Maputo, 31 Mar (AIM) – The Ministry of Planning and Development of Mozambique and Moza Banco, one of the country’s commercial banks, signed an agreement on Monday that aims to finance rural development projects.

The project, which is part of the Rural Business Financing Line (LFER), is budgeted at 11 million dollars.

According to the Minister of Planning and Development, Salim Vala, the financing line aims to boost the rural economy and promote employment opportunities.

“These resources are to provide financial support to rural companies and enterprises. We know that in Mozambique 65 percent of the population lives in rural areas, and that is where the great potential for the economic development of our country lies. But this initiative is also aimed at Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)”, he said.

He stated that “SMEs today represent more than 95 percent of the Mozambican economic panorama”.

According to the minister, the beneficiaries of this line of credit have the mission of ensuring its continuity through the repayment of their loans.

“We know that access to financing is one of the biggest constraints to the growth of agricultural supply chains and rural entrepreneurs. It is precisely to respond to this challenge that LFER was created”, he said.

“We want to ensure that credit arrives in a structured, transparent and sustainable way, allowing productive projects to flourish and the positive impact to spread throughout the community,” he added.

Valá warned that without reimbursement “it will not be possible to expand the fund to other beneficiaries”.

For his part, Manuel Soares, representative of the Executive Committee of Moza Banco, said that his institution will assume responsibility for managing the credit line, as an intermediary between the resources made available and the final beneficiaries.

He declared that every penny invested will be aligned with rigorous technical criteria and the highest standards of integrity and transparency.
(AIM)
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