Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican government on Tuesday established the commission that will operationalise the Development Bank of Mozambique (BDM), which was announced about a year ago during Daniel Chapo’s inauguration as the country’s fifth President.
The resolution creating the founding commission of the BDM was approved at the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers, held in Maputo, according to a statement issued at the end of the session. The commission is a technical advisory body to the Government “tasked with ensuring the preparation of all instruments necessary for the creation and operationalisation” of the future institution, the statement added.
In his inauguration speech on 15 January 2025, President Daniel Chapo announced the creation of the Development Bank of Mozambique, as part of a wide set of measures to revitalise the economy and support the population. In December, Chapo said that the bank could become operational within a maximum of 12 months, filling a “historic gap” in the development of the country’s productive sectors: “We promised, and the process is underway, the creation of the Development Bank of Mozambique, a strategic institution aimed at financing structuring projects, supporting productive investments, and driving national industrialisation.”
The Mozambican government plans to inject US$500 million (€426 million) from the State as initial capitalisation of the future Development Bank, according to official documentation previously reported by Lusa. “To ensure its viability, the bank will be initially capitalised by the State, in the amount of US$500 million. Capital contributions will also be sought from development finance institutions, including the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank, as well as through the issuance of development bonds,” reads the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (PRECE), approved by the Government last September.
The document adds that the operations of the Development Bank of Mozambique “will be governed by rigorous technical criteria to guarantee the financial sustainability and economic and social impact of the projects financed.” The BDM’s priorities “will be initiatives with strong multiplier potential, capable of creating jobs, increasing national production, and improving the living conditions of the population,” according to the same source.
The PRECE plan sets out that the BDM aims “to attract and channel domestic and international resources to strategic projects” in sectors such as energy, industry, infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, and housing, as well as “to promote the development” of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) “through accessible credit and technical assistance, stimulating job creation and economic inclusion.”
Meanwhile, Mozambican Finance Minister Carla Loveira said on 3 November 2025 that the creation of the BDM will respond to the urgent need to boost financing and contribute to the structural transformation of the national economy.
“The country lacks a structured institutional vehicle that allows efficient channelling of financing for transformative projects, as well as mobilising local capital, such as funds, pensions, and insurance companies, with confidence and sustainability. It is in this context that the project to create the Development Bank of Mozambique arises,” she stated.
Carla Loveira added that the BDM emerges as a “strategic response to the urgent need to stimulate development financing” in the country.
She noted that the national financial system is characterised by factors that call for the creation of a development-oriented financial institution, given the “high concentration” of the market in three systemically important banks that hold more than 50% of the market share in loans, assets, and deposits. “Also due to the high non-performing loan rate, which averages 8.24%, above the international threshold of 5%, and the limited access to long-term financing for micro, small, and medium enterprises, particularly in transformative sectors,” Carla Loveira explained at the time.
Source: Lusa
