On Friday 1 December, the World Bank (WB), through the National Fund for Sustainable Development (FNDS), launched a 15 million dollar funding window to stimulate Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operating in the agribusiness sector, especially in the cashew seed production and processing business.
According to the FNDS delegate, José Gonçalo, the initiative is part of the MozRural programme, and the funding is aimed at SMEs based in the centre and north of the country, specifically those in the provinces of Manica, Tete, Zambézia, Nampula and Niassa.
The source clarified that MozRural comprises more than seven structural components, namely support for family agricultural production, technology transfer, financing, markets, production planning and organisation, infrastructure, environmental and social safeguards and producer subsidies.
“The aim of this funding is to increase the agricultural production capacity of companies and the income of families. The companies selected will have to present a project and contribute around 30 per cent of the total value of the project, and the money must be deposited in the bank and in an account dedicated to the project,” he explained.