Mozambique’s gross domestic product has grown annually by 5–7% in real terms over the past decade, but this has not been accompanied by structural change or sufficient job creation. The country requires a different focus towards economic transformation to address the very challenging short-term macroeconomic situation and create much-needed jobs in a sustainable way.

This report on economic transformation and job creation in Mozambique synthesises 30 recent studies to understand commonalities and differences on promising sectors and value chains in Mozambique, binding constraints to developing these activities, and policies that have been suggested to achieve these. Thus, rather than undertaking new analysis, this synthesis paper reflects on existing analyses broadly related to industrialisation and economic transformation in Mozambique in order to provide a base from which to move forward on the specifics of how to transform the economy.

The summary briefing outlines the most pressing development challenges facing Mozambique and how they affect prospects for transformation and job creation; discusses the promising sectors for future transformation; and highlights the actions needed to accelerate transformation based on a review of 30 studies in the recent literature on economic transformation. It then discusses next steps for the Government of Mozambique and its partners, such as the UK Department for International Development, around the development models (the what) and institutional capabilities (the how) required to implement a distinctly Mozambican transformation and job creation strategy.