"On a sweltering Saturday afternoon in Maputo, people line up at refreshment stands dotted around a conference venue hosting Mozambique's biggest annual trade fair. But zipping between them in jeans and a black T-shirt a tray of drinks in hand one young woman is trying a different tack. Ludmila Malambe, tasty and nutritious, announces the branding on her shirt, written in Portuguese below an illustration of a cup of baobab fruit juice."
"There, rough sandy pathways have become a temporary home for dozens of boisterous pavement stalls and a thriving informal economy selling food, cosmetics and clothes. At an unassuming juice stall, she stops and sets down her tray, handing the money she made inside the exhibition venue to Vania Pessane, her boss for the week. Pessane owns Ludmila Malambe, an emerging part-time business she recently registered that sells juices and other malambe products made from the fruit of local baobab trees."
"A few rotations later, her tray is cleared. She makes her way out through the outdoor arena at the centre of the venue, beyond espresso kiosks and stalls selling soft drinks and juices, and out past the main security check where she flashes her entrance wristband before exiting the gate. She pauses on the neatly paved sidewalk for a rush of cars and motorbikes to pass before crossing to the other side."
A major trade fair in Maputo draws visitors to refreshment stands and exhibition pavilions while informal vendors operate just outside the venue. A young vendor sells baobab fruit juice inside the fair for 100 meticals, then joins a pavement stall where earnings are handed to a small business owner, Vania Pessane. Dozens of temporary stalls form a boisterous informal economy selling food, cosmetics and clothes along sandy pathways. Local baobab-based products have emerged as popular small enterprises. Broad inclusion of Mozambican communities and informal entrepreneurs is presented as essential for development.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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