Report
Survey of Mozambican Manufacturing Firms 2017

This report documents the principal findings of the 2017 Survey of Mozambican Manufacturing Firms (IIM 2017). The survey was planned and implemented by researchers from the Development Economics Research Group (DERG) at the University of Copenhagen, the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), and the Centre for Studies on Economics and Management (CEEG) at the University of Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo. The survey and subsequent analysis are implemented under the Directorate for Economic and Financial Studies (DEEF), CEEG, UNU-WIDER, and University of Copenhagen Inclusive Growth in Mozambique—Scaling-up Research and Capacity programme supported financially by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (Danida), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway.

The data collection took place during the months of July, August, and September 2017 by a team of 24 local enumerators—mainly graduates of management, accountancy, and economics—under supervision by Ricardo Santos (UNU-WIDER) and Hanna Berkel (DERG).

The main objective of the IIM 2017 is to trace the companies interviewed in the previous survey round (IIM 2012), thereby documenting how the economic situation has developed for firms in the manufacturing sector in Mozambique. Out of 831 firms interviewed in 2012, 523 firms were found to be still in operation, 216 were found to have closed in the period between the two survey rounds, and 92 were either not traceable or refused to partake in the survey. The survey covers the main urban areas of seven provinces in Mozambique: Maputo City, Maputo Province, Gaza, Sofala, Manica, Tete, and Nampula.

While this report provides a descriptive overview, more in-depth studies are being elaborated in 2018. An important improvement over previous rounds of the IIM survey is the completeness and level of detail in economic accounts data—even for companies with no formal accounts. This was possible due to an emphasis on understanding of such accounts during the hiring and training of enumerators.