Mozambique

Education in Mozambique is simply inadequate: there are too few schools, too few classrooms and far too few teachers. Before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, there was one teacher for every 65 schoolchildren. Lessons were held in shifts for three hours a day, and most of the teaching staff were very poorly trained. After all schools were closed for a year to contain the pandemic, school operations resumed for all ages across the country in 2021. What was already difficult before the pandemic is now even more challenging for the country under pandemic conditions. There are fears that girls in particular will not return to school.

Many donor organisations, including German development cooperation with KfW and GIZ, are therefore supporting Mozambique’s national education programme: teacher training and advanced education are being stepped up, and schools are being built. Efforts are also being intensified with parents to convince them to send their children to school – especially their daughters.

In addition to primary and secondary school education, KfW also supports vocational training in Mozambique. Around 450,000 young people enter the labour market every year. Very few of them find formal employment because they lack sufficient qualifications. For this reason, KfW has been financing the construction of new vocational schools with modern equipment since 2015, and supporting selected vocational schools in expanding their capacities, improving the quality of their training and professionalising their management.

Rural flight in Mozambique is on the rise. Even though around two thirds of the population live in rural areas, the percentage declines from year to year. One reason is the insufficient public services at local level. KfW has therefore been supporting the country’s efforts to decentralise for many years on behalf of the German Federal Government – especially at the level of local municipal governments. They are accountable to citizens and are democratically legitimised by them. It is their responsibility to plan and implement participatory investment measures based on the needs of the population.

However, the municipalities can only fulfil this responsibility to a limited extent. This is because the funds necessary to build urgently needed infrastructure are usually lacking. The impacts of climate change, which affects Mozambique more than almost any other country in the world, exacerbate the situation and the need for investment. Larger scale infrastructure that could make a noticeable contribution to local development cannot be completed.

This is precisely where KfW comes in. It provides funds for the construction or rehabilitation of roads, markets, bus stations as well as for the expansion of water supply or for climate change mitigation. The focus on economic infrastructure also involves people from the surrounding areas more. The municipalities are an important market for them and they receive healthcare and other public services here. This increases the legitimacy of locally elected representatives.

Project information - Urban development (PDF, 224 KB, non-accessible)

Transferring bills, withdrawing money, saving for old age or a rainy day – financial services are not commonplace for most of the population in Mozambique. Most are paid their wages in cash. Although the Mozambican government has been working for many years to make financial services available throughout the country, 80 per cent of the population still does not have a bank account. This is due in part to the fact that there are hardly any bank branches or microfinance institutions in rural areas and because transaction costs are very high. On the other hand, there is a general lack of trust in the financial system.

Now a fund to protect savings deposits is intended to change that. To boost confidence in banks, KfW is establishing a deposit guarantee fund with the central bank of Mozambique on behalf of the German Federal Government. It is meant to guarantee savings deposits in the event of a crisis. This will enable the poor sections of the population in particular to plan for old age or emergencies. In addition, new branches are being opened in remote districts with German assistance. In addition, KfW provides banks with long-term, low-cost funds for refinancing. This makes it possible for financial institutions to offer favourable loans with longer terms to poorer sections of the population as well as to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Project information - Basic financial literacy (PDF, 137 KB, non-accessible)