I Like to Spend a Week in Moçambique

As the Bob Dylan song goes, it's nice to 'stay a week in Mozambique' (spelled "Moçambique" and pronounced "Mo-Sam-Bi-Kee") in the national tongue, Portuguese.

I have been absent from blogging as, outside of the capital, Maputo, internet access is scarce in this expansive and sparsely-administered country, and broadband is almost unheard of.

My drive north on the one road leading out from the southern and remotely-located capital took me past cashew stalls and corn stalks which soon gave way to endless palm trees, pristine beaches and dark blue bays and lagoons. Mozambique may have had a troubled past with its painful colonial story and a 16 year Civil War heavily financed by its neighbors, but it is still beautiful, people are still friendly and life here is quiet and easy.

My trip has taken me from the country's biggest city to its small towns and through its tiny villages. While subsistence farming remains most peoples' primary means of survival, there are some large banks and cell phone companies operating here with widespread appeal and I was surprised to see that most people in the small towns had bank accounts and ATM cards.

In fact, the biggest shock I've experienced (besides the ocean-side beauty and absolute slow-pace of life) has been the lines that form each morning and remain until afternoon at each of the town's local bank ATMs. The Peace Corps friend I'm staying with tells me this phenomenon is partially due to the date. People get paid at the end of each month and right now their paychecks are hitting their bank accounts. Apparently many here also have direct deposit - at least the government employees - and that's a lot of the non-farming population.

It's fascinating but sad to watch the strange routine in front of the banks. A government soldier stands guard with a shotgun while dozens and dozens of people wait in line for a chance to get cash. When I waited once, the ATM ran out by the time I got there. I don't know if it's a testament to a shortness of ATM supply or an inability to be able to plan out four weeks of expenditures, but apparently everyone here goes broke at the end of the month.

But "De Nada," (no worries), "Esta' Bom" (it's all good). Sit down in this place time forgot and have another 2M (the local beer) while you forget about the world outside 'Mossaaambeekee' for a week.

Comments

[harman]

After Spandana, can we expect more such investments from PE players in microfinance in india??

[Karol]

Wow what a sunset!

[bankerinindia]

Hi Harman,

Yes. I would expect further traditional PE investments in MF in India. While 3 of the big 4 have already "raised money" there are also several high profile startups out there and some lending companies looking to downscale into this mkt. There will likely be series B rounds eventually as well in those that have already raised PE money. This story isn't over yet. I think its in mid-stride.

[Mark]

I feel almost silly coming back to this post weeks after its initial drafting, but its clear to me now after talking with some more friends around Africa that the people line up at the ATMs in the morning because they run out of cash by lunch time each day.

Its not a shortness of ATMs, its a shortness of the money supply, or at least, in the case of hyper-inflation environments like Zimbabwae, a shortness of money supply for people in the rural towns and villages...