Covid-19: Portuguese support for companies in Mozambique – contracts signed today

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Covid-19: Portuguese support for companies in Mozambique – contracts signed today

4:04 CAT | 21 May 2020

Photo: Portuguese Embassy in Mozambique

Contracts putting into operation the Portuguese fund for the recovery of economic activity and investment in Mozambique are being signed today in Maputo, the Portuguese government has announced.

The Portuguese Cooperation Business Fund (FECOP) is a financial instrument established between the governments of Portugal and Mozambique to support micro, small and medium-sized Mozambican companies, a statement from the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains.

FECOP aims to strengthen and recover economic activity and investment in Mozambique, particularly in view of the negative impacts caused by the current Covid-19 pandemic.

These contracts will be signed by Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language, the Institute for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (IPEME) , the Mozambican Association of Banks (AMB) and by participating banks BCI, Millennium Bim and MozaBanco.

Due to the constraints associated with Covid-19, the contract signing ceremony will be held online.

According to a note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FECOP has a global value of 11.4 million euros, of which about five million euros are reserved for Mozambican companies whose activity has been affected by situations such as the current pandemic.

“The financing will be channelled through participating banks, through the guarantee of 80% of the capital in operations to support treasury or investment, with subsidized interest rates and favourable grace periods.”

This financing will enable Mozambican companies to “meet immediate needs, so that they can maintain jobs and resume their normal economic activity”.

According to the same note, the measure is part of the set of actions developed by the Portuguese government to support the main partner countries of Portuguese Cooperation, and in particular the African Countries of Portuguese Official Language (PALOP) and East Timor, in the fight against the pandemic.

Africa has confirmed 2,997 Covid-19 deaths, with more than 95,000 infected in 54 countries, according to the most recent statistics from the continent.

Among African Portuguese-speaking countries, Guinea-Bissau leads in number of infections (1,089 cases and six deaths), followed by Equatorial Guinea (719 cases and seven dead), Cape Verde (349 cases and three deaths), São Tomé and Príncipe (258 cases and 11 dead), Mozambique (156 cases) and Angola (58 infected and three dead).

The Portuguese-speaking country most affected by the pandemic is Brazil, with more than 18,800 deaths and more than 291,000 infections.

Source: Lusa