Mozambique is in the process of joining the Africa50 platform, in order to facilitate access to funding for infrastructure projects.
Headquartered in Casablanca, Morocco, the Africa50 platform was established by the African Development Bank and African states with the aim of supporting and facilitating the development of infrastructure projects on the continent, by mobilizing public and private sector funding.
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The desire to join this financing mechanism was expressed in the Maputo daily “Notícias” by a source in the Ministry of Economy and Finance, explaining that, in a context of tax restrictions and infrastructure gaps that persist in the country, Africa50 can be an appropriate catalyst to meet the country’s development challenges.
According to the source, Mozambique’s entry into this platform will allow the country to monetize existing infrastructure assets through farming them out to the private sector, with funds received to be reinvested in other priority projects.
Currently, Africa50’s investor base consists of 30 African countries, two African central banks and the African Development Bank, which is also the manager.
Mozambique, the government source said, intends to use this opportunity to obtain a financial return on its investment, since the platform is strongly committed to advancing and complying with the guiding principles of combating climate change, aligned with the energy transition priorities in the country.
The country needs to continue to improve the supply of infrastructure and for this it has to maintain high rates of economic growth, reduce poverty and make development sustainable.
The source noted that one of the biggest challenges that Mozambique is expected to face is the weak ability to develop adequate infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, and the biggest reason for this deficit is limited access to adequate financing solutions.
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It is believed that financing private sector initiatives can stimulate economic growth by increasing production, creating enterprise and generating tax revenues.
