At the African Development Bank Board of Governors meetings in Brazzaville, Mozambique, represented by the Bank of Mozambique official acting for the finance minister, called for urgent action to reduce the continent’s “cost of trust,” arguing that Africa’s main constraint is no longer only a lack of capital but also uncertainty that keeps funding expensive and scarce. Mozambique framed the issue as one of investor confidence and set out three priorities to make the economic environment more stable. The first was to reduce regulatory fragmentation and accelerate reforms that improve predictability, transparency and legal certainty for private investment. The second was a more active African Development Bank role in risk reduction, including wider use of guarantee instruments, support for projects with high social returns and regional platforms to lower the African risk premium. The third was to build deeper domestic and regional financial markets able to mobilize African savings for African development. Mozambique also urged the bank to move faster operationally, with quicker execution, bankable projects and clearer market signals. On the New African Architecture for Development, Mozambique said the initial phase should be practical, light and results oriented, and that its success will depend on political commitment from African states. It also backed integrated models for youth employment and financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that combine technical training, access to finance and market integration, and encouraged the bank to scale pilot programs into continental platforms in agro-industry, logistics, digital connectivity and energy.

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