The scarcity of financing, employment, and opportunities continues to limit the capacity of young Mozambicans to convert talent and ideas into sustainable businesses and projects.
This reality stood at the center of discussions at the Youth Innovation and Leadership Conference 2026, held today in Maputo.
Organized by the Mozambican Association of Youth for Gender Equality and Education (AMGIS), the conference brings together young leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators, as well as representatives from public and private institutions, to discuss barriers to accessing financing, employment, and other opportunities for youth.
Under the motto “There is talent, there are ideas, there is drive. Where is the money?”, the gathering seeks to connect youth, investors, companies, and institutions in a context where many youth initiatives face difficulties securing resources and transforming projects into economically viable activities.
In her opening remarks, the executive director of AMGIS, Francisca Noronha, highlighted that young people possess talent, ideas, and drive, but continue to encounter barriers to accessing finance and opportunities.
Noronha advocated for creating conditions that enable young people to turn their ideas into sustainable businesses, while also pointing to the need to reduce bureaucratic barriers that hinder the development of youth-led initiatives.
In turn, Edith Félix, director of consulting and risk management at RSM Mozambique, argued that financing alone is insufficient to turn an idea into a business.
According to the executive, access to capital must be accompanied by skills development, market knowledge, financial discipline, risk management capacity, and credibility.
Félix also emphasized the role of companies, financial institutions, and universities in opening doors for youth. As she explained, an initial opportunity can take the form of mentorship, an internship, or a first project, allowing young people to gain experience and demonstrate their capabilities.
The national coordinator of the Civil Society Support Project at Norwegian People’s Aid, Isidro Macarim, highlighted his organization’s support for entrepreneurship and vocational training initiatives directed at youth.
Macarim explained that these initiatives seek to expand employment and self-employment opportunities, facilitate access to financing, and assist young people in developing their own projects.
The gathering thus aims to ensure that talent, ideas, and drive no longer founder on a lack of financing and opportunities, but instead translate into employment, entrepreneurship, and development.
Source: clubofmozambique.com
