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Moza Banco and Banco Terra de Moçambique-BTM, hereby, announce to its customers, partners and stakeholders, in general, that the Central Bank of Mozambique has approved the operations of capital increase of Moza Banco and the purchase of Banco Terra, as previously announced to the market.

Through this transaction, where the total capital increase of Moza Banco was done by Arise, this new partner will hold 29.5% of interests in the shareholders’ structure.

Arise is a leading investment fund management company in Africa with sustainable partnerships with financial entities in sub-Saharan Africa. The company was founded by three key investors, namely Rabobank (Dutch Reference Bank), Norfund (one of the largest investment funds in the world and of Norwegian origin) and FMO (Dutch Investment Fund). It currently manages more than USD 660 million in assets and operates in more than 10 countries.

It is further informed that this transaction also includes the purchase by Moza Banco of 100% of BTM’s capital.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Moza Banco, João Figueiredo, on one hand, said that this transaction will not only consolidate the financial and equity structure of the institution, but will also endow it with a strong competitive capacity to better serve its customers and the market in general.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of BTM, Manuel Aranda da Silva, on the other hand, said that this transaction represents an opportunity to better achieve the bank's objectives of contributing to the economic and social development of Mozambique. It provides the possibility of being closer to customers and offering a wider range of banking services.

Deepak Malik, CEO of Arise, in turn, said that this transaction will allow Arise to expand its investments in Mozambique and ensure the mission of Arise to promote financial inclusion and stimulate economic development.

Moza Banco and the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) signed, last Thursday, in Maputo, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that involves the spread of messages that aim to combat poaching of animal species existing in Areas of Conservation, a phenomenon that has been taking place all over the Country.

In fact, the financial institution will, through its different communication’s platforms, spread information that calls for the protection and defence of biodiversity, showing its importance. There is also the possibility of using public transport buses to spread these messages.

At this occasion, the National Director of Conservation Areas, Mateus Muthemba, said that this partnership is the materialization of the assumption that the preservation of flora and fauna is a common cause.

"It is essential to count on this partnership, considering the relevance of the objectives that have already been laid out in the fight against poaching. Our desire is to see more initiatives of this nature, "said Mateus Muthemba.

For his part, the Executive Director of Moza Banco, Manuel Guimarães, expressed readiness to support all areas of ANAC's activities.

"We will seek to inform the communities, our customers and partners, of the results of the work of the reserves, with the aim of protecting the species, as this is part of our sustainability policy", he stressed.

According to Manuel Guimarães, the heritage of the animal world cannot be seen as only material, but rather as an emotional asset. "The heritage of the animal kingdom is an emotional heritage. It is from Mozambique and the whole world, and people need be aware about the protection of this wealth, which they risk losing," he said.

On the other hand, Moza signed the Protocol with the Administration of the Niassa National Reserve. This act ensures that the Niassa Reserve is the first to benefit from the Bank's actions, and the aim is to intervene gradually in other reserves of the country.

The MoU signing ceremony took place on the side-lines of the VII National Meeting of Conservation Areas, which was held under the slogan "The Future of Wildlife Depends on Me".

The initiative is part of the Government project "One District, One Bank", which aims to allow more Mozambicans to have access to banking services.

As part of the process of promoting banking services in Mozambique, the Ministry of Land and Rural Development, through the National Sustainable Development Fund, and Moza Banco signed an agreement on Monday afternoon, that envisions that Moza Bank can expand its services to 20 more districts of the country by the year 2019, in order to allow more Mozambicans to have access to the financial system.

The districts are Meluco and Quissanga (in Cabo delgado); Majune, Chimbonila, Ngauma and Sanga (in Niassa); Liúpo, Memba and Nacarôa (in Nampula); Marínguè (in Sofala); Machaze (in Manica); Chinde, Derre, Il and, Lugela and Mocubela (in Zambézia); Tsangano (in Tete); Chigubo, Guijá and Mapai (in Gaza).

The act is part of the project "One District, One Bank" launched by the Government in 2016, which aims to accelerate the process of promoting banking services in rural areas, in order to minimize the plight of the population that travel long distances in search of a bank branch.

In his speech, the Minister of Land and Rural Development, His Excellency, Celso Correia expressed the Government's concern to expand banking services to more parts of the country.

"We are aware as Government that expanding the banking system to the most remote places of the country is still a challenge. Moza Banco, from the outset adhered to the national banking policy and today we take another important step in the goal of allowing more Mozambicans to have access to financial services within a reasonable radius of 3 kilometres, maximum “said the Minister.

On the other hand, Celso Correia assured that his Government will do everything to materialize the agreement signed, aiming to benefit the population and the Mozambican economy.

"We will do everything to fulfil our goal of ensuring that all 153 districts nationwide can have at least one branch by 2019. In Mozambique, we still have thousands of Mozambicans who have to go hours, if not days, to have access to their wages and to a bank branch, "he added.

In turn, the Chairman of the Board of Directors (CEO) of Moza Banco, João Figueiredo, expressed interest in continuing to bring the banking system to more Mozambicans.

  "We are today an universal and retail Bank, with the third largest branch network in the country, consisting of about 55 branches. We intend to strengthen our position by expanding our presence to other locations and this partnership will certainly facilitate the achievement of this objective, "said Moza Banco PCA, João Figueiredo, moments after signing the agreement with MITADER

It should be noted that in the scope of the project "One District, One Bank", Moza is already present in Chicualacuala (Gaza) districts; Vanduzi and Gondola (in Manica); and Murrupula (in Nampula).

The Advisor to the Board of Directors of Moza Banco, Joana Matsombe, said that it is necessary to save in order to invest in the future.

Last week, Moza Banco sponsored a workshop on the importance of saving money, in a ceremony aimed at students of Universidade Pedagógica and others. The event was in commemoration of World Savings Week. 

The workshop had as a the guest speaker, the Advisor to the Board of Directors of Moza Banco, Joana Matsombe, who spoke of the value of money in people's lives and in the socio-economic development of the country.

At the time, the speaker said that saving enables the sustainable use of money, generating more capital for the medium and long term. As she noted, the number of people who save is still below the desirable, so it is necessary to reinforce financial literacy in the Mozambican society.

"If we do not save, we have no way to invest. That's why it's important to teach people how to save and make saving their daily activity. Savings are also important for entrepreneurship, that these areas have a strong connection, "said Joana Matsombe.

Still in her speech, Joana Matsombe pointed out that the national currency has evolved both in its monetary nomenclature and in the quality of production, so much that in recent years they have drastically reduced the attempts to falsify it.

The former Director of the Central Bank also radiographed the history of the metical, since its establishment as a national currency, after independence, as well as the processes of its alteration. Until now, the country has had three metical families, the third being the one currently in use.

Parallel to this workshop, Moza participated in the launch of the "road show” of the project "Poupe, Cada Metical Conta", during the Savings Fair, which took place at the Cultural Centre of the Bank of Mozambique, in Matola city.

At the event, the bank, which was represented by a team, offered some services to the visitors of its stand, such as opening accounts, advice on the advantages of savings and financing facilities

As part of the Presidential initiative "Zero Malaria Begins with Me" launched in the light of the National Malaria Forum held last June, the Ministry of Health and Moza Banco signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at reinforcing actions to combat malaria in the country.

The solemn ceremony took place at the Interprovincial Central Bus Station, commonly known as Junta, in Maputo and brought together various social participants including health professionals, artists, religious and the public that came to the ceremony.

Intervening moments after the signing of the Memorandum, the Minister of Health, Dr. Nazira Abdula, said that the document will contribute to the reduction of malaria morbidity and mortality in the communities as the message on good practices on malaria combat will now reach more people all over the country.

 "This event is a demonstration of the commitment of the private sector in its partnership with the Ministry of Health in the fight against malaria. In addition to giving greater visibility to the campaign ' ' Zero Malaria Begins with Me ', it will help spread the knowledge about the demand for malaria prevention measures, he said.

João Figueriedo, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Moza Banco, stated that the MoU represents an added value for families and communities, and that the actions of Moza Banco contribute to the improvement and quality of life of the Mozambican people.

We join efforts in the fight against malaria as part of our commitment and determination to support social movements that promote the well-being of communities, which is part of the DNA of our institution. We recognize that the challenges in the fight against malaria are enormous, and their success depends to a large extent on concerted and coordinated action among the various actors, as Moza Banco is already making its contribution, assuming that, indeed, ZERO MALARIA also BEGINS WITH US! "

Among the measures provided for under the Memorandum,there is an Awareness Campaign to be carried out by means of public transport buses (two of which were unveiled at the event), road shows, and media campaigns, among others