NOVAFRICA in the News: An Information App That Changed Migrant Lives

In a recent interview with Líder Magazine, the Scientific Director of NOVAFRICA and Nova SBE Professor Catia Batista highlighted the invisible barriers faced by immigrants and argued that technology can help.

For those arriving in Portugal without knowledge of the system, bureaucracy becomes a labyrinth. Professor Cátia Batista and her team studied these barriers: people spend months looking for basic information on legalisation, healthcare, or school enrolment.

“It’s not a lack of willingness. It’s a lack of access. The information exists, but it’s scattered, very technical, and assumes knowledge people don’t have.”

To address this problem, this NOVAFRICA study developed the “Morabeza” information app together with Outsystems to guide immigrants through administrative processes, the labor and housing markets, as well as public services.

“Technology doesn’t replace human contact, but it can be the first door. And for many, that first door makes all the difference.”

Read the full interview here.

Read the NOVAFRICA working paper here.

Learn more about the project here.