Tanzania’s Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited, known as MeTL Group, has pledged to invest $250 million in Mozambique and target the creation of 20,000 jobs as it expands its operations across eastern and southern Africa.
Mohammed Dewji, MeTL’s president and chief executive, announced the commitment after meeting Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo in Maputo on Tuesday.
“We had a very fruitful discussion, and we committed to invest $250 million in Mozambique and try to employ 20,000 Mozambicans,” Dewji said after the meeting.
Mozambique’s presidency said the discussions identified potential investment opportunities that could support new production, distribution and service chains in the country.
Neither MeTL nor the presidency disclosed the specific projects that would receive the money. Details about the investment schedule, locations, financing structure and distribution of the proposed jobs were also not announced.
This means the $250 million remains an investment commitment rather than capital already deployed.
MeTL expands its Southern African footprint
MeTL is one of Tanzania’s largest privately owned conglomerates, with businesses spanning agriculture, manufacturing, food and beverages, textiles, energy, petroleum, financial services, logistics, infrastructure and real estate.
The company says it employs about 37,000 people and operates in more than 10 African countries, including Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Dewji, who leads the family-owned group, is Tanzania’s only dollar billionaire. Forbes valued his fortune at approximately $2.1 billion as of 19 August 2026.
MeTL’s interest in Mozambique is not new. The Tanzanian company previously acquired the former state-owned Texmoque textile factory, later operated as Nova Texmoque, and invested in reviving its production facilities.
The newly announced commitment would represent a much larger expansion of the company’s existing position in the country.
Its scale would also equal roughly one per cent of Mozambique’s $22.34 billion economy, based on the World Bank’s estimate of the country’s gross domestic product in 2025.
Why the promised jobs matter for Mozambique
The announcement comes as Mozambique seeks investment capable of creating employment beyond its capital-intensive mining and natural gas industries.
Mozambique’s economy contracted by 0.5 per cent in 2025, according to World Bank data. The International Monetary Fund expects a modest recovery in 2026 but says growth remains subdued.
The country has attracted billions of dollars into coal, aluminium and liquefied natural gas. However, these projects have not produced enough jobs for its young and growing population.
An IMF assessment published in February found that about 95 per cent of jobs in Mozambique were informal. It called for more employment-rich growth, agricultural modernisation and economic diversification.
MeTL’s experience in agriculture, food processing, textiles and consumer goods could therefore be particularly important if the promised funds are directed towards labour-intensive industries.
The claim that the investment could support 20,000 jobs is substantial. It would amount to more than half of MeTL’s current workforce across all its operations, making the projects and implementation timetable important measures of whether the target can be reached.
Tanzania and Mozambique seek closer business ties
The proposed investment also reflects attempts to increase commercial links between two neighbouring African economies.
Presidents Chapo and Samia Suluhu Hassan agreed in May 2025 to establish a Joint Economic Commission covering trade, investment, agriculture, energy and infrastructure.
Available trade figures show that the commercial relationship remains relatively small. Mozambique exported goods valued at about $4.59 million to Tanzania in 2024 while importing approximately $65 million, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity.
MeTL’s expansion could increase the movement of capital, manufactured goods and agricultural products between both countries. It could also give the conglomerate a stronger base from which to serve markets across southern Africa.
For Mozambique, however, the wider economic effect will depend on which industries receive the money, how much local sourcing occurs and whether the company turns its employment target into permanent jobs.