USAID SPEED Program
Since the first democratic elections in 1994, the government has pursued an intensive and sustained reconstruction and reform program, with massive support from the international community. The result has been an average growth rate of 8 percent between 1996 and 2008 and a decline in absolute poverty from 69 percent of the population in 1996–1997 to 54 percent in 2002–2003, with a projected decline to 45 percent in 2009. Yet Mozambique remains among the world’s poorest countries. Dire poverty is still widespread, and the private sector still struggles with a business environment that inhibits trade, investment, formalization, and job creation. There is a pressing need to accelerate the pace of reforms.
To assist Mozambique with this strategy, USAID/Mozambique has developed the Support Program for Economic and Enterprise Development (SPEED) to help Mozambique overcome major obstacles to trade and investment, with an emphasis on agriculture, tourism, and access to finance. The SPEED Team will work with the government and the private sector to strengthen private sector participation in the policy process, identify strategic priorities for reform, build a consensus for these reforms, and then move forward on adopting the reforms and ensuring effective implementation throughout the country.
You can find various reports and background material by visiting the project focus areas page.
