Vodafone M-Pesa Mozambique held the 3rd edition of the M-Pesa Fintalks Conference in Maputo, under the theme: “Financial Inclusion as a Pillar for Generational Transition and Sustainable Self-Employment.”
The event was organized in partnership with Financial Sector Deepening Mozambique (FSDMoç), the Mozambican FinTech Association (FinTech.MZ), the GSM Association (GSMA), M-Pesa Africa, the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ), the Vodacom Foundation, and New Faces, New Voices (NFNV).
This year’s Fintalks conference brought together leaders from various sectors of the economy, including government representatives at the regulatory level, the Bank of Mozambique, the Mozambican Banking Association, financial institutions, NGOs, academic communities, and the executive management of the Vodacom Group at both national and continental levels.
During his opening speech, Vodafone M-Pesa Chairman of the Board Salimo Abdula stated that the theme of this 3rd edition is particularly relevant in the current context of Mozambique, which faces challenges such as high unemployment rates, a lack of economic opportunities, and growing financial vulnerability.
Salimo Abdula further noted that most young people in Mozambique face difficulties transitioning to stable employment and entrepreneurship due to limited access to financial capital, insufficient financial literacy, and a shortage of digital solutions tailored to their needs.
In this scenario, the executive highlighted that digital financial inclusion becomes both an opportunity and a catalyst for social and economic transformation, serving as a bridge for developing the potential of young people and women in creating sustainable businesses, achieving autonomy, and ensuring a smoother generational transition within the economy.
Similarly, Vodafone M-Pesa CEO Sérgio Gomes explained that financial inclusion can be leveraged to create pathways for greater youth participation in the economy, foster innovation, and provide sustainable self-employment as a real opportunity to transform their lives and their communities.
“By choosing Financial Inclusion as a Pillar for Generational Transition and Sustainable Self-Employment as the central theme of this 3rd edition of Fintalks, we reaffirm the need to empower young people to play a central role in Mozambique’s economic growth,” Sérgio Gomes stated.
At the closing of the event, FSD Moç Executive Director Esselima Macome emphasized that the future of financial inclusion depends on intersectoral collaboration, highlighting that financial inclusion should also be regarded as a human right, as it restores dignity to millions of Mozambicans who, for years, have lived with economic limitations and without access to formal financial services.
