From January to March this year, Mozambique saw 33 new food and beverage establishments come into operation, compared to 25 in the same period in 2023, representing an increase of 32%.

The data is contained in the balance sheet of the Economic and Social Plan and State Budget (BdPESOE), for the first quarter of 2024, released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and to which the MZNews had access to, pointing out that these new developments represent an increase in restaurant capacity.

During the period in question, the new establishments created, according to the document, "310 jobs out of an investment of 64.6 million meticais compared to 210 jobs out of an investment of 43 million meticais, which represents an increase of 47.6% and 50.2%, respectively".

In addition, the BdPESOE notes that in general, in the area of culture and tourism, 66 enterprises came into operation in the first quarter, compared to 42 in the same period of the previous year, which corresponds to an increase of 57.1%.

"Openings increased capacity with 414 rooms compared to 323 in the first quarter of 2023, which represents a growth of 28.2%," the MEF report states.

However, overall these developments created 559 jobs out of an investment of 1.3 billion meticais, compared to 470 jobs out of an investment of 370.9 million in the first quarter of 2023, representing an increase of 18.9% and over 100%, respectively.