World Bank announced this Wednesday in a statement, the donation of 150 million dollars for the Digital Governance and Economy Project (EDGE) in Mozambique.

The support aims to “increase access to civil identification, digital public services and improve digital business opportunities.”

The World Bank justifies the measure with the fact that “60% of the Mozambican population does not have official civil identification (identity card).”

“This leads to the privation of rights and leaves large parts of the population, most of them women, without legal identity, without formal jobs, without the ability to claim rights and property transactions,” noted World Bank Mozambique Country Director Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough.

The EDGE project includes investment and technical assistance activities and is structured to create “institutional capacity and government connectivity”.

Also highlighted among the objectives are, “facilitating access to legal identification and service development” and “supporting the growth of the digital private sector.

In detail, “the project will support the development of Mozambique’s digital business ecosystem in order to take advantage of the business opportunities that digitalization efforts will create,” said Tiago Peixoto, senior public sector specialist and project leader. In parallel, “local small and medium-sized digital enterprises will be promoted, as well as startups with potential to stimulate job creation,” added Eva Miranda, private sector expert and co-leader of the project.

Source: 360mozambique.com