Background

As part of the DA T16 project on innovative finance, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, in collaboration with the Government of Mozambique, is convening a national workshop on Advancing Sustainable Development in Mozambique through Stronger Creditworthiness and Innovative Financing Solutions. The workshop will provide a platform for policy dialogue, technical exchange and practical discussion on measures to strengthen creditworthiness, advance sustainable debt solutions and support the implementation of Mozambique's National Climate Finance Strategy (2025-2034) by enhancing readiness to access innovative financing instruments, including thematic bonds, debt-for-nature and debt-for-climate swaps, blended finance mechanisms and nature finance instruments such as biodiversity credits.

Objectives

The overall objective of the workshop is to strengthen national capacity to improve sovereign creditworthiness and mobilize innovative financing solutions in support of Mozambique’s sustainable development priorities.

Specifically, the workshop will aim to:

Strengthen understanding of sovereign credit ratings, creditworthiness drivers and their implications for sustainable development finance;
Identify practical measures to strengthen Mozambique’s creditworthiness, investor confidence and engagement with credit rating agencies, investors and development partners;
Support the implementation of Mozambique's National Climate Finance Strategy (2025 – 2034) by identifying priority actions to strengthen investment readiness, institutional coordination and access to climate finance;
Examine sustainable debt solutions, including debt-for-nature and debt-for-climate swaps, and their relevance for fiscal resilience, debt management and environmental financing;
Explore innovative financing solutions, including thematic bonds, blended finance and biodiversity credits, and the institutional conditions required for their effective use;
Introduce the Sustainable Debt Coalition initiative as a platform for peer learning, technical cooperation and support on sustainable debt and climate-aligned financing; and
Promote coordination among institutions responsible for public finance, debt management, environmental governance, capital market development and sustainable development planning.

The workshop will focus on the policy, institutional and financing issues that shape Mozambique’s ability to mobilize resources for sustainable development. Discussions will examine how creditworthiness, debt sustainability, innovative financing instruments and biodiversity finance can be integrated into a coherent national approach that supports fiscal resilience, investment readiness and long-term development priorities.

Strengthening creditworthiness and market access: examining how credit ratings, macro-fiscal performance, debt dynamics, data transparency and institutional credibility affect borrowing costs, investor confidence and access to capital markets.
Advancing sustainable debt solutions: considering how sustainable debt approaches, including debt conversion mechanisms, debt-for-nature swaps and debt-for-climate swaps, can support fiscal resilience while creating space for development, climate and biodiversity investments.
Mobilizing innovative financing: exploring opportunities to use thematic bonds, blended finance, debt conversion mechanisms and other instruments to diversify financing sources and mobilize resources in support to the implementation of Mozambique’s National Climate Finance Strategy (2025 – 2034) and related national sustainable development priorities.
Advancing nature finance, in particular biodiversity credits: examining opportunities to mobilize nature finance, with particular attention to biodiversity credits, identifying the policy, institutional, governance and technical conditions required for the credible development of high-integrity biodiversity credit markets in Mozambique.
Strengthening institutional coordination and implementation readiness: clarifying the roles, capacities and coordination mechanisms needed across public finance, debt management, environmental governance, financial regulation, capital market development and sustainable development planning institutions.