Free business email in Mozambique: set up nome@suaempresa.co.mz

Mozambique's business opportunities are concentrated in a few supply chains: the gas projects in Cabo Delgado and their subcontractors, mining in Tete and the graphite belt, the port and logistics corridor through Maputo and Beira, and tourism along the coast. Every one of those chains is run by procurement teams that vet suppliers on paper, and the email domain is part of the paper. A .co.mz domain is registered through the national registry for a yearly fee that can be paid by mobile money, and the mailboxes can be free.

Quick answer

Register suaempresa.co.mz through the CIUEM registry or a Mozambican hosting company, paying by M-Pesa, e-Mola or bank transfer. Create a free OquMail workspace with no card, add the domain, paste four DNS records, click Verify and create your mailboxes. Add the mailbox to the Gmail app on your phone over IMAP.

Choosing your domain: .co.mz or .com

• .co.mz: the business ending under .mz, administered by CIUEM (the computing centre of Eduardo Mondlane University) and sold directly and through local resellers. Priced in meticais; the ending local buyers and public bodies expect.
• .org.mz, .ac.mz, .gov.mz: for organisations, universities and government; not for a trading company.
• .com: for companies serving mostly foreign clients; many suppliers to the gas and mining projects hold both and use .co.mz for the mailboxes.
• Portuguese accents belong in display names, not in the domain or mailbox names.

Why a domain address matters in Mozambique

Supplier registration with the gas and mining operators and their main contractors is a document exercise, and a company email on the firm's own domain matching the NUIT and the registration certificate is one of the checks. Freight forwarders at the ports, customs brokers and transport companies on the corridors deal with foreign shippers who verify a supplier before releasing cargo. Lodges and tour operators in Inhambane, Vilankulo and the north compete for South African and European bookings against operators whose addresses match their websites. Locally, a business writing to a bank, the tax authority or a municipality from a free address is asked to confirm in person.

Step by step: from domain to working inbox

1. Register suaempresa.co.mz through the CIUEM registry or a local hosting company, paying by M-Pesa, e-Mola or bank transfer. The domain is usually active within a day or two.
2. Go to oqumail.com and create a free workspace with your name and a password. No card, no trial countdown.
3. In the dashboard choose Add domain and type suaempresa.co.mz. OquMail shows the four DNS records to add.
4. Log in where the domain is managed, open the DNS editor, and add the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records exactly as shown. If the registrar has no editor, point the nameservers at a free DNS host such as Cloudflare and add the records there.
5. Return to OquMail and click Verify. The live check names any record still missing.
6. Create your mailboxes: geral@ (general), comercial@ (sales), contabilidade@ (accounts) and one per person. The free plan allows up to 15 mailboxes with 5 GB each.
7. Send a test from webmail to a Gmail address, then add the account to the Gmail app on your phone with the settings below.

The four DNS records OquMail needs

• MX — host @, value mail.oqumail.com, priority 10
• SPF (TXT at @) — v=spf1 MX (Mail Exchanger — where incoming email is delivered) a:mail.oqumail.com ~all
• DKIM (TXT at your selector ._domainkey) — v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=… (the exact key is shown in your OquMail dashboard)
• DMARC (TXT at _dmarc) — v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com

OquMail connection settings

• Incoming (IMAP): mail.oqumail.com, port 993, SSL/TLS
• Outgoing (SMTP): mail.oqumail.com, port 587, STARTTLS
• Username: your full email address (you@yourdomain.com)
• Password: the same password you use for OquMail webmail

What it costs in Mozambique

• The .co.mz domain: a yearly fee in meticais at the registry or a local host
• Mailboxes: free on OquMail, up to 15 with 5 GB each, 250 sends a day per mailbox
• No card required at any step if you register the domain by mobile money

Mistakes common in Mozambique

• Running the business from WhatsApp only. Send quotations and confirmations by email from the company address as well, so a procurement team can file them.
• Letting the web designer register the domain under their name. Insist on the registrant being your company and keep the login.
• Accents in mailbox names. Use joao@ and put João in the display name.
• Vodacom, Movitel and Tmcel mobile data block outgoing port 25. Use port 587 in every mail app.
• Forgetting the yearly renewal. A lapsed domain takes the email down with it; set a reminder a month before.

Common questions

Can I pay without a bank card?

Yes. Local registrars accept M-Pesa, e-Mola and bank transfer, and the mailboxes need no payment at all.

Does it work with Outlook and my phone?

Yes. Add an IMAP account with the settings above in Outlook, Apple Mail or the Gmail app, using your full address as the username.

What are the limits?

15 mailboxes, 3 domains, 5 GB per mailbox, no expiry. Extra mailboxes are added on request without touching DNS.

Want to see how your own domain is set up? Use the free SPF checker, DMARC checker and MX lookup: they run in your browser and store nothing.