© Marco Palombi
Today we celebrate International Education Day, with this year’s theme: Artificial Intelligence and Education: Preserving Human Autonomy in a World of Automation.
The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) has played a key role in strengthening the educational system in Mozambique, with particular focus on the university sector. Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), the largest and most important in the country, is one of AICS’s main partners. This support aims not only to improve UEM’s institutional capacity but also to address one of Mozambique’s biggest challenges: high youth unemployment[1].
In 2023, as part of efforts to increase employability, promote entrepreneurship, and stimulate innovation, a business incubator was inaugurated at UEM. This initiative is part of two AICS-funded projects: Coding Girls[2] and ICT4DEV[3].
In the incubator, which has already welcomed 33 start-ups in various sectors such as online education, microfinance, and agro-processing, young people have access to hands-on training in digital marketing, business plan development, and digital entrepreneurship. Additionally, they can take advantage of a network of contacts that facilitates the expansion and strengthening of their ideas. According to Leila Mutuque, coordinator of the incubator, a major investment has been made in the tech sector. “Since technology and artificial intelligence represent the future of the world, we have placed special emphasis on this sector, and we believe this is the ideal moment for the development of innovative solutions” she says.
One of the start-ups supported by the incubator is Credit Flow, a fintech[4] company that seeks to promote financial education and financial inclusion in Mozambique. The start-up uses an innovative platform that facilitates the provision of credit, connecting small businesses and individuals in need of financing with banks and other financial institutions. Additionally, the start-up has developed a mobile application available for Android and iOS devices. Through the app, users can request credit quickly and securely. “Through this application, we aim to stimulate entrepreneurship and, consequently, increase employability among young people,” says José Matingue, founder of Credit Flow.
“Education opens the doors and windows of imagination,” says Julia Delfino Cossa, one of the co-founders of the start-up Maria EBB, which is dedicated to online education in the university sector as a means to expand access to learning in Mozambique. “With our online platform, anyone can learn from anywhere, with flexible hours,” she adds. The content available on the platform is developed by university professors and undergoes a rigorous verification process.
For the development of the platform, the team was inspired by business models of globally recognized platforms like Duolingo and Babbel, adopting a similar monetization approach: a free version complemented by advanced features available via paid subscription, in addition to ads.
The great strength of Maria EBB is the integration of new technologies and artificial intelligence to personalize the learning experience. The platform uses resources like bionic reading and robotic reading, adapting to the individual needs of each user. “We know that there are different types of people who learn in different ways. That’s why we want to offer personalized education,” explains Julia.
The start-ups Maria EBB and Credit Flow are examples of companies using new technologies to promote education, both in the academic and financial sectors. Both aim to increase the skills of young people, contributing to addressing the high unemployment rate in the country.
As Leila Mutuque explains, in the Mozambican context, many young people continue to prioritize finding employment rather than considering entrepreneurship as an alternative to create and generate their own work. However, she observes a gradual change in this reality: “We are already seeing the creation of businesses through start-ups that are seeking solutions to the country’s problems, while also generating self-employment.”
The UEM business incubator, inaugurated with the support of AICS, is an important first step in this process. It provides the necessary support for young people to develop their ideas and initiatives, acting as a safe space where start-ups can grow and test their solutions.
[1] According to data from the National Institute of Statistics, the youth unemployment rate, particularly for young people aged 15-24, is around 40%.
[2] The Coding Girls project, with a funding of 1.4 million euros, promotes (and partially supports) university study choices and courses in technical-scientific disciplines (particularly Computer Science) for secondary school girls. The initiative introduces participants to digital programming, after refining the basics (MS Office package), with courses held at the delegations of the National Institute of Electronic Government (INAGE) in 9 provinces, lasting approximately 2 months.
[3] The ICT4DEV project – Training of students, teachers, and researchers in the field of Technology, has a funding of 1.2 million euros. In collaboration with the Computer Center of UEM (CIUEM) and the DEIB of the Polytechnic University of Milan, training activities in ICT are being implemented for students, researchers, and teachers in the STEM area. The overall goal of the initiative is to contribute to the increase of scientific research, the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and to promote innovation.
[4] Fintech (financial technology) is a technological approach used to provide financial services digitally. The term Fintech is used both to identify start-up companies in the financial sector and the digital products they offer, such as applications, software, and other technologies.