To every sponsor of a Mozambican farmer, and to everyone considering becoming one:
People in Mozambique are not poor because they do not work. Almost everyone works. They are poor because the work they can find produces very little. This letter explains what the research says about that, in plain numbers, and why Maputo Bridge Capital puts your sponsorship into one specific thing: seed and fertilizer for a smallholder farmer, bought at the farmer's local shop.
I am writing this here, on our website, instead of sending it to your inbox. It is for you, and it is also for the next person who searches for an honest explanation before they give.
Mozambique in four numbers
The figures below come from household surveys and business surveys, not from headline growth rates. Different sources measure poverty in different ways, which is why you will see ranges and not single numbers.
| Indicator | What the studies report |
|---|---|
| Poverty rate | Roughly 55% to 68% of people by national consumption measures. By the international extreme-poverty line of $2.15 a day, estimates run as high as 74% to 81%. |
| Unemployment rate | About 18.4% by the broad definition, but only about 6.8% by the strict definition. |
| Young people not in work, school or training | Roughly 19% to 33%. |
| Informal sector | More than 80% to 85% of all jobs, and roughly 36% to 40% of national output. |
Why low unemployment does not mean people are doing well
The strict unemployment rate looks low, and that is misleading. Social security covers only about 6% of the workforce. With no safety net, a person cannot afford to be without work for even a short time, so nearly everyone does something to earn that day's income.
The result is not unemployment. It is underemployment: long hours of work that pays very little.
The picture also differs between town and countryside. In cities such as Maputo, where daily life requires cash, broad unemployment is above 30%. In rural areas the number looks lower on paper, because millions of people are absorbed into seasonal, low-yield, subsistence farming. They are counted as employed. Many of them are the farmers you sponsor.
What the informal economy looks like up close
The World Bank surveyed informal businesses in Mozambique's largest cities and compared them with small formal businesses of fewer than five employees. On average, the informal ones:
- sell about 14 times less,
- make about 17 times less profit,
- are two to three times less productive.
The studies estimate that about 61% of that gap comes from the business itself and not from its legal status: owners with little formal schooling, few business practices, no access to credit, and very little capital to work with.
Informal does not always mean unproductive. Roughly 7.6% of informal businesses perform close to formal ones. The large majority, though, exist as a way to survive.
Who carries the most weight
Poverty in Mozambique is not spread evenly.
- Region. It is concentrated in the rural north and centre of the country. Growth in capital-heavy industries such as natural gas has not reached most households, and inequality has widened.
- Shocks. Families living on the margin have almost no room to absorb a price rise or a failed season. Tropical cyclones hit rural households hardest.
- Women. Households headed by women show the highest levels of poverty across several measures. Women who work informally are concentrated in subsistence farming, have less secure rights to their land, and have had less access to schooling.
$25 plants a farmer's season in Zambézia.
Paid straight to the local seed shop. You get the receipt, a field photo and a harvest update.
A gift, not an investment. Not tax-deductible.
What this means for a farmer's season
Researchers who study this, including work published through UNU-WIDER, reach a practical conclusion. Pushing informal businesses to register does little by itself. The underlying problem is not paperwork. It is that each hour of work produces too little.
For the country as a whole, the studies point to three things: higher yields on small farms, more access to inputs and capital, and practical training for the very large number of young people entering work.
For one farmer, in one season, the first two come down to something simple. A farmer who plants saved seed with no fertilizer harvests less from the same land and the same labour. A farmer who can buy improved seed and fertilizer before the rains has a better chance at a larger harvest. Planting season starts in November, and the inputs have to be in hand before the rain comes.
Where your sponsorship fits
I want to be exact about what Maputo Bridge Capital does, and what it does not do.
- A sponsorship starts at $25.
- The money goes to the farmer's local seed and fertilizer shop, not to the farmer as cash.
- You receive the receipt for what was bought, and photos from the field.
- 92% goes to the seed and fertilizer shop. 8% covers field verification visits and receipt documentation.
- After harvest, the farmer repays into a Community Fund, which sponsors the next farmer.
- We work with COJAZ, a farmers' cooperative in Zambézia.
A sponsorship is a gift. It is not an investment, it earns you no return, and it is not tax-deductible. Maputo Bridge Capital is operated by Tebotech LLC, a for-profit business, and is not a charity.
One sponsorship will not change the numbers in the table above. It is aimed at the part of the problem the research keeps returning to: what a small farm produces from a season of work. You can read how sponsoring a farmer works, look through the farmers in our directory, or go through seven questions to ask before you give. If you belong to a church or a group, there is a page on sponsoring together.
Frequently asked questions
What is the poverty rate in Mozambique? It depends on the measure. National consumption-based estimates put it at roughly 55% to 68%. Using the international extreme-poverty line of $2.15 a day, estimates reach 74% to 81%.
Why is unemployment in Mozambique reported as low when poverty is so high? Because most people cannot afford to be without work. With social security covering only about 6% of workers, people take whatever informal or subsistence work exists. The strict unemployment rate is about 6.8%, while the broad rate is about 18.4%.
How large is the informal economy in Mozambique? It accounts for more than 80% to 85% of employment and roughly 36% to 40% of national output.
Is sponsoring a farmer a donation or an investment? It is a gift. It is not an investment and it is not tax-deductible. More detail is on our page is sponsoring a farmer a donation?
Thank you for reading this far, and for taking the time to understand the place before deciding how to help. If you would like to sponsor a farmer this season, you can start from $25. Sponsorships are gifts, not investments.
Anselmo Boaventura Founder, Maputo Bridge Capital Fort Worth, Texas
Sources: figures are drawn from the ILOSTAT country profile for Mozambique, the World Bank Poverty Assessment and Informal Business Sector Survey, the IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy, and research published by UNU-WIDER. Estimates vary by source, year and definition.