Mozambique is stepping up efforts to strengthen its domestic private sector after telecoms operator Vodacom and the country’s small business agency, Institute for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (IPEME), reinforced their strategic partnership to expand support for micro, small and medium enterprises through the government-led Mozyweb Project.
The initiative, financed by the African Development Bank and co-implemented by innovation hub Ideialab, is designed to accelerate the growth of Mozambican start-ups and small businesses by providing structured training, mentorship and business advisory support, part of a broader push across Africa to strengthen locally owned enterprises and embed them in high-value supply chains.
At a ceremony held on 27 February at Vodacom Mozambique’s headquarters in Maputo, 36 companies from Maputo City and Province graduated from a business management and leadership programme under the initiative, marking the completion of the third and final cohort in the latest phase of the project.
The milestone highlights growing collaboration between government institutions, multinational corporations and development finance institutions as Mozambique attempts to build a more competitive entrepreneurial ecosystem.
A government-led push to strengthen national entrepreneurship
Mozyweb is a structured business development programme targeting start-ups and MSMEs, offering management and leadership training, specialised mentoring, business advisory services and industry knowledge-sharing.
Its core aim is to strengthen national companies so they can grow sustainably and integrate into strategic value chains, with a particular focus on promoting local content, a priority as Mozambique develops large natural resource projects and industrial corridors.
The programme is a flagship initiative of the Mozambican government aimed at transforming the country’s SME sector from fragmented informal enterprises into scalable businesses capable of supplying large industries.
In a statement, Vodacom Moçambique said: “Mozyweb is a structured business development program, aimed at Start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which offers management and leadership training, specialized mentoring, business advice and knowledge sharing about the industry.”
They added that “its objective is to empower national companies to grow sustainably and integrate strategic value chains, with a special focus on local content.”
Preparing SMEs for billion-dollar energy and infrastructure projects
The programme also has a strategic economic objective preparing Mozambican firms to capture opportunities emerging from large-scale development projects particularly in the Rovuma Basin, one of Africa’s most significant natural gas regions.
Through Mozyweb, IPEME aims to ensure local companies are ready to participate in the supply chains of energy, infrastructure and industrial developments reshaping the country’s economy.
“As a public entity responsible for the promotion and strengthening of MSMEs, IPEME assumes a central role in the design and implementation of policies and programs that create conditions for the competitiveness and sustainability of the Mozambican business fabric,” the organisation said.
It added that the initiative reinforces its mission of “preparing national companies to respond to the opportunities emerging from large structuring projects, namely in the Rovuma Basin and in other regions of the country.”
Across Africa, governments and development banks are increasingly emphasising local value creation around natural resource projects an approach intended to ensure domestic businesses benefit from large investments rather than remaining sidelined.
Corporate partnerships drive entrepreneurial capacity
Vodacom, which operates one of Mozambique’s largest telecommunications networks, is a strategic partner in the programme, contributing technology expertise, digital infrastructure and innovation capacity.
The telecoms group said its participation reflects a broader commitment to strengthening national entrepreneurship and building a sustainable digital economy.
“As a strategic partner of the Project, Vodacom plays an active role in supporting the capacity building of MSMEs, putting its experience, infrastructure and vision of innovation at the service of business development,” the company said.
“The integration of Vodacom into Mozyweb reinforces the company’s commitment to creating sustainable impact and strengthening national entrepreneurship.”
The programme also benefits from the support of major corporate partners including Absa Bank, The Coca-Cola Company and Mozambique’s state electricity utility Electricidade de Moçambique, reflecting growing private-sector interest in developing stronger local supplier networks.
Graduation ceremony highlights public-private collaboration
The Maputo graduation ceremony, hosted at Vodacom’s headquarters, marked the culmination of intensive training in Business Management and Leadership for the 36 participating companies.
Organisers described the event as symbolic of the convergence between public institutions and private corporations in support of national entrepreneurship.
“To the 36 graduated companies, IPEME and Vodacom wish them success, sustained growth and consolidation of strategic partnerships that contribute to the economic and social development of their communities,” the partners said in a joint statement.
They also acknowledged the contributions of Absa Bank, Coca-Cola and Electricidade de Moçambique, praising their “collaboration and shared vision, which made possible this journey of training and strengthening Mozambican entrepreneurship.”
Africa’s SME revolution gains momentum
The Mozyweb programme reflects a broader trend across Africa where entrepreneurship is increasingly viewed as the engine of economic transformation.
Small and medium enterprises account for more than 90% of businesses and roughly 80% of employment across the continent, according to development finance institutions, yet many struggle with access to finance, management training and market opportunities.
Initiatives backed by institutions such as the African Development Bank aim to close that gap by combining capacity building, corporate partnerships and development finance.
Mozambique, long dependent on commodity exports, is now seeking to build a stronger entrepreneurial base capable of supporting emerging sectors such as energy, logistics, digital services and manufacturing.
If successful, programmes like Mozyweb could help shift the country’s growth model toward locally driven innovation and enterprise development, ensuring that the benefits of large infrastructure and resource investments are shared more widely across the economy.
For the 36 companies graduating in Maputo, the challenge now is translating training and mentorship into real business expansion and positioning themselves within the value chains of Africa’s next wave of industrial development.
