Between 2023 and 2024, Moza Banco reinforced its commitment to financial inclusion by expanding the "Conta com o Moza" (“Count on Moza”) radio programme, an initiative that aims to promote financial education among people in rural and remote regions of the country, using local languages.
It is estimated that around one million people have benefited in 10 districts in the centre and north of the country, namely in Chimbunila and Majune (Niassa), Memba and Murrupula (Nampula), Derre (Zambézia); Gondola, Machaze and Vanduzi (Manica) and Tsangano and Zumbu (Tete).
The programme was carried out through 10 community radio stations, in seven local languages, in particular Ndau, Sena, Emakwa and Yao.
The majority of the population covered is engaged in subsistence farming, and who until the time the project was implemented had little knowledge of savings and investment, so it was necessary to use accessible and detailed terms and language to build a new mentality about money within the communities.
According to the population, "Conta com o Moza not only raised their level of financial literacy, but also encouraged the responsible and conscious use of financial services and products, fostering conscious decisions about the use of money for individual and collective development".
However, the usefulness and innovation of 'Conta com o Moza' has not only been recognised in the communities it covers. In 2023, for example, the programme earned international recognition by winning Bronze in the Branded Content on Radio category at the prestigious Lusophone Creativity Awards 2022-2023.
It was a recognition that reinforced the relevance of the project, especially in the communities already taking part.
By promoting concepts, best practices and tips on financial security in local languages, Moza Banco's ambition is to contribute to improving the quality of life and well-being of rural populations, ensuring that they know how to save and invest their resources, generating wealth for themselves and the community.
The Director of Information Management at Moza Banco, Camilo Amarcy, has argued for the need to take a contextualised look at the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the country, as a way of ensuring greater assertiveness when drawing up support strategies for national Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs).
Amarcy was presenting this Tuesday in Maputo at the conference on the "Finance Code for Women Entrepreneurs (We Finance Code)", a World Bank initiative that is intended to be implemented in around 30 countries, including Mozambique. Through this mechanism, it is hoped to considerably increase access to financing lines and services for MSMEs which are mainly owned by women.
Asked at the time about the need to disaggregate customer data in order to expand access to finance for MSMEs, Camilo Amarcy emphasised that "disaggregated data can help financial institutions and support entities identify which entrepreneurs need more support and which mechanisms can be most effective for each profile. However, before using only disaggregated data, it is important to understand the context of each entrepreneur. An entrepreneur in Niassa may have very different challenges from an entrepreneur in Maputo," he explained.
Still according to Amarcy, one of the solutions for segmenting data that is of particular interest to financial institutions could be to consult population studies and censuses.
"We could first exploit existing public data, such as population censuses and analyses from the National Institute of Statistics, the World Bank and other sources, to build a more accurate segmentation model," Camilo Amarcy added.
In Mozambique, the meeting was organised in partnership with FSDMoç, under the theme: "Challenges and Opportunities for Data Disaggregation for MSMEs in the Financial Sector". At the conference, various entities operating in the financial sector signed an agreement formalising their commitment to supporting female Entrepreneurs.
Moza, for its part, has been implementing various initiatives to support women since last year, through its Moza Women project, in which the bank promotes businesses run mostly by women and works with partners to provide financing lines that respond to the needs of female entrepreneurs. This year, the bank has the ambition to create specific products that meet the needs of women, in the light of the same project.
The Bank recognises the role of women in Mozambique's economic development at all levels and is therefore committed to creating diverse solutions that help ensure that women remain at the forefront of Mozambique's economic growth.
In a country where agriculture is often seen as a sector of high financial risk, Moza Banco continues to strengthen its belief in the country's agricultural potential, especially in terms of export capacity. Last Thursday, 20/02, in Maputo, the Bank took part in a workshop on International Trade and Access to Financing for Exports, organised by ExportaMoz, an entity dedicated to promoting exports of national products to major global markets.
The event, which brought together dozens of representatives from small and medium-sized Mozambican companies, most of them linked to the agribusiness sector, was also attended by international institutions, including the British High Commission in Mozambique, which presented some solutions for accessing the UK market.
On behalf of the Bank, Edson Pandze and Higino Machango presented various funding lines specifically designed to boost the export capacity of national agricultural companies, all with competitive, attractive and differentiated interest rates.
Of the seven funding lines presented, three were created by the Bank itself: the Portuguese Cooperation Business Fund (FECOP), the Food Security Fund (FSA) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The remaining four are the result of inter-institutional partnerships, especially with the Mozambican government.
"As a bank run by Mozambicans for Mozambicans, we understand the complexity of agribusiness and always seek to Win Together, creating alternatives to minimise risks and establishing attractive interest rates, often with the possibility of sharing the risk with potential funders," Edson Pandze said.
In response, the businesspersons welcomed Moza's readiness, while emphasising the need for greater delivery of information about these and more funding lines among the agricultural business community.
By investing in agribusiness, Moza is not only living the ambition of contributing to the country's economic growth, but also helping to reduce its trade deficit.
For Moza Banco, in a country with over 36 million hectares of land suitable for agriculture, investing in the sector is unavoidable and necessary for holistic and sustainable development, boosting the well-being of all Mozambicans.
Between 2023 and 2024, Moza Banco reinforced its commitment to financial inclusion by expanding the "Conta com o Moza" (“Count on Moza”) radio programme, an initiative that aims to promote financial education among people in rural and remote regions of the country, using local languages.
It is estimated that around one million people have benefited in 10 districts in the centre and north of the country, namely in Chimbunila and Majune (Niassa), Memba and Murrupula (Nampula), Derre (Zambézia); Gondola, Machaze and Vanduzi (Manica) and Tsangano and Zumbu (Tete).
The programme was carried out through 10 community radio stations, in seven local languages, in particular Ndau, Sena, Emakwa and Yao.
The majority of the population covered is engaged in subsistence farming, and who until the time the project was implemented had little knowledge of savings and investment, so it was necessary to use accessible and detailed terms and language to build a new mentality about money within the communities.
According to the population, "Conta com o Moza not only raised their level of financial literacy, but also encouraged the responsible and conscious use of financial services and products, fostering conscious decisions about the use of money for individual and collective development".
However, the usefulness and innovation of 'Conta com o Moza' has not only been recognised in the communities it covers. In 2023, for example, the programme earned international recognition by winning Bronze in the Branded Content on Radio category at the prestigious Lusophone Creativity Awards 2022-2023.
It was a recognition that reinforced the relevance of the project, especially in the communities already taking part.
By promoting concepts, best practices and tips on financial security in local languages, Moza Banco's ambition is to contribute to improving the quality of life and well-being of rural populations, ensuring that they know how to save and invest their resources, generating wealth for themselves and the community.
The Director of Information Management at Moza Banco, Camilo Amarcy, has argued for the need to take a contextualised look at the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the country, as a way of ensuring greater assertiveness when drawing up support strategies for national Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs).
Amarcy was presenting this Tuesday in Maputo at the conference on the "Finance Code for Women Entrepreneurs (We Finance Code)", a World Bank initiative that is intended to be implemented in around 30 countries, including Mozambique. Through this mechanism, it is hoped to considerably increase access to financing lines and services for MSMEs which are mainly owned by women.
Asked at the time about the need to disaggregate customer data in order to expand access to finance for MSMEs, Camilo Amarcy emphasised that "disaggregated data can help financial institutions and support entities identify which entrepreneurs need more support and which mechanisms can be most effective for each profile. However, before using only disaggregated data, it is important to understand the context of each entrepreneur. An entrepreneur in Niassa may have very different challenges from an entrepreneur in Maputo," he explained.
Still according to Amarcy, one of the solutions for segmenting data that is of particular interest to financial institutions could be to consult population studies and censuses.
"We could first exploit existing public data, such as population censuses and analyses from the National Institute of Statistics, the World Bank and other sources, to build a more accurate segmentation model," Camilo Amarcy added.
In Mozambique, the meeting was organised in partnership with FSDMoç, under the theme: "Challenges and Opportunities for Data Disaggregation for MSMEs in the Financial Sector". At the conference, various entities operating in the financial sector signed an agreement formalising their commitment to supporting female Entrepreneurs.
Moza, for its part, has been implementing various initiatives to support women since last year, through its Moza Women project, in which the bank promotes businesses run mostly by women and works with partners to provide financing lines that respond to the needs of female entrepreneurs. This year, the bank has the ambition to create specific products that meet the needs of women, in the light of the same project.
The Bank recognises the role of women in Mozambique's economic development at all levels and is therefore committed to creating diverse solutions that help ensure that women remain at the forefront of Mozambique's economic growth.
In a country where agriculture is often seen as a sector of high financial risk, Moza Banco continues to strengthen its belief in the country's agricultural potential, especially in terms of export capacity. Last Thursday, 20/02, in Maputo, the Bank took part in a workshop on International Trade and Access to Financing for Exports, organised by ExportaMoz, an entity dedicated to promoting exports of national products to major global markets.
The event, which brought together dozens of representatives from small and medium-sized Mozambican companies, most of them linked to the agribusiness sector, was also attended by international institutions, including the British High Commission in Mozambique, which presented some solutions for accessing the UK market.
On behalf of the Bank, Edson Pandze and Higino Machango presented various funding lines specifically designed to boost the export capacity of national agricultural companies, all with competitive, attractive and differentiated interest rates.
Of the seven funding lines presented, three were created by the Bank itself: the Portuguese Cooperation Business Fund (FECOP), the Food Security Fund (FSA) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The remaining four are the result of inter-institutional partnerships, especially with the Mozambican government.
"As a bank run by Mozambicans for Mozambicans, we understand the complexity of agribusiness and always seek to Win Together, creating alternatives to minimise risks and establishing attractive interest rates, often with the possibility of sharing the risk with potential funders," Edson Pandze said.
In response, the businesspersons welcomed Moza's readiness, while emphasising the need for greater delivery of information about these and more funding lines among the agricultural business community.
By investing in agribusiness, Moza is not only living the ambition of contributing to the country's economic growth, but also helping to reduce its trade deficit.
For Moza Banco, in a country with over 36 million hectares of land suitable for agriculture, investing in the sector is unavoidable and necessary for holistic and sustainable development, boosting the well-being of all Mozambicans.