The Institute for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (IPEME) placed market access, financing, and value chain integration at the heart of debate at the 61st edition of the Maputo International Fair (FACIM 2026), seeking to identify ways to translate African economic integration into tangible growth for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), cooperatives, women, youth, and persons with disabilities in Mozambique.
Held on Wednesday, 2 July, at the National Pavilion for MSMEs and Cooperatives, the event — titled ‘Inclusive Trade and Market Access for MSMEs and Cooperatives’ — focused on the barriers that hinder small businesses from participating in trade and from capitalising on the opportunities created by African economic integration.
The initiative was led by IPEME in partnership with the FIRST Project, a programme funded by the Canadian government through Global Affairs Canada and implemented by Cowater International. Its primary objective was to debate and chart pathways through which women, youth, and persons with disabilities can access and benefit from the economic opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Beyond examining existing obstacles, the forum sought to bring MSMEs and cooperatives closer to the opportunities presented by the AfCFTA — one of the continent’s principal economic integration instruments — by advocating for conditions that would allow small businesses to participate more effectively in trade.
Participants stressed that the opening of new markets can only deliver concrete results if small businesses are adequately prepared to meet the demands of those markets. Among the priorities identified were strengthening entrepreneurial capacity, improving productivity, and creating conditions to enhance competitiveness.
Discussions covered issues central to business survival and expansion, including cooperativism, formalisation and business growth, the inclusion of persons with disabilities, access to financing, product certification, value chains, and market access.
The debate made clear that for many MSMEs and cooperatives, producing goods is not sufficient to capture available opportunities. Businesses must also meet market requirements, secure financing, certify their products, and integrate into value chains with greater growth potential. The economic inclusion of women, youth, and persons with disabilities was also a prominent theme.
In this context, participants called for policies and solutions capable of dismantling the barriers that continue to exclude these groups from economic opportunity, and of ensuring their more effective participation in the business and commercial landscape. Building a more inclusive economy was linked to job creation, income generation, and broader economic development, with MSMEs and cooperatives identified as playing a fundamental role in driving the national economy.
The forum delivered a clear message: the opening of new markets does not, in itself, guarantee that small businesses will benefit from them. Conditions must be created to enable MSMEs and cooperatives to compete, innovate, meet quality standards, access financing, and establish sustainable linkages with national, regional, and continental value chains. Only then, participants argued, can the AfCFTA translate into concrete economic and commercial integration opportunities for small businesses.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/09/04/negocios/__trashed-264/
