The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)

Financing the Next Layer – De-risking Mozambique’s Off-Grid Market

Remarks by Jorge Moreira da Silva, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNOPS Executive Director, at the “Financing the Next Layer – De-risking Mozambique’s Off-Grid Market” dialogue, UNGA81, 23 September 2026

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Excellency President Daniel Chapo, 
Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, partners and friends, 

It is a privilege to join you today. Let me begin by congratulating His Excellency President Daniel Chapo and the Government of Mozambique for bringing us together and for the leadership in establishing a clear, unified national vision for off-grid electrification. 

The ambition to move from fragmented projects towards a structured national financial architecture, targeting 2.5 million connections, is an important step forward. 

That energy powers the infrastructure that sustainable development depends on.

It enables health centres to run, schools to extend learning beyond daylight hours, students to study in the evening. It allows farmers to irrigate and process crops, businesses to create jobs, and communities to withstand shocks. 

In Mozambique, expanding off-grid energy is therefore also an investment in health, food security and community development. 

This is where UNOPS can contribute. 

We are delighted to host SEforALL and serve as an operational platform for crucial multilateral initiatives that bring together global expertise, translate ambition into delivery and accelerate the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG7 on affordable and clean energy. 

Our contribution is practical. UNOPS brings expertise in sustainable infrastructure, public procurement, and transparent project management particularly in fragile and developing contexts. We support governments and partners to build the resilient, transparent systems needed to attract long-term investment.  

Mozambique's USD 1.1 billion off-grid investment target requires a predictable national financial architecture that blends grants, guarantees, concessional capital, and results-based tools. This will de-risk market entry, scale private investment, protect assets beyond programmes. 

This is why the Strategic Funding Coalition for Off-Grid Electrification matters. 

I invite the Development Financial Institutions, climate funds, philanthropies and private investors around this table to move from commitment to action: support the Coalition and help shape a structured roadmap for off-grid financing. 

Ahead of COP32, this is our chance to move from ambition to a financing model that can deliver. 

A model that can turn energy access into infrastructure enables health, food security, development and economic opportunity .

UNOPS is ready to help make this happen. 

Thank you. 


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