wfn.org | New alumnus works to make a difference in Mozambique

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

June 19, 2001 News media contact: Linda Green·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-31-71B{280}

NOTE: For related coverage, see UMNS stories #278 and #279.

By Andra Stevens*

MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS) -- Just 18 months after graduating from Africa
University with a bachelor's degree in agriculture and natural resources,
Luis Miguel Correia is Bank Austral's accounts manager in Beira, Mozambique.

Bank Austral has seven branches in the Beira area and surroundings, and
Correia's day-to-day responsibilities include evaluating competing financial
institutions in the area, suggesting and introducing new products and
services, looking for new business and establishing links with potential
prestige customers for the bank. 

The 26-year-old Mozambican specialized in agribusiness at Africa University.
Bank Austral relies on Correia's skills and expertise in evaluating
agricultural projects and related areas for financing. The bank has the
largest customer base but currently ranks second in loans made and third in
deposit collections in Mozambique.

"It's pleasing to be part of a bank that traditionally has been
agriculture-oriented and plays a leading role in supporting agriculture
countrywide," Correia said. "Though the standards of the agriculture sector
are still low, it is fast improving due to a tremendous natural potential,
increment on investment, upgrading of human skills and government policies
favoring the sector."

Correia noted that inadequate market information and knowledge of the
environment are hurting sales and the overall production of his country's
agricultural sector. The fact that land cannot be taken as collateral in
Mozambique is also making it difficult for the financial sector to assist in
rural settings.

"All in all, agriculture and the overall economy are growing," Correia said.
"We have already achieved self-sufficiency in cereals and staples. Exports
deriving from agriculture are growing tremendously and are contributing
about 40 percent of the country's GDP. A number of agro-industries have been
established in the country as a result of agriculture development."

He emphasizes the value of his training at United Methodist-related Africa
University. "It has broadened my analysis, taught me to think and quickly
adjust to whatever I have not been exposed to previously. It has been
rewarding to find that the quality of training obtained at Africa University
matches that of any colleague, no matter where they were educated."

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*Stevens is the director of information for Africa University.

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United Methodist News Service
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