Mozambique: EIB Global and Moza Banco provide €20 million to grow women-led businesses

• The EIB Global and Moza Banco initiative, as part of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, will offer financing for small and medium-sized businesses in Mozambique, with a focus on businesses owned or run by women.
• Women are less likely to be able to access appropriate finance for their business, and the EIB-Moza Banco facility will address that financing gap.
• The project will support economic growth, prosperity and gender equality.

Access to finance for women entrepreneurs in Mozambique will increase thanks to a €10 million loan by the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed today. The financing will enable a new €20 million facility by Moza Banco which targets small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the country.

The facility will offer loans with favourable conditions with a focus on businesses owned or run by women, which employ a significant number of women or which offer services specifically to women. The financing will be available in several sectors, including manufacturing, transport, agriculture, health and services.

The African continent has one of the highest percentages of women entrepreneurs in the world. More than three-quarters of working people in Mozambique make their living from a small or medium-sized business, and two-thirds of those working in these businesses are women.

“Women’s economic empowerment is essential to a country’s development,” said Thomas Östros, EIB Vice-President in charge of diversity and inclusion as well as operations in African countries. “By investing in small businesses run by women in Mozambique, the EIB helps them to access economic opportunities, build livelihoods and gain financial independence. Investing in these businesses is not only an investment in these women, it is investing in the education and health of their families, and in jobs. Women’s prosperity benefits society and the economy as a whole.”

Moza Banco’s Chief Executive Officer Manuel Soares said, “Moza Banco strongly believes in the transformative power of financing projects that strengthen the role of women in society, recognizing that this not only drives economic development but also promotes the financial independence of this important social group. In Mozambique and, also in the African continent, we observe a growing determination among women to take on leadership roles and become protagonists of their own trajectories. We have a strong desire to catalyze the potential of these women by creating facilities for accessing resources and opportunities that not only elevate the position of Mozambican women in the economy but also foster the construction of a more inclusive and equitable society.”

Ambassador of the European Union to Mozambique Antonino Maggiore said, “The Global Gateway strategy in Mozambique aims to boost public and private investment to create sustainable growth and jobs for the country’s growing youth population. One of its priorities is therefore to ensure that SMEs, particularly those led by women, have more access to finance. The European Union holds great expectations for the outcomes of this finance facility to fully harness the potential of the Mozambican private sector.”

Small businesses are a key driver of economic growth and development, providing goods, services, jobs and income to the local community. To thrive, in particular in the face of climate pressures and an inhospitable global economy, they need appropriate funding. However, statistics show that, worldwide, women are less likely to be able to access the finance they need. The EIB-Moza Banco facility will address this financing gap with financial tools and products targeting the needs of women entrepreneurs.

Background information

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.

The EIB has invested in projects in Mozambique since 1987. EIB Global is the EIB Group’s specialised arm devoted to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance, and a key partner in Global Gateway. We aim to support €100 billion of investment by the end of 2027, around one third of the overall target of this EU initiative. With Team Europe, EIB Global fosters strong, focused partnerships, alongside fellow development finance institutions and civil society. EIB Global brings the Group closer to local people, companies and institutions through our offices around the world.

The EIB is committed to supporting women’s economic empowerment through its projects worldwide and was the first Multilateral Development Bank to endorse the 2X Challenge criteria in 2019. The 2X Challenge is a multilateral initiative launched by the G7 in June 2018 with the ambitious objective of deploying and mobilising unprecedented amounts of capital to support projects that empower women as entrepreneurs, as business leaders, as employees and as consumers of products and services that enhance their economic participation.

To improve the impact of its activities on women and girls, the EIB has adopted a Strategy on Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment and a Gender Action Plan with the aim of embedding gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in the EIB’s business model covering its lending, blending and advising work within and outside the European Union. More information on EIB gender equality initiatives About Global Gateway Global Gateway is the European strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. Through a ‘Team Europe approach’, Global Gateway brings together the EU, its Member States and their financial and development institutions to mobilise the private sector to leverage investments for a transformational impact. It aims to mobilise up to €300 billion in investments. Global Gateway is fully aligned with the UN’s Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the Paris Agreement.