Mozambique government plans to create 500,000 jobs through cooperatives

The Mozambican Government plans to create 500,000 jobs by formalizing 10,000 cooperatives and bringing 1.5 million informal economy workers into the formal sector.

This initiative is a core component of the 20-year National Cooperative Development Programme (PNDC) launched in Maputo. Economy Minister Basílio Muhate stated that the program aims to organize small-scale producers, such as farmers, fishermen, and artisans, into cooperatives.

These groups will help workers increase their bargaining power, gain better access to financing, and improve their ability to market locally produced goods. The minister noted that more than 80 percent of Mozambicans currently work in the informal economy, where they often struggle with limited access to technology and markets. The program intends to reduce the country's reliance on raw material exports by encouraging cooperatives to process, dry, and preserve goods at the local and district levels.

To support this, the government will set a minimum quota of 15 percent of public procurement for food products and services from these sectors. The government also plans to establish a National Office for Modern Cooperatives and create a tax-benefit framework by 2026.