Mozambique’s craft sector is filled with potential; the artisans are imaginative and skillful, the land offers beautiful raw materials with which to work and the country is increasingly attracting more tourists. 

The main impediments to the growth and development of the Mozambican craft sector were identified as unsustainable markets, limited production capacity, product design and quality issues, the informal nature of the sector and lack of a clearly defined strategy of support from the government’s side.

The Millennium Development Goal Fund project Strengthening the Cultural and Creative Industries and Inclusive Policies in Mozambique addressed these issues and implemented a number of projects such as the  ‘Craft Sector Learning Mission’ to Mpumalanga and Johannesburg in South Africa took place. The trip was facilitated by The Africa Craft Trust, and demonstrated the potential of combining culture and tourism to the Mozambican Ministry of Tourism, which lead to the ministry prioritizing craft as a fundamental tourist attraction and economic activity. As a result the Ministry of Culture created training modules for artisans in specific areas such as basketry, sculpture, pottery and weaving, and will include craft in the national education curriculum.

In addition, contract guides were developed for the music and craft sectors by the International Trade Centre (ITC) with a view to increasing technical capacity for developing and negotiating contracts. This initiative is part of an overall review of the legal framework supporting the growth of the creative industries. The need to have a infrastructure to facilitate the commercialization of products was requested by members of the Mozambican craft and music industries. To respond to this need, the contract guides identify the existing legal barriers that impede trade in the creative industries, offer recommendations to enhance the existing business environment and also provide some legal tools such as sample contracts for the sector.