Financial Systems Development in Mozambique - One More Project Extension from GIZ and EU to AFC

Monday, January 24, 2022

Since the beginning of this year, AFC has successfully shifted into the next stage of the implementation of the GIZ-EU-funded “Financial Systems Development” project in Mozambique. The new phase of the project extends the implementation timeline by 26 more months and tops-up the GIZ-EU-AFC intervention budget with additional EUR 495,000. This very important commitment brings the duration of the successful advisory services provided by AFC to a total of 9 years, with a total contract value of EUR 3.4m.

In March 2015, AFC started to support the program “Improving Framework Conditions for a Competitive Private and Financial Sector” by GIZ in Mozambique. We established the Financial Agent Network in Mozambique RAMOÇ (Rede de Agentes de Moçambique ) initiative, with the main objective of developing sustainable banking agent networks in Mozambique, in order to promote financial products and services among MSMEs via banking agents in rural areas.

Since then, the AFC team, composed of highly qualified and experienced international experts, was providing valuable technical assistance to a number of important partner financial institutions (PFIs) in the country – BancABC Moçambique (currently Access Bank Mozambique), Banco Letschego Moçambique, Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI), Millennium Banco Internacional de Moçambique (Millenium BIM), and MyBucks Bank Mozambique (MBC).

In addition, the AFC team has partnered with the Central Bank of Mozambique (Banco de Moçambique – BdM) and Mozambican Banking Association (Associação Moçambicana de Bancos – AMB) for a sustainable business environment and climate in the financial sector. The collaboration is aiming to promote the concepts of non-exclusivity of the agents and interoperability of the platforms, the use of innovative technologies and solutions in agency banking, the continuous review and adaptation of the agency banking regulation as well as the implementation of efficient mechanisms for prudential supervision, consumer protection and market conduct.

Building on the success of the previous years, for the new stage, besides already pursued goals, the GIZ-EU-AFC partnership has expanded its ambitions and objectives towards women’s financial inclusiveness, financial literacy and agricultural finance. In order to address the challenges regarding the implementation in these areas, the AFC team continuously grew, welcoming new local and international experts from around the globe. Through the implementation of the project, the AFC team was formed by experts from Germany, India, UK, Portugal, South Africa, Bolivia, Peru, Ukraine, and Moldova.

Considering how strong the pandemic has affected the implementation of many development projects around the world, during the next years of the implementation, AFC is looking forward to providing again more and more on-side advisory to its project partners in Mozambique.

For further information, please contact Vladislav Nimerenco (Vladislav.Nimerenco [at] afci.de)