SCF and Mobility for Africa to Advance Rural Electric Mobility for Smallholder Agriculture in Mozambique

The Subnational Climate Fund (SCF) is proud to announce its support for a transformative initiative aimed at enhancing rural mobility for smallholder farmers in Mozambique. The project, led by Mobility for Africa, builds on a successful model deployed in Zimbabwe and seeks to deliver climate-compatible, cost-effective, and scalable electric mobility solutions tailored to rural conditions.

Rural communities in Mozambique face persistent transport constraints, including high costs, unreliable service, and dependence on diesel-based mobility. These challenges limit access to markets, reduce agricultural productivity, and constrain participation in local economic activities, particularly for women. By deploying three-wheeled electric vehicles, solar-powered mini-grid charging stations, and battery-swapping infrastructure, the project addresses these gaps while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fostering climate resilience.

SCF Technical Assistance: Driving Investment Readiness

The Subnational Climate Fund is now providing targeted technical assistance to strengthen the project’s investment readiness and facilitate its expansion. This support includes establishing a baseline and socio-economic impact framework that prioritizes gender-inclusive livelihoods, evaluates community-level mobility patterns, and identifies opportunities for shared asset ownership and governance. The resulting data will guide informed investment decisions, optimize asset deployment, and maximize socio-economic impact.

The project will also undertake an initial commercial assessment, evaluating demand, affordability, willingness-to-pay, and potential revenue from shared electric mobility services. This approach ensures that the project is not only environmentally sustainable but also economically viable for local communities.

Impact Across Climate, Economy, and Gender

Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the initiative delivers impact across three core dimensions:

• SDG 13 – Climate Action: Replacing diesel-based transport with solar-powered electric mobility reduces emissions intensity across rural transport systems.
• SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: Improved mobility lowers transport costs, enhances market access, and enables new income-generating activities, including transport services, trade, and local processing.

• SDG 5 – Gender Equality: Through group-based ownership models and tailored vehicle design, the project actively targets women as primary users, helping remove structural barriers to economic participation.

This integrated approach demonstrates how SCF’s technical assistance can catalyze local economic growth while advancing climate objectives, ensuring that sustainable mobility solutions reach the communities that need them most.

About the Subnational Climate Fund

The Subnational Climate Fund is a blended finance initiative supporting mid-sized infrastructure projects and companies in emerging markets. Through its Technical Assistance Facility and Investment Fund, SCF strengthens project fundamentals, enhances investment readiness, and mobilizes private capital for sustainable development outcomes across sectors such as sustainable energy, waste management, and regenerative agriculture.

For more information on this project and other initiatives supported by SCF, visit our Projects page and explore opportunities to collaborate or submit proposals for technical assistance or investment.