Africa-Press. Mozambican authorities are considering the creation of a national defense fund to finance the armed forces, at a time when government policy is moving toward reducing direct spending on the defense sector.
The proposed “Mozambican National Defense Fund” could be modeled on Turkey’s experience. In 2021, Turkey established the “Defense Industry Support Fund” to bolster its military and defense sector. The government allocates a share of tax revenues to the fund, and in 2024 it proposed imposing fees on credit cards and other areas of the economy in order to strengthen the fund by two billion US dollars. The fund also generates revenue from the sale of military drones.
The Coordinating Council of Mozambique’s Ministry of National Defense recently held a meeting attended by Tomás Matola, chairman of the board of the Mozambican company Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric, who suggested that the country consider such a strategy, combining funding from the national budget, donations, partnerships, and other revenue sources.
The Mozambican armed forces number approximately 14,200 soldiers. The defense budget gradually increased between 2020 and 2024, reaching 491 million dollars in 2024, before declining to 321.6 million dollars in 2025.
Calling for the establishment of a national defense fund, Matola said that companies are reluctant to invest in Mozambique due to the lack of security. Cabo Delgado holds vast reserves of natural gas that Mozambique hopes to exploit. The French company TotalEnergies built a processing facility there in 2018, but suspended operations in 2021 after terrorists attacked the city of Palma. In September 2025, the company announced that it would support economic investments worth 10 million dollars as it plans to restart the processing facility. The funds will be allocated to job creation in the sectors of agriculture, fishing, education, health, biodiversity, and local trade.
Farhat Alkan, Turkey’s ambassador to Mozambique, said during the Coordinating Council meeting that Turkey had established its national defense fund to support its counterterrorism efforts.
Matola also suggested that Mozambique should not limit the use of its national defense fund to strengthening its army and defense industry alone, but could also leverage it to stimulate economic growth in sectors such as agriculture, mining, housing, and tourism.
