Kenya’s eCitizen Firm Web Masters Kenya to Build Mozambique’s KSh 2 Billion National Jobs Portal

Web Masters Kenya, the Nairobi firm known for running Kenya’s eCitizen platform, has signed a deal to build Mozambique’s first national employment portal. The agreement, signed in Maputo on July 10, will link Mozambican job seekers with employers, training programmes and entrepreneurship support — accessible online and through employment centres nationwide.

Web Masters Kenya CEO James Ayugi signed the memorandum of understanding with Mozambique’s National Employment Institute (INEP), an agency under the country’s Ministry of Youth and Sports. The signing formalised a project to develop, implement, and maintain a digital platform designed to connect young people and other job seekers with the labour market.

The Mozambican government’s own announcement frames the deal as a direct response to a youth unemployment crisis. Officials cited data showing roughly half a million Mozambicans enter the labour market every year, against a national unemployment rate of 18.4%, which climbs to 28.8% among people aged 15 to 35 — and as high as 40.9% in urban areas.

Mozambican officials said the choice of Web Masters Kenya was based on the company’s track record building similar digital platforms in Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, and Zambia. The government added that the portal will still be shaped around Mozambique’s specific labour market, with INEP’s own technical staff involved at every stage of development.

On the Kenyan side, Ayugi described the deal as part of a broader push to position Kenyan-built digital infrastructure across the continent, and said his team would work closely with INEP to make sure the platform reflects local realities on the ground.

What the platform will actually do

• Once live, the system is meant to cover:
• Job vacancy listings across sectors
• Internship placements
• Vocational training opportunities
• Self-employment and entrepreneurship resources
• Access via both mobile phone and physical employment centres

The initiative sits inside a wider digital transformation push under Mozambican President Daniel Francisco Chapo, and the launch event was addressed by Youth and Sports Minister Caifadine Paulo Manasse.
The Kenya angle: eCitizen experience going continental

Web Masters Kenya built its reputation domestically through its role managing eCitizen, the government’s main portal for public services — everything from passport applications to business permits. That experience is central to its pitch abroad: Mozambican officials specifically cited the firm’s track record building similar digital platforms in Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, and Zambia as the reason it was chosen for this deal.

The Mozambique contract signals a broader trend of Kenyan-built digital infrastructure expanding across the continent, with local firms increasingly positioned as go-to partners for governments modernising public services.

This is a Kenyan company building national infrastructure for another government. Mozambique picked them because of work already done in Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, and Zambia. It’s a sign of where Kenyan tech firms are starting to compete outside the country.