Standard Bank considers entrepreneurship as a key factor of economic growth
The managing director of Standard Bank, Chuma Nwokocha, considers entrepreneurship as the key driver of economic growth, as stated during his participation in a debate on the subject, sponsored by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to assess the degree of functioning of the "youth entrepreneurship ecosystem", in Maputo, under the project StartMOZup.
"Without companies and entrepreneurs, there would be few new jobs and little innovation, which would lead to a weak growth and productivity scenario " said Chuma Nwokocha, adding that Mozambique ranks 116th place in the Global Entrepreneurship Index 2016, which demonstrates the urgent need for collaboration between the public and private sector, international development agencies and civil society, to build a formal and sustainable ecosystem for the creation of Small and Medium Enterprises in the country.
In this context, as argued, Standard Bank has been supporting initiatives such as SeedStars in the continent and in November 2015 supported the first Google Startup Weekend in Mozambique, designed to help young people to train problem solving techniques, validate their business ideas and sell them to investors.
The StartMOZup project, according to the head of the Department of Cooperation and Development of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Jan Huesken, aims to stimulate entrepreneurship through universities.
"It is essential, in Mozambique, a country with great potential, that young people also participate in the country's development process, through entrepreneurship. We will create a platform for the embassy to support young entrepreneurs, giving them the opportunity for their training and partnerships with Dutch investors ", said Jan Huesken.