GIRL MOVE
SUPPORTING girls in mozambique TO complete school and plan for what’s next
In Mozambique, 1 in 2 girls are married before 18 and 17% are married before 15. Critically, 91% of 15 to 17-year-old girls who are married have dropped out — that’s 3 times more than unmarried girls. At every level, girls are less likely to complete their education than boys, with a severe drop after primary school. It is estimated that only 62% of girls versus 74% of boys complete primary education; only 23% of girls versus 40% of boys complete lower secondary; and just 10% of girls versus 17% of boys complete upper secondary education.
Most girls in rural Mozambique lack role models who can inspire them to dream bigger and pursue paths different from traditional roles for women. The transition from secondary school to the next phase of their lives is a particularly delicate time in the girls’ lives, when many drop out before completing school or abandon dreams of higher education and a career.
Girl Move is an award-winning NGO that has been providing mentoring and training for adolescent girls and young women by young women in Mozambique since 2013. To do so, Girl MOVE delivers three programs that blend digital and in-person engagement: Impact Circles, SHINE, and CHANGE. BTG currently supports all programs run by Girl MOVE.
Girl MOVE’s goals with these programs is to increase girls’ secondary school completion rates, increase the percentage of girls and young women pursuing and higher education, and to inspire girls to become mentors and leaders themselves, to grow and sustain virtuous circles between generations of young women and girls.
In 2025 alone, 2,300 young women participated in their community leadership program, SHINE. These young women went on to reach over 36,000 girls in secondary school with what they learned on topics related to employability and leadership.
Girl MOVE also delivers CHANGE, an immersive learning experience in which young women train to become leaders and social innovators. The program combines mentoring and community problem-solving in Nampula, Mozambique, with a 7-week work placement in Portugal.
Finally, Girl MOVE runs 37 Impact Circles, which connect vulnerable girls aged between 11 and 15 with trained young women mentors through weekly sessions designed to develop girls’ confidence, knowledge and leadership skills. Leveraging GM’s extensive experience in mentoring, the sessions focus on strengthening the girls’ motivations for completing secondary school, helping them plan for the next phase in their lives and building self-confidence and skills to help others in their communities.
Key numbers
REACH
In 2025, Girl MOVE trained a total of 2,300 young women across all programs.
Also in 2025, Girl MOVE and their young women mentors reached >36,000 secondary school girls across 11 Mozambican provinces.
IMPACT (2025)
99% of young women mentors express motivation to keep studying or to apply for further education after completing the SHINE program.
75% of SHINE mentors assumed positions of responsibility since beginning the program.
Reading proficiency among girls mentored in Impact Circles increased from 31% to 54%, supporting their ability to remain in school and transition into secondary education.
