Financing, energy infrastructure and capacity building emerged as key priorities for Mozambique’s clean energy transition during the EMERGE Policy Lab held in Maputo on 10 June 2026.

Organised by the Energy Research Center of the Faculty of Sciences at Eduardo Mondlane University (CPE-UEM), the workshop brought together stakeholders from academia, government, the private sector and development organisations to discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping Mozambique’s energy future and to validate policy recommendations developed within EMERGE.

The Policy Lab built on the project’s energy modelling work, connecting technical analysis with the policy choices needed to accelerate the transition. Participants explored how EMERGE tools such as CEPIA and GreenAdvise can support the assessment of different energy scenarios, renewable energy investments and transition pathways, while also considering how these tools can be adapted to Mozambique’s specific context.

A central part of the workshop was an interactive stakeholder validation exercise focused on the country’s main energy transition challenges, opportunities and policy priorities.

Financing remains a central challenge

The results highlighted access to finance as the most significant challenge, accounting for 46.2% of responses, ahead of infrastructure and skills, both at 23.1%.

Limited access to finance and high perceived investment risks were also identified among the major barriers to renewable energy deployment. The findings reinforce the importance of mobilising domestic and international investment and developing financing mechanisms capable of supporting clean energy projects.

Other barriers identified by participants included fragmented governance, weak institutional coordination, infrastructure gaps, skills shortages and limited public awareness, underlining that the transition will require action across financial, technical, institutional and social dimensions.

Solar energy stands out as a major opportunity

While financing emerged as the main challenge, solar energy was clearly identified as Mozambique’s leading renewable energy opportunity.

In the stakeholder exercise, solar accounted for 84.6% of responses, compared with 15.4% for hydropower. The results reflect the strong potential stakeholders see in solar energy for expanding renewable generation and improving electricity access, including in rural and underserved areas.

Turning priorities into policy recommendations

The Policy Lab also tested the relevance and feasibility of the policy recommendations developed within EMERGE.

Infrastructure Development received the strongest impact assessment, reflecting the importance of investment in transmission and distribution networks, mini-grids, storage and smart-grid technologies. Mobilising Financing received the strongest feasibility assessment, while Capacity Building was also rated highly for its potential impact.

Taken together, the results point to three closely connected priorities for Mozambique: mobilising investment, strengthening energy infrastructure and building human and institutional capacity. Renewable energy expansion, particularly solar, sits at the centre of this pathway, but the workshop also showed that governance, skills, financing and social engagement need to progress alongside technological deployment.

The findings from the Policy Lab will now feed into the refinement of the EMERGE policy recommendations and contribute to a stakeholder-informed Clean Energy Transition Roadmap for Mozambique, connecting modelling results with locally identified priorities and implementation needs.