Good afternoon. President Daniel Chapo opened this week's National Higher Education Conference with a familiar diagnosis. Universities, he argued, should stop producing graduates disconnected from the labour market and instead become engines of innovation, applied research and economic development.
He is right. A higher education system that produces employable graduates rather than simply awarding degrees is an essential part of any successful economy. But there is another side to that equation. Graduates need an economy capable of employing them.
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The latest economic indicators suggest Mozambique is still struggling to provide one. National accounts published last week showed the economy growing by just 0.1% in the first quarter of 2026, effectively stagnating. Investment fell by almost 40%, while the extractive sector contracted sharply, dragging overall growth close to zero. Now, Standard Bank’s latest Purchasing Managers' Index suggests the private sector is no longer shrinking, but nor is it expanding. A reading of exactly 50.0 is that of an economy treading water. Standard Bank has cut its forecast for Mozambique's economic growth this year to just 0.7%, while sharply increasing its inflation forecast following the fuel shortages that disrupted businesses in May and June.
