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Moza Banco has just extended the deadlines for the submission of journalistic works, within the framework of the 2nd Edition of the Moza Banco Journalism Prize, launched in December last year.

Under the theme: "Mozambicans who matter: Example of resilience, justice and development for the country", the competition aims to encourage media professionals to investigate, produce and publish articles that contribute to the demonstration of what is best in Mozambique, generating positive impact on society and rewarding excellence in journalistic activity in the social, cultural and sports areas.

With the extension, journalists have until 31 October to submit their work. Initially, the deadline had been 31 March this year.

"The extension of the deadline for receiving nominations aims to allow room for the participation of the entire journalist profession. We understand that this is an opportunity for a wide discussion of this issue, which is of capital importance for Mozambican society. We want to see inspiring stories that symbolise the genuine contribution to the development of our young nation", the Director of Marketing and Communication at Moza Banco, João de Almeida Mota, said.

The award for the best work published by the national media covers three categories: Written Press, Radio and Television.

This is an initiative where original works by professional journalists, or a collective of journalists, duly signed and published/issued in Portuguese in a Mozambican media outlet between 1 October 2022 and 31 October 2023 and those portraying the various facets of the Mozambican reality, may apply.

It is worth mentioning that as part of the joint efforts to reduce GBV levels, Moza Banco launched the competition in 2021 for journalists who have authored articles on GBV in times of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Moza Banco is the sponsor of the 5th edition of the Fernando Leite Couto Literary Prize,  promoted by the Fernando Leite Couto Foundation (FFLC) and which aims to discover the new talents of Mozambican literature, in the genres of narrative prose fiction, drama text, literary essay and poetry.

The press conference took place on March 17^th at the Foundation's headquarters in Maputo, to announce the opening of applications for this edition of the Prize, an event which was attended by representatives of the organizer and partners, namely FFLC, Moza Banco and the Camões Institute.

Speaking during the Press Conference, the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Moza Banco highlighted the importance of the award which promotes literary creation in the country and the emergence of new Mozambican authors.

Moza Banco recognises the value of literature and its contribution to the preservation and enhancement of culture, history and national identity. By embracing this project and granting this support, the Bank hopes to praise and exalt the legacy of the Foundation's patron, a figure whose career and work history is responsible for elevating, as well as inspiring the emergence of talents among young people, rewarding those young people who stand out in the area of literary creation, he stated.

Moza Banco’s sponsorship, which began in the 4th edition, consists specifically in the attribution of awards to the winners for the monetary amount of 150,000.00 MZN, as well as in printing the winning works.

The 5th edition of the Fernando Leite Couto Literary Award is dedicated to poetry works and the inscriptions take place from March 17th to April 16th, with the announcement of the winner set to be announced in June.

The Fernando Leite Couto Literary Prize is a literary award established by the Fernando Leite Couto Foundation in 2017. In its debut in 2017, the winner of the Prize was Macvildo Bonde, with the book A DESCRIÇÃO DAS SOMBRAS, the 2018 edition had no winner in the novel category. Otildo Justino Guido was the winner in 2019, of the 3rd edition, with the book O SILENCIO DA PELE. Maya Ângela Macuácua and Geremias Mendoso were the winners of the 4th edition with DIAMANTES PRETOS NO MEIO DE CRISTAIS and QUANDO OS MOCHOS PIAM, respectively.

The launch ceremony of the book "GEBA, Onde o Tâmega desaguou no Índico" (GEBA, Where the Tâmega flows into the Indian Ocean), took place on March 16th, at the Headquarters of the Fernando Leite Couto Foundation in Maputo, counting on the sponsorship of Moza Banco within the scope of its social responsibility policy.

This is a novel that proposes to the reader a trip in time and space, as the title suggests. It portrays the difficult life of a young couple, Augusto and Alice, who find themselves forced to leave Chaves, on the banks of the river Tâmega in Portugal, to embrace new challenges with the North Mozambique Cotton Company, specifically in Geba, Memba district, beside the warm and crystalline waters of the Indian Ocean.

Alongside the book’s author, the multifaceted writer and visual artist Miguel César, the book presentation event was attended by Mozambican writer Mia Couto, Director of the Fernando Leite Couto Foundation, Moza Banco’s CEO, Manuel Soares, among other guests.

Speaking at the event, Manuel Soares, reiterated the commitment of the institution he heads in supporting national literature for its important role in the transmission of knowledge and culture of a society.

“Moza Banco's sponsorship of the publication of this work is part of the Bank's commitment to promoting Mozambican literature, as we recognise its value and contribution to preserving and valuing culture, history and national identity. As a Bank made by Mozambicans, for Mozambicans, we have an added responsibility to promote and extol the best that Mozambique has and does in various fields," he said.

Soares also highlighted the importance of the partnership with the Fernando Leite Couto Foundation started in 2019, which has contributed to the promotion of literary creation, through support for book publishing, and other artistic-cultural activities of high social impact.

It should be noted that under this partnership, several works have already been published among new and established authors, including: "O Terrorista Elegante", "Mapeador de Ausências", "A Espada e a Azagaia", by the writer Mia Couto; "Diamantes pretos no meio de cristais" and "Quando os mochos piam", by Maya Macuácua and Geremias Mendoso respectively, both young winners of the 2022 edition of the Fernando Leite Couto Literary Prize, also sponsored by Moza.

As part of Moza Banco's efforts to increase access to and use of financial services by more Mozambicans, on 20^th February the Bank launched a financial literacy radio programme called “Conta com o Moza” (“Count on Moza”).

The programme is aimed at people in rural areas, including farmers, small traders, civil servants and state agents, students and low-income women, covering in this first phase (5) districts where the Bank currently has MADER branches, opened under the government initiative "One District, One Bank", namely: Derre (Zambezia); Memba and Murrupula (Nampula); Chimbunila and Majune (Niassa).

There will be a total of 12 editions in which concepts, best practices, security tips and other useful information related to financial services and personal finance management are broadcast weekly in local languages. The programme will be aired at times when there is the largest audience in these locations, namely Mondays at 5.40am, with a repeat on Wednesdays at 6pm.

With this focus on the use of predominant local languages, Moza Banco has become the first banking institution to adopt this approach to communicate financial content.

The Bank's strategy of using the languages people communicate best with, in informal and targeted communication, as well as inclusive and mass media - radio, combined with the inclusion of a gender-sensitive approach, demonstrates its commitment to inclusion, particularly for low-income groups, in areas far from the main urban centres, living up to its standing as a Mozambican Bank for everyone.

The "Conta com o Moza" programme is produced by FEEDBACK, a specialised communications agency, and it also sees it team up with Technoserve/WIN, a programme that seeks to promote the economic empowerment of women through entrepreneurship, and which co-financed the baseline study with a view to ascertaining the real barriers faced by these communities, their financial management habits and needs.

In order to ensure the quality intended, the start of the programme was preceded by training for its presenters, which took place on 13^th and 14^th February. The training included a component linked to gender equality so that the presenters had this awareness when presenting the programmes.

With the effective start of "Conta com o Moza" it is expected that the population of the chosen communities may increase their level of financial literacy, so that they can make a responsible and conscious use of financial services and products, resulting in the improvement of their quality of life and well-being.

Due to the importance of this financial education programme, the Bank expects to expand the programme to further locations, reaching an increasing number of people.

As part of the solidarity campaign “Juntos por Boane” ("Together for Boane"), last Saturday 25^th February, Moza Banco proceeded to deliver the donations it had collected internally to support the victims of the floods that devastated Maputo province, with their epicentre in Boane. 

The donations were mainly made up of clothes, food and personal hygiene products given by the Bank's employees, who spared no effort to alleviate the suffering of fellow citizens from Boane.

Besides the donations from the employees, the Bank also contributed with the amount of 100,000 MZN (one hundred thousand meticais) to bolster this support.

The Moza convoy, consisting of volunteers from the Bank left Head Office punctually at 9am, heading to Boane, being received there by the Coordinator of the Reception Centre at Boane Sede Primary School, who showed deep appreciation for the solidarity gesture from Moza.

With this noble gesture, we express Moza’s values to the community of Boane and to our country.

It should be noted that also as part of the support for the victims of the floods in Maputo province, the Bank gave monetary amounts to two social organisations that carried out campaigns to collect donations for the flood victims, namely AMEEM (Muslim Association of Mozambican Businesspersons and Entrepreneurs) and the Comunidade Mahometana (Mahometan Community).