Policy makers, private senior executives, and leaders of key organisations from the USA and countries of the African continent are meeting at the US – Africa Business Summit on July 19-22, 2022, in Marrakech.
They met for “Building Forward Together”, as the theme of the summit proposed, and are using this opportunity to renew the ties and commitments between U.S. and Africa trade, investment and commerce. Together they are finding solutions in response to recent economic and health challenges, according to the programme of the Summit.
On Wednesday 20th July the Building a Sustainable Food Ecosystem panel discussion explored the possibilities for public and private sectors to contribute to the creation of a sustainable agribusiness ecosystem and highlighted the significance of the vast resources African countries have available to achieve this goal.
Silvino Moreno, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Mozambique, one of the moderators at this discussion, talked about the necessity of creating agro-industrial value chains in Mozambique, which would make a big impact on sustainable development of the national economy. “With the increasing productivity of raw agricultural produce, the national agro processing should take care of preserving the food and delivering good quality products to consumers,” he said. Mr Moreno also mentioned the importance of keeping the balance between exporting food produce and fulfilling the needs of the internal market.
MozParks has been addressing the task of developing and managing Agro-Industrial parks and Special Economic Zones. Topuito Agro-Industrial Park in Nampula has already opened its site to customers. MozParks is planning to develop 4 new Agro-Industrial Parks in Cabo-Delgado Province within the next 5 years.
Over the last 22 years, MozParks has brought the Industrial Park Development in Mozambique to a level of international standards making it globally competitive. Currently it hosts industrial and service companies from 17 countries. The strategic locations of the parks provide business opportunities for SMEs to grow around industrial giants and Megaprojects like Mozal Aluminium Smelter in Maputo Province and Kenmare Titanium Minerals Mine in Nampula Province.
Onorio Manuel, MozParks General Manager, in his speech to the audience of the Invest in Mozambique Session on Thursday, 21st July, presented the services that MozParks offers to its agribusiness tenants. That includes the incentives and advantages of SEZ, IFZ for Industrial Parks and Agro-Park Development in the country. He outlined the current policies that favour private investment and creating SMEs which will be illustrated by MozParks experience and achievements in the industry. ‘We choose locations for our industrial parks with a view of growing value chain economies with a special focus on creating employment opportunities for local communities,” said Mr Manuel.
About MozParks
MozParks is the leading developer and operator of industrial parks in Mozambique. It is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the Mozambican Government Agency for Investment and Export Promotion (APIEX) and private investors. It is the holding company for the Beluluane Industrial Park in Boane and the newly developed Topuito Industrial Park in Nampula.
MozParks invites entrepreneurs and investors to create and grow the agro-processing industry together. It offers impeccable business, operational and legal network support to SMEs who want to build sustainable food production, create employment opportunities and bring prosperity to the local communities.