In Cabo Delgado, a province in northern Mozambique better known in recent years for conflict and displacement than for commerce, a quieter story is unfolding — one told in tons of maize flour milled each day, in truckloads of hazardous waste safely recycled, and, above all, in jobs.
Thousands of micro, small, and medium-sized businesses are being reshaped by CONECTA Negócios, a World Bank Group–supported project built on a simple premise: lasting recovery in a fragile region depends on private sector growth that creates opportunities for young people. With roughly two-thirds of the population under age 25, Mozambique is one of the youngest countries in the world. And around 65 percent of Mozambicans under age 35 say they are looking for work, with nearly half saying they would like to start their own businesses.
In a region shaped by a decade of conflict and displacement, climate shocks, and economic disruption, CONECTA Negócios is putting the private sector at the center of Mozambique’s recovery — and treating job creation not as a hoped-for byproduct of growth, but as the primary goal.
