Cabo Delgado: Mozambique LNG Foundation to distribute 28,000 solar kits for youth self-employment

The statement from the Cabo Delgado Provincial Executive Council said the initiative is part of the Energia para Avançar project, run by the Mozambique LNG Foundation, established by the Mozambique LNG consortium, the major natural gas project led by TotalEnergies, which is currently in the process of resuming operations. According to Mozambique LNG Foundation representative Narjess Saidane, quoted in the statement, the programme includes the distribution of 28,000 solar kits, agricultural motor pumps and electric mobility equipment. Saidane also explained that beneficiaries of the initiative were selected through a “competitive process” following technical and vocational training.

Cabo Delgado Governor Valige Tauabo, who made the first symbolic handover of solar-powered self-employment kits to 10 young people in Namuno district, said that youth empowerment was a priority for the Mozambican Government, highlighting the concrete opportunities for young people resulting from the partnership between the Provincial Executive Council and the foundation. The governor urged beneficiaries to “preserve the kits and turn them into sustainable businesses” that contribute to the province’s economic and social development. The Mozambique LNG Foundation had previously announced a donation of 94 million meticais (€1.2 million) to directly support around 5,000 farmers in Cabo Delgado province.

“We expect to contribute to 5,000 farmers who will benefit directly, with 85 jobs created by the project,” Erika Rodrigues, the foundation’s programme coordinator, said at the time in Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado. She said the new programme to strengthen sustainable livelihoods in the province is based on three fundamental pillars. According to Rodrigues, the first pillar of the new support focuses on increasing farmers’ productivity and income, followed by strengthening household food security, while the third involves market access and value addition.