highlighting the country\u2019s \u201cunique opportunities\u201d for international partners.<\/p>\n

But at home, he affirmed, \u201ceconomic independence starts with agriculture workers, farmers, the youth, women \u2013 all of us together\u201d.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, the government, with financing from the World Bank, has instituted a new $40m Mutual Guarantee Fund to help finance small and medium enterprises in the country. It will provide credit guarantees to at least 15,000 businesses and aims to assist mainly women and young people, the president said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the concerns we hear repeatedly at all the annual private sector conferences is the difficulty in accessing financing,\u201d Chapo said while launching the fund at FACIM on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that high interest rates have been almost insurmountable barriers for small- and medium-sized businesses, which represent the heart of the national business fabric, hence the creation of this fund, specifically dedicated to this group of companies, because they are responsible for 90 percent of the dynamism of our economy, generating income mainly for young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThis instrument is not just a financial mechanism, it is a bridge to the recovery of the Mozambican economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018We can feed our people best\u2019<\/p>\n

Mozambique has \u201cample resources\u201d, the World Bank says, including arable land, abundant water sources, energy, mineral resources and natural gas deposits.<\/p>\n

However, its gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2025 is projected to be just 3 percent (it was 1.8 percent in 2024 and 5.4 percent in 2023).<\/p>\n

Experts point to a raft of challenges facing the Southern African nation: for years it was besieged by a $2bn \u201chidden debt\u201d<\/a> corruption scandal that implicated senior government officials; it is still recovering from post-2024 election protests<\/a> that affected tourism; and it faces an ongoing rebellion by armed fighters in the northern Cabo Delgado province, home to offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) reserves.<\/p>\n

\"FACIMFACIM 2025 in Maputo, Mozambique [Sumayya Ismail\/Al Jazeera]<\/p>\n

The armed rebellion has halted TotalEnergies\u2019 $20bn LNG project<\/a>, and, with it, put added strain on the region\u2019s finances and near-future economic prospects, noted Borges Nhamirre, a Mozambican researcher on security and governance with the Institute for Security Studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe economy of Mozambique was prepared for the next 20, 30 years to rely on natural resources \u2026 But now the most recent problem is the insurgency in the northern part of the country. So that affects the economy of Mozambique deeply,\u201d Nhamirre said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd unfortunately, Mozambique did not diversify the source of revenues, did not invest in other sectors like agriculture, industry, manufacturing \u2013 relying mostly on natural gas,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cMozambique needs to bet on producing its own food,\u201d the researcher said, noting that it is not affordable to keep importing when the country has the potential to feed itself. \u201cThe land for agriculture is there, water is there. So, the problem is just mentality and a bit of capital.\u201d<\/p>\n

At her booth in one of the pavilions at FACIM, Matimele has similar thoughts. \u201cWe can feed our people best,\u201d she said, surrounded by fresh produce from small farms in Gaza province. Across the aisle from her, another booth boasts supplies from the province of Tete: grains, seafood, vegetables, livestock; while throughout FACIM, businesses are selling locally sourced items, including coffee and honey.<\/p>\n

In Gaza, Matimele says, people farm rice, bananas, cashews and macadamias, much of which they send abroad to countries such as South Africa and Vietnam \u2013 and she would like to increase exports and reach new places.<\/p>\n

The challenge for them is not production, but processing and distribution, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need big industry getting into this business,\u201d Matimele said, adding that small farmers need guarantees that what they produce will be sold and not go to waste.<\/p>\n

\u201cFACIM helps us by giving us a secure market,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\"Maputo,The Mozambican province of Tete displays produce and wares at its FACIM pavilion [Sumayya Ismail\/Al Jazeera]Without funding, \u2018you will get stuck\u2019<\/p>\n

For other observers, FACIM\u2019s focus this year on investment and the Mutual Guarantee Fund are a step in the right direction, especially for small business owners in the agricultural sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgriculture is our main resource. It employs millions of people and feeds millions more,\u201d said Rafael Shikhani, a Mozambican historian and researcher. Yet, there remains a longstanding \u201cproblem\u201d with the sector, he noted from Maputo.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Historically], we have had so many breakups in that [agriculture] cycle,\u201d he said, highlighting the 1977-92 civil war, and in the midst of that, a severe drought that hit the country from 1982 to 1984. \u201cIt was a sort of disruption to production,\u201d he said, one that has had ripple effects.<\/p>\n

Current challenges facing Mozambican agriculture, the researcher said, include a lack of capital for farming, as well as some people preferring to take an easier route by importing food from neighbouring South Africa to sell locally instead of growing it from scratch.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn many areas, the funding is a key motivation,\u201d Shikhani said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have funds, you can [still] start a very nice business, but there will be a certain way you will get stuck \u2013 you\u2019ll need equipment, you\u2019ll need to pay people, you\u2019ll need a truck, you\u2019ll need to put up a fence; for whatever, you will need money.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is where the Mutual Guarantee Fund could come in handy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore investment in agriculture is good,\u201d Shikhani said. It will also help the sector evolve from individuals farming small plots of land to small and medium-sized farming businesses that make more informed choices about \u201cthe type of land, where you farm, and how you exploit your land\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"DanielPresident Daniel Chapo and delegates at FACIM 2025 [Courtesy of Ministry of Economy]<\/p>\n

For analyst Nhamirre, the way the Chapo government goes about tackling the country\u2019s most pressing economic issues will go a long way in determining the outcome.<\/p>\n

But he remarks that external factors, such as the armed rebellion in the north and internal governance issues, will also play a part.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are internal things that the government needs to do well \u2026 The people are still very frustrated,\u201d he said, pointing to the past year\u2019s post-election violence, saying there is a chance protests may flare up again.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Shikhani looks at the issue through a historian\u2019s lens. \u201cThere is a cycle of crisis: if there is an economic crisis, it leads to a political crisis, and it leads to social unrest. If you deal with economics and you feed people, there will be no more social unrest, and there will be no political crisis. So, you start with economics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive people food, give people jobs, give people hope \u2013 they will work and make money.\u201d<\/p>\n

At her booth in FACIM, Matimele and her team stand ready in matching red shirts emblazoned with the words: \u201cGaza, the route of progress\u201d in Portuguese. Ahead of them is a week of networking that they hope will lead to more \u2013 more food, more jobs, more hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cInvestment is the right way to follow,\u201d said the provincial industry chief. \u201cIf we have investment, we can solve all the issues.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maputo, Mozambique \u2013 Down the main aisle of a bustling conference pavilion in Mozambique\u2019s capital, Maputo, Lucia Matimele…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25148,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[174],"tags":[4204,2567,79,3426,179,18,3617,19,10850,17,20944,5],"class_list":{"0":"post-25147","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-africa","9":"tag-agriculture","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-business-and-economy","12":"tag-economy","13":"tag-eire","14":"tag-features","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-international-trade","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-mozambique","19":"tag-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}