Mozambique government creates over 43,000 jobs through business financing

Minister Salim Valá announced that the FDEL initiative created more than 43,332 jobs in Mozambique during its first cycle.

The minister reported that these figures exceeded the original target of 25,500 jobs by nearly 70 percent. Of the new positions created, approximately 19,000 were filled by women across 144 districts and 65 local authorities. The FDEL program provides more than just capital to entrepreneurs. It offers a package of training, technical assistance, monitoring, and mentoring to support local economic development.

Because micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises make up over 98 percent of the country's business sector, the government is building a financing ladder to help these small entities grow into larger projects. Demand for the program is high, with nearly 357,000 applications submitted to date. The government funded 18,853 of those requests, leaving about 338,000 applicants waiting for support. To meet this demand, the government nearly doubled the FDEL budget this year to 1.5 billion meticais.

Valá emphasized that the program remains sustainable because it requires participants to repay their loans, allowing the funds to be redistributed to other Mozambicans. The government also manages several other schemes, including the Catalytic Fund for Innovation and Demonstration and the FINOVA programme, which works with German development cooperation to fund agribusiness.

By 2027, the government plans to introduce new instruments like the Jobs Now programme and the Green Value for Growth programme to create a continuous path for business expansion.