Mozambique: Financial Inclusion Strategy launched

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Mozambique: Financial Inclusion Strategy launched

11:59 CAT | 07 Aug 2025

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Photo: AIM

Mozambican Finance Minister Carla Louveira on Wednesday launched the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (ENIF), a measure which the government hopes will achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth during the period between 2025 and 2031.

According to the minister, speaking in Maputo during the launch ceremony, the strategy is aligned with the first pillar of the National Development Strategy (END 2025–2044), which is focused on structural transformation of the country’s economy, within the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The new strategy we are launching aims to ensure access to quality and affordable financial products and services, through knowledge, trust, and security. These services will be carried out responsibly, contributing to sustainable and inclusive economic growth and the well-being of the Mozambican population”, she said.

She explained that the strategy is based on four fundamental pillars, including the promotion of financial literacy, especially in rural areas, “with solid knowledge and skills that allow people to make informed financial decisions.”

“It also includes pillars aimed at strengthening consumer protection and trust in financial services by promoting awareness of consumer rights, data protection, digital security, and the implementation of sound regulations”, the minister said.

Louveira added that, although there had been gains from the previous strategy (ENIF 2016–2022), “many challenges remain.”

She said there had been “modest growth” in the percentage of the adult population holding bank accounts, which had risen from 30.1 per cent in 2015 to 32.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2025. Despite the Minister’s optimism, this is a massive shortfall, since the target had been that, by this time, 60 per cent of the adult population should be holding bank accounts. As for the geographical coverage of the banking system, the number of districts where there is at least one bank branch rose from 68 percent in 2015 to 82.6 percent in the first quarter of this year.

The minister also called for adoption of measures that promote greater inclusion and flexibility in access to financial services, “but we need profound reforms combined with the use of solutions that respond to the characteristics and lifestyle of our population, through emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and biometrics.”

For his part, the Governor of the Bank of Mozambique, Rogério Zandamela, said that the new strategy reinforces the commitment to building a fairer and more inclusive financial system.

“It reinforces and renews our commitment to building a society, a financial system, that depends on all of us, including the private sector, that is fairer, more inclusive, and encompasses all of our population even those living in the most remote areas of our country”, he said.

Source: AIM