A Universidade Católica de Moçambique está a desenvolver uma iniciativa que é dirigida aos parceiros de cooperação internacional em resposta aos desafios dum desenvolvimento sustentável baseado numa sociedade que se envolve cada vez mais em projectos empresariais ao nível local.

Com mais de 2.500 graduados em várias áreas chaves para o desenvolvimento, achamos valido como instituição privada tomar um papel mais activo como facilitador. Conhecemos bem os nossos graduados depois de 4 anos, como também colaboramos através da pesquisa, investigação e da prestação de serviços com o sector privado em Moçambique. Estamos pronto e aberto para participar numa plataforma que promove e desenvolve o empresariado local.


Contactos (relacionados com o projecto e fundo):

Reitoria: Dr. Christian Zeininger, Vice-Rector; E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Faculdade de Economia e Gestão: Dr. Alfândega Manjoro, Director (Decano);E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

GEA-Consult: Dr. Eurico Navaia, Director; E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

UCM – Universidade Católica de Moçambique, Reitoria
Rua Marquês de Soveral, 960, Caixa Postal 821, Beira – Sofala
Tel.:+258 23-313077 – Fax:+258 23-311520 – E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it


Project proposal
(to the international development community in Mozambique)

SME Promotion + Development in the Centre and North of Mozambique

through professional entrepreneurial training and promotion of entrepreneurial ventures

It is not for sensational reasons to start with a press note reporting “Outgoing Ambassador of Tanzania to Pretoria beaten unconscious by robbers at his far well dinner”, but our insistence to recognize the growing social problem with a growing number of young people in an environment of high and raising unemployment, and commit ourselves to the added value to society by more people setting up, owning and developing micro, small and medium enterprises, to make a difference in the fight against poverty and the search for sustainable development.
To contribute actively to peace, reconciliation and socio-economic development by reducing growing imbalances, UCM took up in 1995 this challenge and proofs that we can make a difference. As a successful private higher education institution, we intend to extend through partnerships our academic services of education and research by tailored services to our communities.

Conceptual Note

Beside increased efforts by the government to reduce poverty, UNDP states in its Human Development Report 2006 a set-back in terms of Mozambique’s ranking by 3 places (down from 165 to 162). A recent report also refers that the government’s policy towards a broader and sustained development might not be sufficient pro-poor directed. Beside some remarkable deals on mega-projects, contributing to considerable general growth figures during the last years, there is according to the FMI little impact on job opportunities and job creation. Recently the government embarks on the so-called “7-Billion District Promotion” and “Green Revolution” initiatives to respond to the challenges to accelerate the creation of jobs and income in urban and in rural zones.

Entrepreneurship and an enterprising attitude contribute to economic development, social-cultural and personal development of people and their society. People setting up, owning and developing micro, small and medium sized enterprises can make a difference towards the search for sustainable development.

Nevertheless, local entrepreneurship and job opportunities through an emerging SME sector did not yet reach a level to pick-up by its own and too many people continue to rely on subsistence farming and other economically not viable business initiatives like illegal exploitation of natural recourses (f. e. charcoal production, mining, hunting) or street vending. There is also a continued strong grip on most of the economic sectors and businesses either directly through the state or by the ruling parties “nomenclature” and allies.

Donor support shifted during the past years to budget support, thus supporting directly the implementation of PARPA I and II, with the objective to contribute to the partly achievement of the MDGs. By getting more basic service delivery to the population, the issue of sustaining social services through locally created added value becomes more important.

Therefore, new additional initiatives – reaching and promoting the people professionally in their social and economic environment – will be necessary.

As private higher education institution, UCM achieved in little more than 10 years – without access to public funding and subsidies – to establish a network in 6 cities in the centre and north of the country, which offers today to 3.300 students (43% female) a quality and innovative professional education in various fields. More than 2.500 graduates, most of them working in public and private institutions, give proof of our acceptance and importance as a pioneer institution, introducing new teaching methodologies of Problem Based Learning (PBL) and English (as part of the curriculum for better regional integration).

This experience, driven by the challenge for higher education institutions to develop strategies and establish links within the regional context and global changes, encourages UCM to embark and expand into the Promotion and Development of SMEs in the Centre and North of Mozambique.

 
Entrepreneurship for SME development

The importance of vocational training is undoubted and there are several institutional and NGO initiatives taking shape, despite the continued poor general state of public facilities and limited access in this sub-sector within the responsibility of the MEC.

•    UCM is aware about the need of technical expertise and is in process to present its proposal in collaboration with potential partners to potential donors to create, beside the Faculty of Agriculture in Cuama, its first engineering Faculty in Chimoio (FENG) within a range of future academic courses like food processing, foresting, etc.

Nevertheless, due to our own vocation as a pioneer private higher education institution, UCM wants to contribute to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit in people.

1   Capacity building (as a core business of UCM)

•    “Management as a profession” training for all students during their under-graduate studies in all faculties in our 6 locations in the centre and north of Mozambique in collaboration with ECOTEC, Vienna-Maputo, and the Malik Management Zentrum St. Gallen, Switzerland;
•    PBL – Problem Based Learning was introduced at UCM in 2000 and is meanwhile widely accepted to facilitate the development of analytical skills, solution orientated thinking and improved interactive behaviour;
•    English is used as language of instruction in most of our academic courses;
•    Modules like “Local Entrepreneurship” challenge students to develop and present their first own business plan;
•    MBA and MA post-graduate programs at Beira, Nampula and Chimoio.

Beside the promotion of this enterprising attitude, the creation of business also implies that proper linkages must be established between business development and financial services serving entrepreneurs.

2   Business developments (in partnership with professional consultancy companies)

The primary concern must be to support the sustainability of the business set up or taken oven by enterprising people who wish to add value to society through their business ventures and search for new market opportunities. Creating access to support services that make difference for enterprising people is a major challenge.

UCM, as an experienced academic teaching and research institution with regional and international allies and a wide network covering the centre and north of the country, is prepared to establish new and targeted partnerships. The Faculty of Economics and Management in Beira also hosts its own business consultancy, GEA-Consult.

•    Conduct studies and research on business development
•    Elaborate business plans
•    Business opportunities exchange platform with our alumni network

3   Venture Capital Fund (as platform for business ventures to talented graduates)

While government should concentrate on the overall economic and investment environment (like the recently established agreement about the Beira Development Corridor between Mozambique and Zimbabwe), more diversified financial services for SME’s are in demand to enable emerging entrepreneurs to deploy their ideas and trained skills.

Whereas Maputo already offers a range of banking and financing services, the centre and north still remains underdeveloped in terms of provision of tailored finance products. Due to the limited presence, there is a gap of knowledge regarding promising business opportunities and its capacity to assess viable businesses, nor financial needs. A lack of appropriate financial products and risk management systems is obvious.

•    UCM intends to set-up and host a Venture Capital Facility in collaboration with a financial development partner with the support of the donor community for the SME segment.

The direct involvement or even hosting of a specific financial service by UCM does not withstand, nor hinder the commercial provision of financial services by the industry, but accelerate the development of appropriate tools and mechanisms in underdeveloped and emerging regions and markets through the incorporation of an additional professional private provider that knows the potential clients – future entrepreneurs at micro, small and medium level – best. It is exactly because of the professional relationship and trust between UCM and its graduates as well as alumni-network that makes us a valuable stakeholder to depart from verbal declarations and constraints to a much desired pilot initiative outside the capital Maputo. It is also desired to include a professional consultancy and a partner from the finance sector into this venture.

By presenting this first concept note to the development partners, UCM intends to create in collaboration with identified and committed development partners a comprehensive entrepreneurial SME promotion and development programme for
•    Capacity Building Services
•    Business Development Services
•    Financial Services (Venture capital for emerging SME promotion)
within the next years, depending on the complexity of the 3 interdependent components and the readiness of development partners and the market.

Please contact us for the detailed proposal in elaboration, which includes an overview of the suggested development services, entrepreneurial services and outputs, the selection of service providers and the estimated financial support needs per component