Prime Minister Benvinda Levy on Thursday, 24 July, identified Islamic finance as "one of the alternatives Mozambique should explore to expand the economy's financing capacity", particularly in sectors such as agriculture, industry, infrastructure, housing, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Levy was speaking at the launch of the book Introdução às Finanças Islâmicas – Princípios, Contratos e Modelos de Intermediação, authored by Mozambicans Janfar Abdullahi and Karimu Maudan.
The prime minister highlighted the significance of the publication for the national economic debate at a time when Mozambique is seeking to diversify its funding sources and create conditions to increase investment, employment, and household income. According to Levy, economic growth demands greater capacity for resource mobilisation, given the country's demographic dynamics and development needs. She argued that financing the economy should not rely solely on the state, conventional bank credit, or foreign investment, and that available alternatives must be broadened.
"We need to build a deeper, more diversified, competitive, and inclusive financial system — one capable of mobilising domestic savings and international capital towards sectors that produce, employ, and create value," the prime minister said.
Addressing Islamic finance specifically, Benvinda Levy said the model should be understood beyond its religious dimension, drawing on the experience accumulated internationally. In her view, knowledge of the principles, contracts, and intermediation mechanisms of this segment would allow Mozambique to assess more rigorously the opportunities it could offer to the national economy.
The prime minister also argued that diversifying financial products could contribute to broadening financial inclusion by allowing different segments of the population and the business sector to access instruments suited to their needs. Among the potential beneficiaries of new financing modalities, she named farmers, cooperatives, young entrepreneurs, and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
She also called for a stronger link between financing and the real economy. On agriculture, she explained that "resources must make it possible to finance not only production, but also storage, processing, logistics, and market access". For industry, she underscored the importance of financing equipment, energy, technology, and labour, while in the housing sector she said investment needed to be coordinated with infrastructure development and territorial planning.
On the capital markets front, Levy advocated for deepening alternatives to bank credit and argued that "Islamic finance can contribute to mobilising resources for long-term assets and projects". She also pointed to potential uses of these instruments in financing climate adaptation measures, given Mozambique's exposure to cyclones, floods, and other extreme weather events.
Despite the opportunities identified, the prime minister maintained that the development of Islamic finance must be grounded in bankable projects, clear legal structures, transparency, technical capacity, and credible institutions. Congratulating the authors of the book, she said the publication could help deepen understanding of the sector and stimulate a broader debate on ways to finance Mozambique's economic development.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/09/25/economia/financas/pm-aponta-financas-islamicas-como-alternativa-para-financiar-desenvolvimento/
