Maputo, Aug. 25, 2025 (Lusa) - The Mozambican President launched the Mutual Guarantee Fund in Maputo on Monday, financed with $40 million (€34.1 million), to provide credit guarantees to at least 15,000 national micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
“This instrument is not just a financial mechanism; it is a bridge to the recovery of the Mozambican economy.
We hope that this $40 million will finance around 15,000 small and medium-sized enterprises, most of which are run by young people,” said Daniel Chapo during the opening ceremony of the 60th edition of the Maputo International Fair (Facim), the country’s largest exhibition of goods and services.
For the head of state, the fund, which has initial financing from the World Bank (WB), is an opportunity to turn dreams into businesses and ideas into jobs for Mozambican youth, “especially for women.”
“One of the concerns we hear repeatedly at all annual private sector conferences is the difficulty of accessing finance.
We know that (…) high interest rates have presented significant challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises, which represent the heart of the national business fabric, hence the creation of this fund, specifically dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises, because they account for 90% of the dynamism of our economy, income generation, employment and especially for young people,” he explained.
The Commercial Investment Bank (BCI) and South Africa’s Standard Bank and Absa Bank will implement the Mutual Guarantee Fund.
“We would like to commend the banks that have already joined this initiative and encourage other banks to follow suit,” he said.
Chapo called for “swift, transparent and inclusive” mechanisms to ensure that the fund reaches “those who need it most” quickly.
Lusa reported in June that Mozambican micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) will have access to credit through the Mutual Guarantee Fund, created by Mozambique’s government with an allocation of 4.4 billion meticais (€64 million).
The cabinet decree establishing the fund, dated 10 June and consulted today by Lusa, refers to the objective of “promoting easier access to finance” for MSMEs through “the granting of guarantees and counter-guarantees for loans taken out by this segment of companies” in the national banking system, to allow “more affordable interest rates”.
It provides that this public fund will provide “guarantees to credit institutions and financial companies, with a view to facilitating the granting of credit to MSMEs”, as well as “counter-guarantees for the operations of mutual guarantee companies and other financial institutions engaged in the provision of guarantees” to this business segment.
A total of 3,150 Mozambican and international exhibitors are expected to attend the 60th edition of Facim, Mozambique’s largest exhibition of goods and services, which will run until 31 August.
In addition to exhibitions and other business-related activities, the event will also host a business forum with South Africa, he added.
There will also be an exhibition of military and police equipment, aimed at “showing that they can feel confident about the service,” and inviting them to see an opportunity in the civic sector, as previously stated by Sérgio Macuácua, director of Facim.
Every year, Mozambique’s largest trade fair showcases the country’s economic potential and business and investment opportunities in the domestic and foreign business sectors. Also, it features other activities, including seminars, promotional sessions and networking events.
LYCE/ADB // ADB.
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