Mozambique: World Bank sees business opportunities for private investors

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Mozambique: World Bank sees business opportunities for private investors

12:48 CAT | 26 Nov 2025

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

The World Bank said on Tuesday in Maputo that Mozambique has potential for wealth and business opportunities, challenging the Portuguese private sector to invest and help the local economy grow.

“In Mozambique, we have about $5 billion in World Bank operations, and investments will continue because Mozambique needs a lot of investment. This is a country with many opportunities. And I would also say that it is a country with enormous potential for wealth,” said Chenjerani Simon Chirwa, procurement manager for the World Bank’s Southern Africa region.

The head of the international financial institution was speaking at the presentation of the World Bank’s portfolio of projects and public procurement procedures, promoted by the bank, at the Portuguese Embassy and the representation of the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (AICEP) in Maputo.

The World Bank official asked Portuguese businesspeople to invest more in Mozambique, saying this is the way to help the country grow amid existing business opportunities.

“What can we do to help Mozambique reach its maximum potential? The country needs the private sector; without the private sector, Mozambique would not grow,” said Chirwa.

The World Bank wants the private sector, particularly the Portuguese private sector, to invest in Mozambique to ensure access to financing provided by the institution, noting that the bank is moving forward with strategies in its relationship with the private sector to ensure access to information well in advance.

“We need to know about opportunities well before they are announced so that we can prepare ourselves. The six weeks we give to prepare proposals are very short, and I realise that. Those who intend to participate should perhaps be researching the market months before the tender is published,” said Chenjerani Simon Chirwa.

At the same event, the Portuguese ambassador in Maputo said that Portugal wants to continue to support Mozambique’s development efforts, noting that the goal is to improve the lives of the population.

“The Portuguese presence in Mozambique is solid. Portuguese companies are present in all sectors in Mozambique, contributing to the creation of value and skilled human resources, and this is the path we want to continue in Mozambique,” said Ambassador Jorge Monteiro, indicating that the Portuguese private sector, already with a “long-term presence,” believes in the country and has delivered quality services, calling on them to compete for World Bank funds.

“Portugal deeply believes in a development model in which bilateral financing, private investment and bilateral partnerships converge,” the diplomat concluded.

Yesterday’s meeting between Portuguese-owned companies in Mozambique and the World Bank aims to clarify issues related to the financial institution’s new procurement rules and to publicise its portfolio of projects for the Mozambican market.

Source: Lusa