Quick answer: Women are at the heart of Mozambique's informal economy: they farm family plots, sell in markets and travel across borders to buy goods for resale. They face extra barriers compared with men, including less capital, fewer bank accounts, greater safety risks and heavier household duties, according to a 2023 FinMark Trust study of traders between South Africa and Mozambique (FinMark Trust).
Where women work in the informal economy
| Activity | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Family farming | Planting, weeding, harvesting and processing food crops |
| Market trading | Selling vegetables, fish, cooked food and household goods |
| Cross-border trade | Buying clothes, cosmetics, food and electronics in South Africa to sell at home |
| Savings groups | Organising and running xitique groups |
Across Africa, 85.8% of employment is informal (ILO, 2018), and women are heavily represented in the most insecure forms of work.
The barriers women face
The FinMark Trust study found that women traders:
- Have less capital, so they trade lower-value goods and buy in smaller amounts
- Are less likely to have bank accounts, with married women least likely
- Face more danger on the road, so they travel in pairs or pay for security
- Lose goods more often at borders when they cannot pay bribes
- Carry most household duties, and success can bring family pressure to scale back
What women do with their income
Women's earnings often go first to food, school fees and health. That is why programs that raise women's income tend to benefit the whole household.
What helps
- Accounts and mobile money that women control, so savings are safe and private
- Savings groups like xitique, which many women already run
- Safer, simpler border procedures for small traders
- Inputs for women farmers, who often have less access to seed, fertilizer and training
Supporting women farmers
MBC supports smallholder farmers, women and men, in Zambézia. A sponsorship pays a named farmer's local seed and fertilizer shop (92%), with 8% for field verification, and you receive the receipt and a harvest update. Sponsor a farmer from $25, or read Mukheristas: Mozambique's Cross-Border Traders.
Sponsorships are gifts, not investments, and are not tax-deductible.
Sources: FinMark Trust, Summary Report on Women Cross-Border Traders between South Africa and Mozambique (2023) · ILO, Women and men in the informal economy (2018)
