Young entrepreneurs presented solutions in cultural and creative industries, energy transition, and circular economy at the third edition of Startup Day, an event that attracted 142 candidates and recognised three startups with proposals addressing concrete societal challenges, Mozambique's state information agency AIM reported on Wednesday, 12 August.
The Young Entrepreneurs Conference was held at the Maputo Campus and brought together students, entrepreneurs, academics, and private sector representatives under the theme 'Collaborative Innovation: Connecting Sciences for Real Solutions'.
The initiative was organised in partnership with the Association of Final-Year University Students of Mozambique (AEFUM), with funding from the French Embassy in Mozambique and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It aims to bridge academic knowledge and everyday challenges, encouraging young people to transform ideas into businesses and solutions with potential for social and economic impact.
A total of 142 applications were registered for this edition. Following a selection and capacity-building process, 28 participants reached the final stage, organised into 11 startups across the areas of Cultural and Creative Industries, Energy Transition, and Circular Economy.
Culture Hub, Algumassa Energia, and BlueGeo were the winners in their respective categories.
The rector of Universidade Politécnica, Augusto Jone Luís, argued that higher education institutions must play an active role in preparing young people capable of developing solutions to the country's development challenges.
According to the rector, 'the institution's commitment goes beyond academic degree programmes. The university has a Graduate School offering master's and doctoral programmes, and has also created a dedicated unit for short-duration courses.'
He further highlighted the need to broaden access to higher education in a context where Mozambique's tertiary enrolment rate stands at between seven and eight percent.
For the rector, initiatives such as Startup Day enable young people to develop their capacities and transform ideas into solutions, and he affirmed that the university would continue to host projects of this nature through its Graduate School, incubator, and other structures.
The French Ambassador to Mozambique, Yann Pradeau, described the initiative as a demonstration of the dynamism, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit of Mozambican youth.
The ambassador stated that sustainable development depends on the ability to train and support young talent, and that France intends to contribute to strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem by bringing universities and the private sector closer together.
He called on participants to continue developing their ideas, arguing that Mozambique needs the creativity of its youth to find answers to the challenges of the future.
The director of the Graduate School, Pedro Baltazar, explained that Startup Day was not limited to competition between projects. During the preparation process, participants learned to transform ideas into business models, develop presentation skills, and prepare project defences.
The capacity-building programme also included content on business ethics, with the aim of promoting entrepreneurship grounded in integrity and accountability.
'At Universidade Politécnica, we believe that the university must train professionals capable of creating solutions, generating businesses, and transforming knowledge into value for society,' said Pedro Baltazar.
The executive secretary of AEFUM, Darcelene Macama, highlighted the importance of collaboration between different fields of knowledge, bringing exact sciences and social sciences together to address concrete problems facing society.
In the Energy Transition category, the winner was Algumassa Energia, which commercialises solar lighting kits aimed primarily at rural households in Manica and Zambézia provinces.
According to the company's representative, Aurélio Costa, the startup has also developed technology that will enable payments through mobile wallets and allow transactions to be tracked via a dedicated application.
Aurélio Costa described the victory as an important validation of the proposal presented, while acknowledging the merit of the other participating teams.
In the Cultural and Creative Industries category, Culture Hub presented a solution based on the development of digital and computer systems for the promotion and valorisation of Mozambican culture.
The startup's representative, Fromel Vasco, explained that the team has been working on the solution for approximately one year and eight months and intends to use the prize to strengthen its market entry.
In the Circular Economy category, the winner was BlueGeo, a Mozambican organisation founded by young graduates in Marine Sciences and Environmental Sciences.
According to BlueGeo representative Stélio Santiago, the startup emerged from the need to combine expertise from these two disciplines to develop sustainable solutions capable of addressing the country's challenges.
The third edition of Startup Day reinforced the commitment to linking academic knowledge, entrepreneurship, and innovation, placing young entrepreneurs at the centre of the search for economic, social, and environmental solutions in Mozambique.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=530032
