An Enterprise Map of Mozambique: Book Launch

The Launch of John Sutton’s Enterprise Map of Mozambique in Maputo on June 13th brought together over 160 individuals, including government officials, civil society representatives, business owners and the donor community, to discuss the shape and future of the Mozambican economy.

After the welcome address by Jonathan Leape and Claudio Frishtak, Mrs. Amélia Nakhare, Deputy Minister of Planning and Development, talked about the long-term relationship between the ministry and the IGC and shared her conviction that the forum would generate new insights and could play a strategic role in the economic development of Mozambique.

During the morning session, Professor John Sutton presented the main findings of the book, stressing that Mozambique was only very ‘thinly’ industrialised and that, outside the natural resource industries, had very few firms with strong capabilities. Focusing on the natural gas boom, Professor Sutton stressed the importance for Mozambique to get its policy framework right; now more than ever, government policies need to enable companies to access the international supply chains, which is the only way a sustainable industrial development is going to take place in Mozambique. To do so, Professor Sutton advocates for the development of a Local Content Unit in Mozambique, which he believes is essential to develop the capabilities of Mozambican firms, improve the quality of their outputs, and create sustainable, high-quality jobs. The role of the Local Content Unit would be largely to help national companies improve their capabilities, liaise with multinational firms and help put in place a fair, open process to recruit and train appropriate local companies.

The afternoon session was devoted to a discussion on the future of the Mozambican economy and the role played by local firms and civil society organizations. After the keynote address by Prof. Ragendra De Sousa, attendees listened to a panel discussion including Mr. Salim Valá, Permanent Secretary of the Minister of Planning and Development, and Mr. Adriano Nuvunga, Director of the Center for Public Integrity in Mozambique. The event closed with questions directed to the panelists about recent developments in the natural gas sector, effective management of natural resource include and better ways to ensure inclusive growth.

(Press release in English and Portuguese and draft program are to be found below)

To see tweets from this event, check out the hashtag #MOZgrowth

The Enterprise Map of Mozambique is also available in Portuguese.