Micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) entrepreneurs in the provinces of Nampula, Cabo Delgado and Tete could receive 320 million meticais under the Business Recovery Fund, a Mozambican government program financed by the World Bank..

The Business Recovery Fund was launched this Friday (29) in the city of Nampula by the President of the Republic, Daniel Chapo, in a ceremony that coincided with the handing over of the first symbolic checks to the representatives of 26 sub-projects approved for funding from the 3rd Edition of the Catalytic Fund for Innovation and Demonstration.

Promoted by the Zambezi Valley Development Agency and the Economic Linkages for Diversification Project Coordination Unit (Conecta Negócios), the fund aims to mitigate the economic impacts resulting from the recent cyclones and violent demonstrations that have affected the country.

According to the Head of State, Daniel Chapo, responsible for launching the initiative, both the demonstrations and the cyclonic events had a significant impact on the three priority provinces for the implementation of the program. These events have reduced the economic and job creation capacity of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the provinces of Nampula, Cabo Delgado and Tete.

"As we have all seen, the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula, two of the three priority provinces for the implementation of the 3rd edition of the Catalytic Fund, were devastated by cyclones Chido, Jude and Dikeledi. In addition, as has happened in various other parts of the country, these provinces have also been affected by the wave of violent, illegal and criminal demonstrations that we have witnessed since October 2024," explained Chapo, quoted by the Rigor newspaper.

He continued: "With this Business Recovery Fund, we hope that the effort that the Government of Mozambique, which we lead, in partnership with the World Bank, has made through programs such as the 3rd Edition of the Catalytic Fund, will prevail and produce the desired results, which include the resilience of our companies to shocks such as these, as well as the maintenance of jobs and the creation of more and better jobs, especially for women and young people."

Still on the subject of creating projects to support the private sector, Daniel Chapo promised to continue implementing funds to support the so-called drivers of the Mozambican economy.

"As a government, we will continue to create various funds that facilitate access to our private sector and, consequently, stimulate the economy so that it recovers as quickly as possible, creating more jobs for our youth," he said.

The Head of State also stressed the importance of environmental and social sustainability in funded projects. "We have been increasingly demanding the inclusion of environmental and social safeguard components in projects financed with public funds. This requirement is in line with international environmental policies and aims to ensure that investments are resilient to climate change," he said.

(Photo DR)