The Business Year: Angola 2023

Há 20 anos, surgia muito mais do que uma empresa, uma nova visão de encantar, de transformar, de dar o exemplo na construção do novo.

Audazmente projectamos um processo de mudança, com base no que queremos para a nossa vida e de todos aqueles que connosco colaboram e têm parceria, projectando um futuro ainda mais promissor para a sociedade angolana.

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THE BUSINESS YEAR: ANGOLA 2023

Angola faced an uncertain year in 2022, with general elections held in August. In the end, there was no shift in power, though the government underwent several changes to help achieve the president’s goal of diversifying the economy.

The country still relies heavily on the petroleum sector, which accounts for nearly 50% of GDP, making it vulnerable to global oil price fluctuations.

The National Development Plan for 20232027 targets 3.5% economic growth per year during the period, driven by economic diversification, reducing poverty and inequality, and improving living standards. Other key objectives include improving the business environment, strengthening the financial sector, and promoting human capital development through education and health initiatives.

Angola’s future growth is set to accelerate in the next few years with ambitious investment

programs. The Agency for Private Investment and Export Promotion (AIPEX) plays a crucial role in attracting investment to the country, aligning its goals with the government to prioritize sectors outside of oil and gas and attract desired foreign investment.

The Business Year: Angola 2023, produced with the support of AIPEX and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Angola, focuses on investment attraction, education, and training and highlights the importance of skilled professionals for the country’s success. Factors such as oil prices, government reforms, and geopolitical developments will greatly impact Angola’s growth and stability.

Despite challenges, with the right policies and investments, Angola has the potential for economic growth and development. We hope this publication will be a valuable resource for investors seeking to understand the key trends and players in the Angolan economy. ✖

COO Carlos Martinez

ISBN 978-1-80506-005-5

www.thebusinessyear.com

This publication has been produced by The Business Year International’s expert cadre of journalists, writers, editors, and designers. The content contained within is original and was compiled by our team on the ground.

Project Director Johana Rincon

Country Manager Frida Torres

Country Editor Diana García de la Rosa

4

DIPLOMACY

21 Taking the lead • Chapter summary

25

27

28 ECONOMY

29 The diversification priority

• Chapter summary

31 Mário Augusto Caetano João, Minister of Economy and Planning

• Interview

32 Lello Francisco, Chairman, Agency for Private, Investment and Promotion of Exports (AIPEX)

• Interview

33 Vicente Francisco Soares, President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Angola • Interview

34 Reinaldo Trindade, President, Angolan Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCHIA) • Interview

35 On the books • Focus: Market formalization

37 Luis Troso, CEO, Grupo SANEP

• Interview

38 Jorge do Amaral, CEO, Alcaal Angola

• Interview

40 Accounting firms

• B2B

41 TBY Analytics Angola 2023

42 Francisco Monteiro, Chairman & CEO, Brimont • Interview

54 José Gualberto de Matos, President of The Executive, Committee, Interbank Service Company (EMIS) • Interview

56 Premium solutions • Focus: Insurance

58 André Philippe Alliali-Die, CEO, Sanlam Angola Seguros • Interview

60 Kianda Trozo, Chairman, Protteja Seguros • Interview

43 A guiding hand

• Communiqué: Brimont

44 Cipriano Cazo, CEO, Cazos Advogados • Interview

46 Manuel Francisco Pedro, CEO, Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone (ZEE) • Interview

47 Voices from the sector

48 Filipe Pescada, CEO, Grupo WM

• Interview

50 FINANCE

61 Tiago Dá Mesquita, General Manager, Zillian • Interview

62 Insurance • B2B

63 Voices from the sector

64 Wilson Ganga, CEO, PayPay Africa • Interview

65 Antonieta Gomes, Mobile Financial Services Business Director, UNITEL Money • Interview

51 Reinforcing finance

• Chapter summary

53 Miguel Raposo Alves, CEO, Banco Millennium Atlântico

Interview

66 ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY

67 The sustainability priority

• Chapter summary

69 Paulino Fernando de Carvalho Jerónimo, CEO, National Agency of Oil, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG)

• Interview

70 7 (proven) strategies to contain your company’s cost with medical insurance • Communiqué: Zillian

71 Adriano Mongini, CEO, Azule Energy • Interview

72 Current developments • Focus: Energy transition

74 Hydrocarbons • Forum

75 Cement can be environmentally friendly, too • Communiqué: Nova Cimangola

76 Manuel da Cruz, Chairman of the board, EPAL • Interview

78 Matuzalem Sukete, General Manager, Angola Environmental Serviços (AES) • Interview

79 José Manuel Pinto, CEO, Guara

• Interview

80 MINING

81 Tickled pink • Chapter summary

82 José Ganga Júnior, Chairman, Endiama • Interview

83 Benedito Paulo, CEO, CATOCA

• Interview

84 An eye on the future • Focus: Sociedade Mineira de Catoca

86 Ndjamila Chilunda, Managing Director, Geoangol S.A. • Interview

88 Digging for glory • Focus: Long-term investment

90 INDUSTRY

91 Future planning • Chapter summary

92 Victor Francisco Dos Santos Fernandes, Minister of Industry and Trade • Interview

94 Luis Diogo, CEO, Fabrimetal

• Interview

96 Zamir Ibraimo, CEO, Ansar Ibraimo, CFO, and Mohsin Ibraimo, COO, Daimic Motors • Interview

98 Nazim Charania, President, and Hugo Moutinho, MD, Noble Group

• Interview

99 Food distribution • Forum

100 Mário Amaro, Managing Partner, and Guilherme Mogas, Co-founder, Grupo Trirumo • Interview

102 José Carlos Figueiredo, Chairman, Teleservice • Interview

104 Asif Jaffer, Founder & CEO, Adinova • Interview

105 Adam Dewji, CEO, Graphic Systems Interview

106 TBY Analytics Angola 2023: Industry

107 Carlos António Ramalho Gonçalves, CEO, AMA África –Indústria, Lda • Interview

108 Home-baked wisdom • Focus: “Feito em Angola”

110 Ramzi El-Houchaimi, CEO, Grupo IMEX • Interview

111 FOOD

111 Rapid growth • Chapter summary

112 Diogo Caldas, CEO, Refriango • Interview

113 Sergio Limonti, CEO, Webcor Group • Interview

114 Rayan Nasser, CEO, Rayan Investment Angola • Interview

116 Youssef El Sahely, CEO, Befco Industria • Interview

118 Voices from the sector

120 Aron Zerihun, General Manager, YoniBen • Interview

121 Décio Catarro, CEO, Carrinho Industry • Interview

122 Wasim Alimohamed, President, Mafcom • Interview

124 A world of opportunities

• Focus: Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone (ZEE)

126 TELECOMS & IT

127 On the right path • Chapter summary

128 Mário Augusto da Silva Oliveira, Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies, and Social Communication

• Interview

129 Meick Afonso, General Manager, Instituto de Modernização Administrativa (IMA)

• Interview

130 Felisberta de Jesus, CEO, MSTelcom

• Interview

132 Ângelo Gama, CEO, Angola Cables

• Interview

133 Learning emotional intelligence from parents Communiqué: Integrated Solutions Angola (ISA)

134 Admar Safeca, CEO, OMNIdata

• Interview

135 Center of power • Focus: Data centers

136 Msuega Tese, Executive Director, Integrated Solutions Angola (ISA) • Interview

137 Jeriel Atienza, CEO & Co-founder, Netspace • Interview

138 Christopher Lundh, CEO, Africell • Interview

139 Francisco Quintino, Managing Director, Espaços • Interview

140 Bruno Ricardo Albernaz, CEO, Grupo Arena • Interview

142 IT • Forum

145 João Armando, Director, Expansão • Interview

146 Odair Peres, CEO, Big Media

• Interview

148 TRANSPORT

149 Hub time? • Chapter summary

152 Celso Rodrigues de Lemos Rosas, CEO, Porto do Lobito

• Interview

154 The economy’s precious cargo

• Focus: Ports in Angola

155 Ports of Angola • Infographic

156 Jean Yves, Managing Director, Bolloré Africa Logistics Angola

• Interview

158 Raja Kurban, Director, Budget

• Interview

159 Rodolfo Santos, Country Manager, Rangel Angola • Interview

160 Transport and logistics • Forum

162 Nuno Borges, Chairman, CFAO Motors Angola Interview

163 Eduardo Fairen Soria, CEO, TAAG • Interview

164

CONSTRUCTION & REAL ESTATE

165 Ever upward? • Chapter summary

166 Carlos Alberto da Silva Gregório dos Santos, Minister of Public Works, Urban Planning, and Housing

• Interview

168 Pedro Pinto, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Nova Cimangola

• Interview

169 Ricardo Marfim dos Santos, CEO, Tecnovia • Interview

170 Kenneth Hogrefe, CEO & Founder, Tech Africa • Interview

171 Looking beyond the center

• Focus: Developing the provinces

172 Expanding frontiers

• Communiqué: Nova Cimangola

173 Rebuilding Angola • Forum

174

AGRICULTURE

175 Natural riches • Chapter summary

176 Uirá Ribeiro, General Director, Biocom • Interview

177 Always food on the table • Focus: Agricultural self-sufficiency

179 Cultivation • Forum

180 HEALTH & EDUCATION

181 In the spotlight • Chapter summary

182 Marcílio Manuel dos Santos, Former General Manager, Polytechnic Institute of Technology and Sciences (ISPTEC) • Interview

183 Dylan Hughes, Director, Luanda International School • Interview

184 Paulo Múrias, CEO, Universidade Lusíada de Angola • Interview

185 The writing is on the wall

• Focus: Adult literacy

186 Healthcare • Forum

188 Calling all doctors • Focus: Training healthcare personnel

190 TOURISM

191 Diamond in the rough?

• Chapter summary

192 Filipe Silvino de Pina Zau, Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Environment • Interview

193 Afonso Vita, Director, Institute for Touristic Promotion of Angola (INFOTUR) • Interview

196 Nuno Neves, General Manager, Intercontinental Luanda Miramar

• Interview

198 Tourism offerings • B2B

200 António Simão, General Manager, Hotel Diamante Luanda

• Interview

201 Spirits • B2B

202 Hidden gems • Focus: Untapped potential

Read more at thebusinessyear.com/angola

The Business Year is published by The Business Year International, Trident Chambers, P.O. Box 146, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. The Business Year is a registered trademark of The Business Year International, Copyright The Business Year International Inc. 2023. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievable system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded, or otherwise without prior permission of The Business Year International Inc. The Business Year International Inc. has made every effort to ensure that the content of this publication is accurate at the time of printing. The Business Year International Inc. makes no warranty, representation, or undertaking, whether expressed or implied, nor does it assume any legal liability, direct or indirect, or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information contained in this publication. The paper used in the production of this publication comes from well-managed sources.

The Serra da Leba pass in Namibe province

Image: Fabian Plock

THE HOPE TO SUCCEED

Angola is hedging its bets on its oil and gas wealth, hoping it can develop new sectors with the substantial revenues it brings.

THE GOVERNMENT of Angola is offering various incentives for those who wish to enter the country, including tax incentives for companies, such as reduced rates and exemptions from certain levies. Financing access is also available through partnerships with international financial institutions and banks, providing financing for the development of various sectors and related projects. The processes have also been simplified for licenses and permits to make them simpler to navigate. Local content requirements ensure that companies work with local suppliers, which helps the economy grow, and technical assistance is available to help companies navigate the regulatory environment and ensure success.

MINERAL RESOURCES

Angola is rich in mineral resources such as diamonds, iron, gold, and copper. There is great potential for investment in the exploration, development, and processing of these minerals. Angola is one of the largest diamond producers in the world and the main investment opportunities are in the development of mines, processing, and marketing capabilities. Opportunities in the iron, gold, and copper sectors are also available for those who are willing to invest in exploration.

Although the mining sector can provide strong results, it can also be risky due to the complex regulatory environment and infrastructure challenges. It is crucial to carefully consider the risks involved in the sector before investing.

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

There is a significant gap in Angola’s infrastructure, and investment opportunities are available in transportation, energy, water and sanitation, and telecommunications. In transportation, opportunities include roads, bridges, ports, and airports to improve connectivity within the country. Some construction companies in Angola are working on connecting the country from north to south, and extending access to rural areas. There is also a need for development in the transmission and distribution networks. The water and sanitation sectors, which are important issues for the population, hold opportunities in the development of dams, water treatment plants, and sewer systems. The telecommunications sector offers a large number of opportunities, especially in rural areas where access is more difficult. Opportunities are available in the development of broadband networks, mobile networks, and data centers. Real estate is also a po-

Image: IgorManuelPinheiro

tential investment opportunity in Angola, including the development of commercial and residential properties, hotels, and resorts.

AGRICULTURE

Due to Angola’s vast land resources, investment opportunities in the country are significant. Examples of opportunities include the production of crops such as corn, soybeans, and palm oil, as well as livestock production. The potential for development in the packaging and distribution of products, as well as in irrigation systems, storage facilities, and transportation networks is significant. Financing is also crucial in the sector, especially the provision of credit to small and medium-sized enterprises. This will help the sector grow and reduce the country’s dependence on imports. In the next five years, Angola could easily be on the list of main grain producers and will receive public investments to improve infrastructure access and make market entry easier.

MANUFACTURING

The consumer market in Angola is large, creating new opportunities in sectors such as food, beverages, household goods, and personal care products. Additionally, the demand for industrial goods is growing, boosting investment in machinery, equipment, and construction materials. The manufacturing sector also offers opportunities in other areas, such as the pharmaceutical industry, including generic drugs, and the automotive industry. This rapidly growing sector pro-

vides significant investment opportunities.

TOURISM

Tourism in Angola is an important sector for the country, which boasts a diverse range of natural and cultural attractions. Given the natural beauty, wildlife, and cultural heritage on offer, investment in the sector is growing and it is considered an emerging market. Angola is also targeting sectors such as eco-tourism, seeking to take advantage of its national parks, forests, and beaches, as well as adventure tourism, including wildlife viewing, trekking, and water sports. There are some accommodations and hotels in the touristic areas, but not as much as might be needed should Angola manage to fight its way onto the beaten bath.

ENERGY: OIL, GAS & HYDROPOWER

Angola is one of Africa’s main oil producers and there is a lot of investment potential both upstream and down. Angola’s reserves include both offshore and onshore deposits, although a dearth of transportation and storage infrastructure hampers growth.

When it comes to renewable energy, Angola has some of the best potential for hydropower in Africa. Indeed, it could generate up to 20,000MW, although installed capacity currently only stands at 1,000MW. New large- and small-scale projects are being developed, however, and this environmentally friendly source of energy is likely to continue attracting attention. ✖

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JANUARY

President João Lourenço meets with the then crown prince of the UAE to address relations between the two countries and strengthen bilateral cooperation.

FEBRUARY

More than AOA15 billion is earmarked to support agriculture and fisheries, in a project that will be run by the Agricultural Development Support Fund (FADA).

MAY

Angola overtakes Nigeria to become the largest oil producer in Africa.

JUNE

Angola participates in the United Nations Conference on the Environment in Sweden.

JULY

Largest pink diamond in 300 years is discovered in the Lulo mine, weighing 34 grams.

AUGUST

Polls to elect a president and national assembly are held in Angola on August 24.

OCTOBER

Téte António, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Pedro Sánchez, President of Spain address cooperation between the two countries.

DECEMBER

The Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific group of states (OACPS), which represents 79 countries, holds a meeting in Angola’s capital, Luanda.

LONG-TERM VISION

The Angolan government is laser focused on ensuring Angola can transition sustainably away from oil and gas.

Each ministry in Angola operates with a long-term vision of the future, all of which are tied into the executive’s larger five-year plan. From boosting education to ensuring Angolan businesses have the right digital infrastructure, there is much being done at the ministerial level to ensure Angola has the best shot at a more diversified, sustainable future away from reliance on oil and gas.

Mário Augusto

Caetano João

MINISTER OF ECONOMY AND PLANNING

MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE

Mário Augusto da Silva Oliveira

MINISTER OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND SOCIAL COMMUNICATION

Carlos

MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS, URBAN PLANNING AND HOUSING

Image: Said Mrigua

Victor Francisco Dos Santos Fernandes

Alberto Gregório dos Santos

THE GOVERNMENT’S PLAN for the five-year period runs from 2022 to 2027, and our priorities can be found in three main development pillars. These three development pillars are, first and foremost, human capital, featuring, above all, education. It is through education that we can register a substantial economic impact, mainly in terms of productivity, but also health via disease prevention. Then, still within the matter of human capital, we have entrepreneurship, vocational training, and employment. The second development pillar is infrastructure, where we will emphasize mobility, roads, railways, housing, energy, and water. The third pillar is diversification of the economy. On this pillar, we will have, above all, a continuous improvement of the commercial environment, as this cannot be a matter solely for the government to address. Meanwhile, the agribusiness sector has, on average, grown by about 5% per year, becoming a key element in economic diversification, including fisheries. It has led us from oil dependence of about 42% in 2011 to about 28% in 2021, just 10 years later.

THE MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY and Trade has a development plan in progress, Industrial de Angola (PDIA), which systematizes the guidelines of public policies regarding the industry sector, given its role in diversifying the economy and expanding investments, both public and private. In it, we have the characterization of the Angolan industry current situation, the strategic vision for industrialization, the logical structure, and the challenges to its implementation. In this context, among the several projects that the ministry already has in progress, we can mention the operationalization of the Industrial Poles and the Integrated Plan for the Development of Rural Commerce (PIDCR). PIDCR, among other factors, is empowering industries through freight transport operators, reducing producers’ limitations and increasing, in quantity and quality, the industry’s access to primary goods. Another industrial component that has contributed well to reducing imports and increasing employability is essentially linked to the production of building materials. This industrial branch accompanied the development of infrastructure in the country and the process of national reconstruction.

ANGOLA HAS INVESTED significantly in the telecommunications sector over the past 25 years, with fiber-optic networks, both terrestrial and submarine, microwave networks, and, now, in the space segment. Telecommunications play a transversal role in a country’s economy. I must say that it was thanks to that investment made over the last 25 years that the country was able to withstand the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, it was possible for the economy to maintain a certain stability, services functioned, and all this is a consequence of past investment. We are also working on projects such as the expansion of the national fiber-optic broadband network and cyber security, and on the IT-driven modernization of health and education services. We are also set to pursue a complementary project of microwave networks, and Angola is due to join the Africa 2 submarine cable through a national operator, the largest submarine cable project currently underway.

THE MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS, Urban Planning and Housing is primarily responsible for providing infrastructure. Roads, bridges, and social housing all contribute to our country’s development. For example, it has recently been possible to asphalt 14,000km of roads. In addition, we were able to build around 4,500 bridges. This is important, not only because the roads and bridges contributed to a safer circulation of people and goods, but also because it allowed a much smoother flow of production from source to consumer. It also allows other sectors, such as tourism, energy, water, and health, to develop due to ease of access. Another important area for our sector is housing. The goal of this plan is, above all, that the state provides infrastructure so that the private sector can find opportunities to build and conduct business. Another important sector that I would mention is municipal master plans. Cities must be ordered and organized, and for that the responsibility of our sector is to provide the organization of the national territory. We try to make sure that our activity is completely organized concerning the delimitation of cities.

Mário Augusto Caetano João MINISTER OF ECONOMY AND PLANNING

Victor Francisco Dos Santos Fernandes MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE MINISTER OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND SOCIAL COMMUNICATION

MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS, URBAN PLANNING AND HOUSING

Mário Augusto da Silva Oliveira

Carlos Alberto Gregório dos Santos

Image: Miguel Almeida

TAKING THE LEAD

Angola held elections in August 2022, with the ruling MPLA emerging victorious in a closely fought contest. Investors had watched the election closely, with a continuation of the existing regime seen as favorable due to President Lourenço’s market-friendly policies. Indeed, our interviewees consistently expressed their concerns in the run up to the vote about what instability, especially in the kwanza, might mean for their ability to invest.

Across the interviews carried out for this publication, TBY noted a strong need for investment in tourism, as well as the need to boost exports and explore new markets. One uniting factor was their agreement on the sheer potential in Angola.

Vicente Francisco Soares, President of The Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Angola, told TBY that, “There are definitely many opportunities in the market. Foreign investors are coming here because they are beginning to have confidence in the government and private sector here. They are aware of the achievements and successes of the first companies that arrived here, including international and Angolan companies.”

Much of Angola’s recent development was mapped out in the National Development Plan 2018-2022, which closes out this year having begun to encourage growth further along various value chains and having been the blueprint for more prudent trade policy and economic diplomacy. It is hoped that the resultant environment will better attract foreign investment.

But the authorities aren’t resting on their laurels, and are hoping to further incentivize private investment via the approval of a new free trade zone law, bringing numerous benefits. The promulgation of the Tax Benefits Code also provides general rules on the application of and eligibility for tax benefits in Angola. Together, the new framework is expected to generate jobs alongside investment. The long-term goal remains economic diversification, and nobody can deny Angola has the right building blocks. Its population, currently standing at 33 million, is expected to reach 45 million by 2030, with two-thirds under the age of 25. And a rapidly developing education system will, with any luck, generate the know-how Angola needs to thrive under a new generation of leaders. ✖

DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS SNAPSHOT

Image: Anton_Ivanov

harmonious DEVELOPMENT

President João Lourenço outlines the steps Angola will take to ensure the country is able to take advantage of its enormous potential and guarantee equitable development for all.

João Lourenço PRESIDENT, REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA

DEAR COMPATRIOTS,

It is with a renewed sense of hope and belief in the future that I wish all Angolans residing in the country and in the diaspora, a festive court in peace, harmony, and well-being.

This is a time to strengthen family and friendship ties, to reflect on our achievements and the challenges that lie ahead, and to assess our contribution to the economic and social development of our country.

In the year just ended, all these issues were highlighted, and we had the opportunity to democratically opt for the continuity of a nation project that has earned the trust of the majority of Angolans and the international community.

We will continue to work with all our commitment and determination to create the conditions to guarantee the harmonious development of the country,

through effective policies and structuring works to capture the interest of national and foreign investors, in the diversification of our economy, in the creation of jobs, taking advantage of the enormous potential that the country offers.

We are going to invest more and more in education and health, because only an educated and healthy people can successfully compete and overcome the enormous challenges that the world imposes on us at all levels.

On this festive season, we renew hope for a better life and prioritize our attention to the most vulnerable in our society, children, the elderly, the sick and the poorest. It is to them and to them that I first address my wishes that they may find the solidarity of their neighbors and society in general. We would also like to express our appreciation to all those who put their duties above their personal in-

terests and who guarantee the collective security of people and goods.

Our solidarity also goes out to all those who are bedridden in hospital beds or at home, to those separated from their loved ones because they are serving sentences for committing crimes, hoping that one day they can return to society.

The world is experiencing a moment of unprecedented uncertainty in the history of the last 70 years, which is why the year 2023 appears to be a year of great challenges for our country as well.

The situation will demand from each one of us more dedication to work, more unity of action to counteract the negative trend of the world economy.

We have faith that with hard work, realism and optimism, we will be able to overcome the difficult moment the world is experiencing without any major upheavals. ✖

Extracted from a speech given by President João Lourenço on December 28 on the celebration of the New Year for 2023.

The Angolan flag pictured at the opening ceremony of the Amputee Football World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey

START AS YOU MEAN TO GO ON

In his second term, President João Lourenço will seek to advance the economic diversification of the country supported by the private sector in an attempt to combat youth unemployment and poverty.

THE YEAR 2022 was a politically important one for Angola, as it marked the continuation of four more years of rule by the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the party that has governed the country since its independence from Portugal in 1975. After winning 124 seats in Congress with 51%, incumbent President João Lourenço was re-elected for a second term in which he hopes to fulfill his promise of economic reform in which he hopes to encourage private sector participation.

The MPLA has traditionally been a socialist party; however, in his government Lourenço, 68, hopes to impose economic liberalization measures with the intention of better diversifying the income of a country heavily dependent on oil revenues. The hydrocarbon industry accounts for about 90% of Angolan GDP, so the president wants to carry out an ambitious reform to attract foreign investment in an effort to combat youth unemployment and poverty, two of the main problems affecting citizens. However, this victory has meant a significant drop in votes, with the MPLA dropping from 61% of the vote in the 2017 elections to 51% in the August 2022 elections. This is because the main opposition party, UNITA, has almost doubled the number of votes after going from 26.67% in 2017 to 43.95% in 2022. According to the Angolan electoral system, members of Congress are elected, who subsequently appoint the new president, who is usually the leader of one of the parties. Lourenço has led the country since September 2017, when he replaced José Eduardo dos Santos, Angola's president since 1979, in the post.

As part of the process to materialize this economic transformation, Lourenço appointed a new cabinet the day after winning the election, in which there were eight new heads of the 23 ministeiros; however, in some of the important portfolios he kept the ministers he had appointed in recent years, so Vera Daves will continue as finance minister, Mário Caetano as economy minister, Victor Fernandes as industry and commerce minister, and Diamantino Pedro Azevedo as oil minister.

Some of the successes Lourenço has already achieved in attracting foreign private investment since 2017 include developing a legal framework that provides favorable conditions for investors, as well as increasing the government's presence in international economic agreements, says António Henriques da Silva, former chairman of Angola's investment promotion agency AIPEX. “The Angolan government is repositioning itself to ensure long-term sustainable develop-

ment, based on principles of good governance, economic diplomacy and regional industrialization,” da Silva said in an interview with TBY.

APIEX data shows the diversification that Angola's economy is experiencing. Since 2018, the country has attracted private investment of almost USD10.8 billion through 535 projects, 40% of which are for the industrial sector. One of the most important points to advance in this transformation process are infrastructure and utility projects. “Infrastructure is key, or else we cannot move forward. Many things were done in 2021 and 2022, Angola started to improve some of its infrastructure. There is still much more to be done, and the country needs more infrastructure and needs to improve its power and water supply,” said Vicente Francisco Soares, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Angola.

For Soares, investment in infrastructure is paramount to enable the development of various economic sectors and to reach all parts of Angola, since the production of goods and services has increased in recent years but there are still major problems of distribution in the logistics chain between large cities and rural areas. “We need to focus more on road construction and develop means to reach rural areas,” said Soares. Indeed, some of the biggest opportunities he identifies for private investors are in agriculture and minerals, two sectors whose development often takes place in remote areas and for which optimal roads are needed.

Although Angola needs to diversify different sectors, much of the investments will continue to be in the hydrocarbon sector. “We are also seeing large oil and gas players increasing their investments as a result of developments in the market. There will be an increase in production because a few years ago there was no investment in this sector”, said José Antonio Barata, country manager partner, Deloitte Angola.

In this regard, there are plans to develop new refineries, which are extremely important for the economic transformation so that the country is not so dependent on imports of refined products, Barata explained. One of these projects was the expansion of the Luanda refinery, carried out by the Italian ENI, which will come into service in 2022 and will increase the country's production to 1.58 million liters per day, reducing annual imports by 15%, according to the state oil company Sonagol. Barata also believes that important investments will be made to increase oil production, which translates into additional income for the country to finance projects to realize the economic transformation promised by Lourenço. ✖

The SANEP GROUP is an Angolan group which is now internationalized with a presence in Europe, in Portugal, Spain and recently in In Africa, we are also present in Mozambique. Speaking specifically of Angola, the group operates in the sectors of finance, agriculture, logistics and distribution, real estate, and industry. I classify oil and gas as an industrial sector. We are in these sectors because we understand they are the key ones requiring investment that offer the greatest opportunities.

Since our country is young, with most of the population under 30 years of age, it still needs a lot of support in terms of investment, especially in technology. This has prompted us to seek our innovative solutions for our country.”

CHAP OPENING AD HOLDER

The SANEP GROUP operates in all sectors of the economy, aiming to ensure a new standard of quality.

Economy

THE DIVERSIFICATION PRIORITY

The diversification of the Angolan economy remains a priority for the country’s leaders. Heavily reliant on hydrocarbons resources, Angola has become somewhat of a victim to the curse of black gold. By leveraging oil wealth more responsibly, the government hopes it can decrease the need for imports across the economy.

To that end, the authorities are working on offering incentives to those investors willing to enter the Angolan market, but there is always more that can be done. “The country needs to create new legal and tax frameworks and increase production, which is critical for economic growth. In addition, it needs to diversify the economy, though this will take time. Angola needs to boost other sector such as agriculture, industry throughout the rest of the country.” Said Carlos Basto, Managing Partner at EY Angola, in a recent interview with TBY.

And there is certainly scope for growth in new, sometimes even old, areas. In 1975, pre independence, Angola produced around 240,000 tons of coffee per year and the country was also the world's second-largest producer of sugar and the fourth largest producer of cotton. Today, these numbers have dropped remarkably, with coffee production down to around just 6,000 tons per

year. The government eyes a return to large-scale exports in these categories, but is also eyeing the tropical fruits segment, and potentially others, for greater exports.

Developing the countryside will also help to offset the weight the capital bears in the economy. Around 50% of the country’s GDP is sourced from Luanda, and government incentives are also targeting other cities and regions.

Angola grew solidly between 2002 and 2008, posting some of the world’s highest growth figures. However, the country entered a period of recession in 2015, a result of plunging oil prices. While the outlook today is more positive, there is still a long way to go. Yet the government isn’t taking on the task alone, and has emphasized the role that the private sector must play in achieving shared prosperity. Plans are currently enshrined in the Development Plan 2023-2027, a wide-ranging program to boost human capital, infrastructure, and diversification.

The manufacturing sector features prominently in the plan, unsurprising considering its significance to import replacement. Elsewhere, the government hopes to continue to build “brand Angola,” as well as support the stability of the kwanza. ✖

The Angolan parliament building in Luanda

plans IN PLACE

The Ministry of Economy and Planning has three main focus areas in the coming years, namely boosting human capital, developing more infrastructure, and working on the diversification of the Angolan economy.

Mário Augusto Caetano João MINISTER OF ECONOMY AND PLANNING

What are the government’s new proposals for the coming years?

The government’s plan for the five-year period runs from 2022 to 2027, and our priorities could be found in three main development pillars. These three development pillars are, first and foremost, human capital, featuring, above all, education. Then, still within the matter of human capital, we have entrepreneurship, vocational training, and employment. The second development pillar is infrastructure, where we will emphasize mobility, roads, railways, housing, energy, and water. The third pillar is diversification of the economy. On this pillar, we will have, above all, a continuous improvement of the commercial environment, as this cannot be a matter solely for the government to address. Agribusiness has, on average, grown by about 5% per year, being a key element in economic diversification, including fisheries. Oil industry investments and exploration continue, but we are substantially accelerating the non-oil sector if the economy. The National Development Plan will be finalized in March along with the contribution of our international partners, mainly the World Bank, the UN, the African Development Bank, the EU, and the French Development Agency.

Angola aims to become one of the largest grain producers in Africa. What projects could bring investment to the Angolan economy? We have taken advantage of a planning tool that we approved called PLANAGRAO, a five-year plan for the production of maize, rice, wheat, and soy. The resources need more than USD500 million. The goal within the next five years is to cultivate over 6 million tons of grains. We have several other initiatives that will

be consolidated into our National Development Plan. Meanwhile, our National Development Plan also promotes fishing through the PLANAPESCA, which should have resources of approximately USD300 million in the coming five years. This will serve as a catalyst for a substantial rise in fish production.

What incentives is the ministry offering SMEs and investors keen to enter the Angolan market?

We have a set of incentives in place ranging from tax breaks to installment payments. We also have a series of capacity-building initiatives. The Angola General Tax Administration helps facilitates business for micro, small, and medium enterprises. Micro enterprises pay 2% on gross sales, which is an enticing incentive. Regarding SMEs, we have incentives distributed by national zones. In the eastern zones such as Lunda Sul, Lunda Norte, Moxico, and Cuando-Cubango, we offer an industrial tax reduction of 50%. In other areas, we offer a discount of 35%, including zone C. In zone B, the discount is 20%, and in zone A, 10%, as is the case for Luanda. Our debt and stock exchange in Angola is also a mechanism for financing these micro, small, and medium-sized companies, with which we have been working closely.

How is the Ministry of Economy and Planning accelerating economic diversification?

Our main instrument for diversification is the program of support for production, export diversification, and import substitution, known as PRODESI. In this program, we bring into a single platform all parts related to the production of goods and services. We have financing for micro and small companies through PAC,

the Credit Support Project, and for medium and large companies through the FND. We will also operate Planagrão and Planapescas and are still working on Planapecuária, which covers animal production. Then, we have the production and productivity support segment, where we help companies access advanced technologies and production techniques to produce more using fewer resources. A priority of ours within all of this is making sure that national production has a market. We also have industry development programs in place, which are a means of absorbing primary production by transforming products to give them a longer shelf life. Finally, there is the pressing challenges of capacity building. It would be impossible to achieve the aforementioned initiatives if human capital were not at the center of it all. ✖

BIO

Mário Augusto Caetano João is the Minister of Economy and Planning. He has a master’s in Portuguese studies from the faculty of arts, University of Charles de Praga, Czech Republic. From the same institution, he also has a master’s in agricultural economics, a master’s in African studies, and a doctorate in African studies. He is also a doctoral student in economics.

THE ROAD ahead

With Angola newly repositioned to ensure long-term sustainable development, it is poised to transform and attract more investment, with AIPEX standing ready to offer its assistance.

Lello Francisco CHAIRMAN, AGENCY FOR PRIVATE INVESTMENT AND PROMOTION OF EXPORTS (AIPEX)

You assumed the position of greater responsibility at AIPEX, which is focused on attracting more private investment, what are your goals as the new Executive Chairman of AIPEX for this 2023?

We recognize that Angola still faces many challenges, our goals are aligned with the government's primary goals, which include diversifying the economy, increasing investment in priority sectors outside the oil and gas sector, and promoting strategic partnerships with national and international companies and FDI attraction for the economy. While AIPEX may give the impression of being predominately outward facing, my goal as Executive Chairman is also to ensure that AIPEX looks inward toward creating an enabling environment for business to flourish in order to create employment, develop skills and transfer of technology. In the last five years, the economic transformation pillars and the influence of public reforms have produced significant improvements that have enhanced the business environment. In this context, AIPEX continues to take the lead in offering good quality services to investors in all the phases of the investment process. We want to motivate people with grit and perseverance. We will continue to create opportunities for local content, as the sustainable development of any nation requires the involvement of its domestic players, much of which requires a change in mindset, modernization, and agility.

How is AIPEX achieving these goals for a better Angolan investment attraction?

an important role as a regional hub with logistical infrastructure with the capacity to boost the local industrialization and trade with immediate neighbouring countries, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, and Zambia through the Lobito corridor. Leveraging the benefits of free zones, Angola can supply local input products toward value-added processing and manufacturing. Our country is also very well-positioned to become a preferred gateway for trade, transport, and tourism, providing access to million people across the continent. Hence, Angola is launching new flight routes, establishing new road networks, renovating and expanding rail networks, developing trade corridors, as well as improving the transmission of fiber-optic cables and satellites for improved communication. All of these generate countless business opportunities for investment in Angola and the neighbouring countries.

What does the AIPEX roadmap look like for the next four years?

BIO

Lello Francisco is a senior executive with over 17 years of experience on the frontline of investment promotion in the public sector. At AIPEX, he has led multiple restructuring initiatives, introduced e-governance tools and developed efficient process management standards. Prior to joining the public sector, he worked in academia as a micro and macroeconomics, financial markets, and econometrics professor at the Universities Jean Piaget de Angola and Metodista.

The improved macroeconomic conditions created a favorable climate for investment. AIPEX is committed to improving the services provided to investors through Janel Unica do Investimento, our onestop service assisting international investors interested in investing in Angola and encouraging national investors to form partnerships. We have a simplified and modern legal framework and financially beneficial incentives.

Angola is geostrategically well positioned. How can this boost the diversification and structural transformation of Angola and neighboring African economies?

Angola is geographically positioned to play

Still recovering from an economic recession and the global pandemic, we now recognize more clearly the fundamental gaps that must be addressed for the sustainable development of Angola. AIPEX has a critical role to play in this regard, as it is instrumental in scaling, fast-tracking and refining the quality of Angola’s economic diplomacy. AIPEX will continue to prioritize attracting investment in the production sector, such as agriculture, industry, fisheries, minerals, and infrastructure, during the next four years. In general, the AIPEX roadmap will be built on promoting and attracting investments for the assistance program in economic diversification, such as the National Grain Plan, National Fishing Plan, and National Livestock Plan. We have identified 35 countries in Europe, Asia, America, and the Middle East, where we will promote these investment programs. Excluding oil, Angola’s exports into Africa valued at USD197 million in 2021, which is only 10% of the country’s global trade. Therefore, with improvements to be made in the road and rail infrastructure and the modernization of systems, we look forward to steering more exports into the sub-region. ✖

a key role TO PLAY

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Angola continues to play a key role in attracting investors to the country, forming partnerships with key institutions, and organizing business events.

Vicente Francisco Soares PRESIDENT, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF ANGOLA

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Angola connects foreign investors with local entrepreneurs. What are its main initiatives for 2022?

For local entrepreneurs, we have meetings with our members. We use channels like radio, news outlets, and newspapers to communicate. For foreign investors, we have workshops, and we participate in trade fairs. For example, we have spoken to different investors in Serbia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. We have also signed MoUs with some chambers of commerce such as the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, the Serbia Chamber of Commerce, and the Namibia National Chamber of Commerce. We have also met up with different embassies and trade attaches, such as the Indian, French, and Serbia embassies, to discuss the possibility of foreign investors coming to Angola.

What more does Angola require to further develop its infrastructure and take advantage of the opportunities?

Infrastructure is key, or else we cannot move forward. Many things were done in 2021, and in 2022, Angola started to improve some of its infrastructure. There is still much more to be done, and the country needs more infrastructure and needs to improve its power and water supply. It has not gotten to the point where it is able to meet the demands of the private sector. There has been an increase in production, though the major issue is with distribution, namely picking up products from rural areas and transporting them to the big cities and consumers. We need

to focus more on road construction and develop means to reach rural areas.

What would be your advice to investors planning to enter the Angolan market?

First, they should meet business organizations such as the Agency for Private Investment and Promotion of Export in Angola (AIPEX), which is a body established by the government focused mainly on advising investors. We can also advise them. The country has a large informal market, and the government is working on moving toward a more formal market. The chamber is also working on a study that will be launched soon on making this transition from an informal market to a formal one. The major challenge is that unemployment is at an all-time high, which is why the country has a huge informal market. When people do not have jobs, they look for other means to generate income. Therefore, we need to invite more companies to invest in the country in other to reduce unemployment.

What are the main investment opportunities in the country right now?

There are many investment opportunities, mainly in agriculture and minerals. Angola has a huge market in minerals and needs to encourage exploration in that area. Another good area to invest in at the moment is industry in terms of the transformation of raw materials into finished product. This is mainly in the food industry, alongside the fishery sector. Foreign investors are coming to Angola because they are beginning to have confidence in the government and private sector here.

They are aware of the achievements and successes of the first companies that arrived here, including international and Angolan companies, which is why we continue to see more investments here. I hope the future continues to be bright.

Are you analyzing any new projects and objectives for the end of the year and the coming year?

One of the focal points is the Countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) Country Business Forum, and we will have a summit in Angola in December. It will be a busy period. There are 79 ACP countries, and a summit comprising 79 presidents and attendees will be a tough task to execute.

What is your relationship with Namibia like? We have a great relationship. We had a business forum there with approximately 300 people in attendance. We will analyze the forum and look into organizing another one in Angola, perhaps in 2023. ✖

BIO

Vicente Francisco Soares has a postgraduate degree in banking management from the Universidade Lusofona De Lisboa and studied chemical engineering at the Agostinho Neto University. He previously worked in various positions in banks and is currently the Chairman of the Angola Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In addition, he completed a course in entrepreneurship at the Wharton Business School in Philadelphia, US, and training in wine factory management in Algeria.

Reinaldo Trindade PRESIDENT, ANGOLAN HISPANIC AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (CCHIA)

EVOLVING with the times

An initiative to improve relations between Angola and Latin American countries, CCHIA works to boost productive capacity in the agro-industrial sector and the overall economy, with a focus on attracting FDI and establishing partnerships.

CCHIA was established with the vision to establish partnerships and attract foreign investment. What is the main focus of the chamber at the moment?

BIO

Reinaldo Trindade began his career as an IT technician at Empresa Nacional de Electricidade in 1998, and later moved to Empresa Pública de Águas de Luanda and eventually became the director of the department of computing and billing. He is currently the President of the Angolan Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCHIA).

CCHIA is an initiative of Angolan and Pan American entrepreneurs who decided to create this platform in 2016. The objective is to establish partnerships and attract investments in the agro-industrial and mining sector. The chamber is multilateral, with seven Latin American countries involved in the constitution process. Initially, those were the countries with diplomatic representation in Angola such as Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Colombia. We also plan to incorporate the only Spanish-speaking African country, Equatorial Guinea. Then, our goal is to incorporate other Latin American countries. The fundamental objective of the chamber is to improve relations between Angola and Hispanic American countries. Angola has great economic potential, most of the population is young, and they are expected to be part of a large middle class in a few years, which will drive the economy. The Hispanic American region is a market worth more than USD3 trillion, according to World Bank data, and soon we will have the room to work together. Our focus is on the agro-industrial sector, which is an area where Angola has much potential. For example, Angola has 35 million hectares of arable land, and, of those, only 15% are currently in use. We also pay close attention to the area of renewable energies. Around 53% of the energy in Latin America comes from clean sources, and it is clear that the region is a leader in this respect. Angola also has great potential to do the same and can use the experience of these countries. To summarize, the main objective of CCHIA is to support the recovery of productive capacity in the agro-industrial sector and the overall economy.

How has CCHIA evolved since its establishment?

CCHIA is evolving well, though we could be better if it weren’t for the pandemic. One of the great projects of the chamber

is to promote bringing in a large community of farmers to Angola in a form of community settlements. We are pleased with this, as we expect them to contribute to increasing Angola’s productive capacity. For example, we want to grow in the cereal sector in terms of corn, wheat, and soy, and this community, and here the Mennonite community of Mexico is an expert in this.

What other actions are being taken in order to grow and maintain bilateral relations between Hispanic American countries and Angola? We have an agreement with Venezuela, with which we have set up a bilateral business council to identify opportunities and promote the economic situation on both sides. This agreement was signed in 2021. Venezuela is currently in a difficult social and economic situation, but we do not expect that to last forever, and when the country rises again, it will be a great partner to us. Venezuela has many cultural similarities and has vast experience from the point of human capital and professional training. It goes without saying that we expect to form similar partnerships with the remaining countries in the Latin American region.

How does CCHIA assist companies with imports and exports from Latin American countries?

The chamber wants to create a newsletter, where people can find updated information on business opportunities. In partnership with institutions and using statistics, we also want to provide more detailed information on commercial exchanges to the business community. Another project that we are looking at is the creation of a training center for entrepreneurs, which we have already discussed with entrepreneurs in Uruguay. We hope for the chamber to be an active part of this project and prepare Angolan entrepreneurs for the challenges of business. CCHIA also wants to serve as a consulting platform to help entrepreneurs navigate this business world and help with the bureaucratic part of the business growth. This would be complementary to what we have been doing to date. ✖

ON THE BOOKS

In order to increase productivity and attract more investment, Angola is working to help local companies in the informal sector transition to the formal sector.

THE MAJORITY OF ANGOLAN CITIZENS move in the black economy.

According to the most recent data from the statistics institute INE, 80.8% of the country's residents earn their income through informal employment. These types of jobs exist throughout the economy, but are especially common in sectors such as retail, agriculture, transportation, and service provision. The extent of informality in Angola poses a major challenge to the country's economy, as there are many non-oil resources that are not taxed and workers are deprived of a quality social security system to provide them with a safety net.

In an effort to reverse this situation, the government and the Angolan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIA) are working to promote economic growth that will help the transition from informality to formality. This strategy involves approving regulations that allow the development of competitive businesses as well as fostering relationships between companies to create an environment that allows small businesses to migrate to formality. One of the keys to achieve this is to increase the number of members of the CCIA, since in order to be part of this organization it is necessary to be regulated as a business that complies with its tax obligations and government regulations.

Specifically, the CCIA has a seven-point action plan with which it hopes to achieve its objectives. Some of these include the creation of an incubator to support businesses in their migration to formality, the establishment of contacts with representatives of informal organizations to raise awareness of the advantages of formalizing businesses, and collaboration with government authorities to develop common policies to achieve an increase in the formal economy. Other actions include offering discounts to employers' associations that wish to join the CCIA, offering administrative support during the formalization process or providing training in accounting and business management.

Much of the action to expand formal labor comes from large companies. “We are recruiting many Angolans. Typically, the company starts with expats, but then locals must come onboard. We invest heavily in Angolan human capital and recruiting. We also have the biggest scholarship university support. We are delivering a scholarship not just for studies but one that also provides living expenses,” said Carlos Basto, managing partner of EY Angola, during an interview with TBY.

With the intention of getting more businesses to operate professionally in the country, He explained that the firm has agreements with a civil association that helps young people prepare for infor-

mal jobs. “Our executives deliver free training in subjects such as tax, accounting, or economics, and every month we go to provinces to deliver this training,” Basto said of this initiative. “Every year, around 10-20 of our people leave to work in other companies, so we are building up human capital. The challenge here is human capital,” he added.

The existence of an informal sector exerts negative pressure on the country's productivity, limiting economic growth. Precisely, the inability of some companies to formalize has a negative impact on their performance, as they do not have adequate control over their finances and day-to-day administrative operations. This also has a negative impact on attracting FDI, as many foreign companies may find it difficult to work with local companies that do not have compliance policies that conform to global quality standards. “Angola needs to be more attractive to attract FDI and be more competitive in terms of tax and legal matters,” said Basto.

One of the keys to progress in increasing the number of companies operating in the formal sector is that the country manages to sustain its economic growth. Supported by mining and its vast oil reserves, the country has achieved rapid economic growth rates, in addition to collecting large amounts of taxes that have been used to drive development programs. One of the government's current objectives is to diversify the economy and develop companies in non-extractive sectors that must hire employees in a regulated manner in order to operate.

“We need to make an energy transition. That must be one of the main objectives for the next years. Angola has hydro-based energy resources, namely rich natural rivers and water resources, and there is a lot that can be done,” said José Antonio Barata, country manager partner of Deloitte Angola. In this regard, the construction of works to carry out this energy transition, which the country must also deepen to reduce its CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, is an opportunity to create formal jobs and establish companies in a renewable energy sector that is still underdeveloped in Angola.

An interesting initiative to advance the diversification and formalization of the country is the one carried out by Câmera de Comércio e Indústria Hispano-Americana Angolana (CCHIA), formed in 2016 by Angolan and Pan American entrepreneurs. “The objective is to establish partnerships and attract investments in the agro-industrial and mining sector,” said Reinaldo Trindade, president of the CCHIA. If these objectives are achieved, Angola will be one step closer to formalizing agriculture, one of the most informal sectors. ✖

better SOLUTIONS

Grupo SANEP operates in the areas of agribusiness, oil and gas, financial, logistics and distribution, industry, and construction and real estate, with operations in Angola, Mozambique, Spain, Portugal, and Brazil.

Grupo SANEP operates in all sectors of the economy, aiming to ensure a new standard of quality. What services do you provide in Angola?

Grupo SANEP is an Angolan group which is now internationalized with a presence in Europe, in Portugal, Spain and recently in Poland. In Africa, we are also present in Mozambique. Speaking specifically of Angola, the group operates in the sectors of finance, agriculture, logistics and distribution, real estate, and industry. I classify oil and gas as an industrial sector. We are in these sectors because we understand they are the key ones requiring investment that bring offer the greatest opportunities. Since our country is young, with most of the population under 30 years of age, it still needs a lot of support in terms of investment, especially in technology. This has prompted us to seek our innovative solutions for our country.

One of the current focus areas is technology and the digitalization of the Angolan economy. What does this hold in store for Grupo SANEP? For Angola, this is an enormous opportunity, as it will allow us to make a significant technological advance in a short space of time. With the technology available and in accordance with government objectives, our group went to Poland with the aim of establishing partnerships that will result in a technology transfer to us. We have also started the first phase of our pharmaceutical park, with the start-up of our industry for the production of galenical products, non-drug hospital products. We have also entered into a partnership with an Italian company that is transferring technology to us to enable us to produce intravenous medicines. Within the next two years, we would like to meet around 60% of total medication require-

ments for certain pathologies. There are other challenges. The fact that our country is still not at the top of the ranking for WHO prevents us from developing other types of medicine, such as oral tablets; however, this is already a significant step that can be taken. The oil and gas sector is where Angola has some of the most advanced technologies in the world. Currently, our group is part of a shared block with Canadian partners.

Your company is operating in several countries. How are these strategic orientations helping its overall development?

In Spain, we acquired a cold storage company located in the port of Huelva, in southern Spain, which is the fifth largest port in Europe. We want, through this company, to be able to introduce products made in Angola into the European market, such as fruit, fish, and other seafood. What we want is to take the best of what Angola has in terms of quality and sufficient production for export and send it to Europe. The opposite is also true of Spain, which is an agricultural powerhouse. For example, in the production of fruit such as oranges, olive oil, and other products needed by Angolan industry, we want to use our structures to become a platform for exchanges between Angola and these markets. This is the approach we have in all the markets we operate in. We want Angola to have access to these markets and that, through our company, other Angolan companies can network and gain access to these markets.

Grupo SANEP intended to expand to seven provinces beyond Luanda. How have these expansion plans evolved after the pandemic? Grupo SANEP currently has nationwide coverage, either through partners or our

own representations. We are currently distributing agricultural products nationwide for the agricultural campaign. At the start of 2021, for our 2022-2025 program, we approved the decision to be in all the municipal headquarters of the 196 municipalities of the country. We want to develop a franchise model through local entrepreneurs that we will train and help to create microcredit and insurance availability through our companies and the financial sector. Giving them training, credit and having them become our representatives will help to motivate other national entrepreneurs. ✖

BIO

Luis Troso holds a degree in human resources management and a postgraduate in investments in financial markets. He is an entrepreneur with more than 16 years of professional activity and vast experience in the leadership and management of people, projects, and companies with emphasis on the financial sector where he started his professional career and today he has stakes in companies in the sector. He has been the Founder & President of the Grupo SANEP since 2013.

Luis Troso CEO, GRUPO SANEP

FUTURE is growth

Alcaal is an international group offering solutions in agribusiness, international trade, and renewables, with a focus on emerging markets.

Jorge do Amaral CEO, ALCAAL ANGOLA

Seeks to be an emblematic industry in diversification of Angolan economy

What has been the main focus of Alcaal Angola over the last year?

BIO

Jorge do Amaral graduated with a degree in business administration from the School of Finance and Administration of Rio de Janeiro, specializing in accountancy. He later completed a futures market course in the Chicago and New York Commodity Exchanges. His professional career has ranged from serving in the Portuguese Navy to leading a variety of companies across South America and Africa. He has been President of Alcaal Angola for almost 15 years.

Alcaal Group is divided into two areas: Alcaal, the group based in Buenos Aires, and Alcaal Angola, a fully Angolan company entirely focused on business development in Angola. Here, we are completely focused on agribusiness. In packaging, we make corn and corn flour. We have a corn flour factory and 3,000ha under irrigation. We have 1,500ha for rice production with all the infrastructure and rice packaging, and we have all the infrastructure for the production of animal feed, eggs, and chicken. We acquired Textang in 2021, and today it has 250 employees, with a production capacity of 10 million meters of fabric per year. The entire manufacturing infrastructure in the country is precarious, and we are now gradually reactivating that market. I want this factory to be open 24 hours a day and be the engine that creates thousands of jobs across the country for people. In Angola, five companies have that level of technology. Parallel to this, for Textang, we are bringing in cotton seeds from Nigeria, Senegal, and the Ivory Coast, and we have planted the first 100ha to decide on the right seeds. We plan to revive cotton cultivation in Angola and produce cotton on a large scale for the self-sufficiency of the textile sector. This is a fundamental aspect of Angola being the thirdor fourth-largest producer of cotton in the world. The self-sufficiency of raw materials in Textang is another great milestone of our management, and Angola will be self-sufficient in the production of wheat flour, corn flour, rice, and beans. These are

the four products that we consider the basic basket and have the highest consumption in the country. We want the group to have a significant contribution to diversification, import substitution, food self-sufficiency, and job creation.

What are the challenges in agribusiness and achieving self-sufficiency in Angola?

The challenge is being increasingly competitive, as it is expensive to produce today in Angola. The challenge is showing the world that there are valuable and incredible resources in Angola. I speak of agriculture with unique soils, climates, and water in the world. I believe that companies will see growth potential in Angola, which has almost double the size of arable land of Argentina and the most water on its surface of any African country. We are developing an intensive agriculture program in collaboration with the IRS and the World Bank for onions and potatoes. Our project is part of the local culture. There is an extraordinary situation here where the owner of the land is the state, and the concessions are for 60 years. We are also working now to bring in Argentinian brands and sell them on the domestic market.

Alcaal Group is also committed to renewables. Is there a country-wide focus on implementing those solutions in Angola?

We have put together a team that is already working in Angola. The focus is on photovoltaic parks, and we are working to bring photovoltaic solutions to several municipalities in the country. The gov-

ernment has a USD2-million contract to bring photovoltaic plant solutions to several municipalities across the country. We have built a project of 48 houses for small entrepreneurs to develop irrigated agriculture, and all these houses have a solar solution for their needs. We are also waiting to see how the new government will shape out in terms of legislation and so on. We truly believe solar can be an extraordinary solution for Angola, because a large part of the industry depends on fuel generation.

What are the future plans of the company by 2023? The future is growth. We are expanding the agricul-

tural areas of all our projects and bringing Textang to the three shifts. We want to expand our cotton planting area. When thinking of the future, we think of Angola. I view this country with so much love and affection, and all our efforts are directed toward contributing to make it a better country. Everything we do has to do with the welfare of the people in this country. My goal is for Angola to be self-sufficient in everything. That means in four or five years, no container carrying any type of food should ever dock in the port. This is how I see Angola—continued growth, continued employment, and continued investments and risk taking. ✖

Goal to make a decisive contribution to food selfsufficiency in Angola

Carlos Basto MANAGING PARTNER, EY

ACCOUNTING FIRMS

Deloitte and EY are looking at the long term in Angola, helping the country to develop its next generation of talent while also helping institutions with solutions to challenges based on their global expertise.

How have Deloitte’s goals to strengthen its local presence and export its services to neighboring countries evolved?

JOSÉ ANTONIO BARATA Globally, Deloitte, at the end of its recent fiscal year, saw a significant overall increase in its activity. It was also an important year for our operations in Angola, where we have maintained our strategy, prefacing what used to be the slogan of a well-known car brand in the 1970s: “We are here to stay.” We continue our firm commitment in the country to recruit national staff, and we are just starting a new recruitment process to incorporate at least 50 new employees. With these new hires, Deloitte will have more than 400 professionals working in Angola.

EY Angola looks to build long-term value by carrying out more social responsibility initiatives. What positive change are you supporting?

CARLOS BASTO We are recruiting many Angolans. We invest heavily in Angolan human capital and recruiting. We also have an attractive scholarship university program. We are delivering a scholarship not just for studies but one that also provides living expenses. We screen and find 20 people who we provide significant support to. They must be the best at what they do, and then they later join EY. We also have a partnership with a civil association that supports teenagers in preparing for jobs. Our executives deliver free training in subjects such as tax, accounting, or economics, and every month we go to provinces to deliver this training. In addition, by doing audits we contribute to the transparency of the economy. When we support our clients, we seek to improve profitability and be better prepared for the market. Every year, we feed the economy with human capital that grow in EY and embrace new challenges in other companies. The challenge here is human capital, and this is key for all companies around the world. The government must definitely invest in education, will be a pillar for the country growth.

Deloitte is focused on the contribution to keeping Angola on the path of Africa's biggest economies. What are your thoughts about the Angolan financial system?

JAB The financial system in Angola is currently facing important challenges. The Central Bank has undertaken a set of new legislation aimed at bringing local legislation in line with global best practices, and publicly the central bank is attempting a process of supervisory equivalence with the EU. This is a significant effort to pass those regulations and the banks that, based on the results of another asset quality assessment process carried out by the IMF in the agreement with the state, namely the Public Bank and Economic Bank (BPC). Other banks are also facing significant challenges. Banks have to revisit their business models in the coming years because the country is making an effort to diversify the economy. For this reason, the quality of the services provided to customers needs to improve. There are many things that need to be done in the office, including digitalization, and banks have to make strong investments in technology for those people who cannot go to a branch.

EY Angola looks to build long-term value by carrying out more social responsibility initiatives. What positive change are you supporting?

CB The government is working on change. It has a clear goal to maintain the production of oil, which has been key for Angola over the last 50 years. It needs to attract capital investment, and it is difficult because every country in the world is after this capital. The country needs to create new legal and tax frameworks and increase production, which is critical for economic growth. In addition, it needs to diversify the economy though this will take time. There is an increase of partnerships between Angola and multilateral entities, which are vital to support and co-invest in large and very important projects to the country such as electricity and water. The energy landscape is changing, which could be a great opportunity for Angola, though we must be prepared to be an alternative. Europe is currently facing huge challenges to have sufficient and reliable energy providers that is open a huge opportunity for the Africa countries, but they need to be attractive. The index for doing business and transparency must improve to attract FDI. ✖

José Antonio Barata COUNTRY MANAGER PARTNER, DELOITTE

TBY ANALYTICS ANGOLA 2023

120 interviews were conducted for The Business Year: Angola 2023 Analytics.

BUSINESS CONFIDENCE INDEX

How confident are you about the outlook for business in Angola this year (1-5)?

SECTORS TO WATCH

3.35

AVERAGE RATING

AO23_EC_ANALYTICS_BCI

ADVANTAGES & CHALLENGES

What are the most commonly mentioned advantages and challenges of doing business in Angola?

ADVANTAGES

• Improving regulatory environment

• Improving financial literacy

• Incentivized energy sector

• Growing Made in Angola brand

• Geographic location

• Relative political stability

CHALLENGES

• Lack of development outside capital

• Slow legal system

• Ongoing effects of COVID-19

• Lack of spare parts and technical assistance in industrial sector

• Low computer and mobile phone penetration

• Logistics difficulties as a result of war in Ukraine

ALL-AROUND expert

Francisco Monteiro CHAIRMAN & CEO, BRIMONT

Could you elaborate on your main services in Angola and the company’s achievements of recent years?

Brimont is an Angolan multiservice company dedicated to procurement, consulting, HR solutions, real estate, energy, and life.

BIO

Francisco Monteiro is the Chairman and CEO of Brimont. He is an Angolan entrepreneur with 20+ years’ experience throughout the oil and gas, business consultancy, aviation, media, and entertainment sectors

As an oil and gas service provider, we focus on efficient solutions to for the industry in Angola. The six areas of business that we are currently dedicated to result from the substantial effort of development of activities over the years and the attention to the opportunities addressed to the local companies. When we started in 2016, procurement, consulting, and HR solutions were the services being delivered. Procurement is historically our main activity, representing over 50% of the business, resulting from having the capability to speak in detail about any requirement of end users from any project while meeting the best expectations regarding local content participation; if it exists in Angola, we know where it is and the best way to access it. If it is not available in Angola, we know where to get it from and ensure a compliant delivery. We also have a plant for the production of certain chemicals. Chemicals, including production specialties, represent the biggest family of products in our procurement services. The consultancy services that we provide are mostly related to market and feasibility studies as well as assisting companies looking to set up in Angola. We are well versed in project management and regularly assist companies in this area. Our real estate activity started in the first year of our activity, and since then we manage a few other facilities in Luanda and Soyo and have acquired asset management skills. The provision of dedicated facilities for accommodation, such as full-service guesthouses and specific residential solutions such as precautionary quarantine centers are part of our scope. Brimont Life is dedicated to the recuperative therapies and also focuses on telemedicine. The oil and gas sector in Angola focuses on two special criteria— local content and social responsibility— and Brimont being an Angolan company “ticks this box.” We quickly understood that being strictly compliant with general obligations such as tax and social security payments, training and job opportunities, environmental considerations, and so on was part of the excellence scrutiny of oper-

ators in terms of social responsibility. This is what we have done with Brimont Life, having established in 2018 an educational development center in Talatona dedicated to assisting special needs children and youths with education. Meanwhile, energy is the most recent business unit, and we focus on the implementation of renewable solutions, mostly solar. We have an engineering team well-versed in solar project design and implementation with deep knowledge of training to assure users of project maximization.

Brimont has become a member of the Association of Contracted Companies of the Oil Industry of Angola (AECIPA). What are your expectations of this new membership, and how will Brimont contribute to its development?

AECIPA is the most important association representing local companies that serve the oil and gas industry of Angola. Our mission as an associate is to contribute as deem necessary and possible. Our knowledge and industry perceptions resulting from the wide scope of services being delivered will add value to AECIPA actions toward the promotion of better conditions for local companies.

What would be your advice for other Angolan companies looking to either provide better services in Angola, or else go international?

To the ones looking to either provide better services in Angola or go international, they must realize that competition is global. The differentiation element is investment. Angola has the typical conditions of an emerging country: nothing is easy and much needs to be done, so we have to invest in many forms, such as time, capital, competencies, and more. When looking to develop a company and become a professional in any area, one has to bear in mind that the options around investment must have efficiency as the main goal. This is something we strive for at Brimont. ✖

“If it exists in Angola, we know where it is and the best way to access it.”

BRIMONT aims to contribute to Angola’s oil and gas sector growth through the provision of worldclass advisory and service provision.

A GUIDING HAND

"We, as an oil and gas service provider, deliver efficient solutions to the industry in Angola. Our six areas of business, including the services we began with—procurement, consulting and HR solutions—have been developed over the years through focused efforts and attention to local opportunities. Myself and my fellow founder, Brigida Monteiro, bring extensive industry experience to our offerings, which have evolved since the company's inception in 2016."

Francisco Monteiro CHAIRMAN & CEO, BRIMONT

THE OIL AND GAS SECTOR seems unstoppable in Angola. Despite the fact that Angola’s biggest aim is to diversify its economy and strengthen the non-oil sector, oil and gas remains the largest source of government revenue and a key tool with which to foster economic development and business opportunity.

With the world keeping a keen eye on developments in Africa’s oil and gas industry, Angola has become an attractive investment destination across the entire energy value chain.

The main role of the Association of Service Providers of the Angolan Oil & Gas Industry (AECIPA) is to represent Angolan oil

and gas services companies. BRIMONT, an Angolan company with activity in the areas of consulting, HR solutions, procurement, and asset management, is AECIPA’s latest member.

“Two key features are required in Angola’s oil and gas landscape: local content and social responsibility,” says Francisco Monteiro, Chairman & CEO of BRIMONT, continuing that, “BRIMONT, being an Angolan customer centric company, with Angolan shareholders, investment and workforce, ticks both boxes.”

And it ticks that second box by building close relationships with its clients via a range of tailored, sustainable solutions.

WHY HIRE A SERVICE PROVIDER?

It is important to emphasize that firms in the oil and gas industry, like any other, are in constant need of fresh perspectives and outside opinions in order to dive deep into their operations and get advice on the next steps. This helps companies to detect critical areas of improvement and act upon them, such as the energy transformation or automation in industry, among others. Outside assistance also helps companies develop best practices. The following list contains the various benefits of hiring a service provider:

• To remain compliant with general obligations such as tax, social securities,

payments, training, environmental standards, quality certifications, and more.

• To save time and effort. A service provider allows the company to focus on its core strengths while providing advice on a wide range of topics.

• To create agility in processes. Some obstacles might take a company time to overcome, whereas a service provider will help minimize disruptions and increase efficiency.

• To improve competitiveness. Oil and gas is a competitive sector, so with the help of a service provider your company can gain an upper hand, best leveraging existing assets and gaining business insights and agility when executing projects.

• Specialization in the sector. In the post-pandemic economy, it must be said that hiring employees with a certain limitation in the execution of some projects could slow business development. Hiring a service provider that is specialized in the sector could save time as well as provide a different perspective on how to execute various actions.

Finally, it is essential to mention that the differentiating element in any sector is investment. In an emerging country such as Angola, where there’s room for numerous different projects to be developed, investment is a crucial factor that should not be left out. ✖

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

A HELPING hand

Cazos Advogados works to assist entrepreneurs and investors to register companies, establish business partnerships, provide support with immigration services, and much more.

Focused on implementing innovation

Cazos Advogados boasts lawyers with a vast experience of Angolan legislation. What has been the main goal of Cazos Advogados since its foundation?

Set to expand their services to refugee rights and digital and legal

marketing

BIO Cipriano Cazo is a lawyer with over 10 years of focusing exclusively on business crimes and penal compliance, often involving fraud/corruption, disputes, compliance and tax crimes, extradition and international cooperation, corporate investigations, and cybercrimes, and asset recovery. He is also the managing partner of Cazos Sociedade de Advogados.

Our office has just a five-year history in the market and works based on three main pillars. The first is relationship, looking at the professional and the lawyer, and the second pillar is the relationship between the lawyer at Cazo and the client, while the third pillar is the company’s relationship with the Angolan community. Our objectives will be based on these pillars, so first we focus on developing the professionals working at Cazos, who all possess high technical competence. In relation to the third pillar, which is the community, we lend support in terms of human rights protection. For example, in one year we defended 25 cases of human rights violations, pro bono. Essentially, we first invest in the professional, so that they in turn foster solid client relationships and spread legal knowledge within the community.

What areas are you currently working on?

We work essentially in six areas. One is corporate law, which covers the registration, maintenance and company’s enclosure, accompanying private investors, and handling the entry and exit of partners. And meanwhile, in the area of family law, we handle such issues as death, domestic violence, and citizen registration. In terms of criminal law, we handle cases of abuse. And then there is the area of industrial property, which deals with companies, or citizens registering trademarks. We also have a labor law and immigration law. Our firm has around three or four lawyers attached to each legal area.

Since you are keen to expand your services, how would that expansion materialize?

For the 2023, we will have two new specializations concerning refugee rights, a human concern that we are highly focused on. These refugees need to be accompanied by an institution that can issue them the necessary registration documents, so that they can live like any other citizen. And the other area we want to work on in the future is the issue of digital and legal marketing. We want to get involved in this, following several law firms, making the best use of social networks, keeping in mind a simple, clear, and objective language.

What are the most relevant steps when it comes to investing in Angola? What are the main risks that an investor needs to be aware of?

First, it will depend on whether that investor is a resident or not. If he is external, he will first start by obtaining a visa, which our firm also assist with. Through the power of attorney, we can also register a company for the investor, while they are out of the country so that it is already open when they arrive. Afterwards, a registration investment is made at the Agency for Private Investment and Promotion of Exports of Angola (AIPEX), which has its own procedure.

What is the future of the legal system in Angola?

Today’s professionals are aware of the need to digitalize their processes. Some documents, such as birth certificates, already come with a QR Code, which is innovative. We are also going to enter QR codes into the mix, to facilitate communication. We need to develop a management software that has a relationship with the client, lawyers, with accounting, so that a procedural document can be produced within minutes. Therefore, we will start training on this in February. ✖

Cipriano Cazo CEO, CAZOS ADVOGADOS

EXPANSION plans

Manuel Francisco Pedro CEO, LUANDA-BENGO SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE (ZEE)

BIO

Manuel Francisco Pedro holds a degree in economics and a post-graduate degree in economic policies and development and was appointed President of the Board of Directors of the Luanda/Bengo Special Economic Zone in January 2023 by the President of the Republic. He has assumed various roles throughout his career, first member of the Supervisory Board

Bolsa de Divida e Valores de Angola, coordinator of the subcommittee on finance of SADC, chairman of the board of training centers of the International Monetary Fund (Afritac South eATI), chairman of the supervisory board of the National Post and Telegraph Company of Angola, director of the International Relations Office of the Ministry of Finance of Angola, and senior consultant at the World Bank, among other senior positions.

What are your initiatives as the new CEO of the ZEE?

The Luanda-Bengo ZEE constitutes the largest space in Angola set aside for industrial projects that will eventually contribute to the country’s economic development and national employment. 180 industrial units installed, of which 76 are fully operational

The Special Economic Zone’s agenda is aligned with the country’s development and industrialization agenda put forth by the government through the National Development Plan. As the CEO of ZEE, my goal is to optimize the company and its operations to increase our contribution to the country’s GDP via six key pillars: attract appropriate new businesses; develop new infrastructures; optimize the service offering and develop new services; optimize the organizational structure and internal processes; increase productivity, connectivity, and sustainability; and conclude the transition into a free zone and incorporate attractive incentives for investors and companies. Within the six key pillars and with a special focus toward developing new infrastructure as well as attracting appropriate new business, another goal that is fundamental to our vision is developing our secondary reserve, also known as the Uala AgroIndustrial Reserve. The Uala Reserve boasts a total area of 2,860ha and is still an embryonic project; in other words, it is a blank canvas.

What were the most remarkable projects and investments in ZEE in 2022?

Angola’s economic growth has led to an increase in the number of projects submitted for approval in the 2022 fiscal year. In 2022, the project that stood out the most was the future implementation of a shopping center with an estimated worth of USD13.2 million, according to a feasibility study. This remarkable project, which aims to begin in 2H2023, is expected to contribute to the increment of the number of jobs generated in the zone and also generate a turnover of approximately USD241.8 million within five years.

What actions is ZEE taking to encourage national production, attract private investment, create jobs, and contribute to the diversification of the economy?

ZEE has been committed to the diversification of Angola’s economy by implementing a strategic plan that puts forth a number of strategic objectives aimed to encourage national production. By

focusing on the development of quality infrastructures in the zone, the goal is to attract FDI for the continuous industrialization and development of the zone. These industries contribute positively to the employability rate as we have seen a rise in the number of jobs that were generated, reaching 6,000 direct work posts in the last four years. ZEE has also employed initiatives that aim to facilitate the implementation of projects in the zone by creating the Investors Support Office (GAI).

What are the ZEE’s priorities in the coming years?

ZEE has several main priorities in the medium term. First is to develop new infrastructure to develop specific areas for sectors and clusters of industrial units operating in similar industries to promote interactions between companies and leverage interdependencies to create simpler logistics solutions and increase competitive advantages. The level of infrastructure in the Viana reserve currently covers only 11% of the total area of 4,718ha while the Uala reserve of 2,878ha has not yet been fully developed. We also want to optimize our service offerings and develop new ones. ZEE intends to facilitate a more favorable business climate than that in the rest of the country and increase its service offerings. This should include the integration of the business and investor support service through GAI and an increase in security services, among others. ZEE also aims to attract new businesses that are aligned with its focus sectors. This will require a proactive approach to marketing and business development by the ZEE management. The initiatives are adopting a new marketing approach, attracting promoters and attracting co-developers/investors. ZEE also needs to implement internal policies, procedures and processes to ensure efficiency in its operations and to minimize operational risks. In addition, to further increase productivity, ZEE intends to adopt technological tools and digitize services to improve efficiency and increase its value proposition. ZEE will also work with the government to improve links to logistics infrastructure and integrate value chains to improve the flow of materials. ✖

Leandro Laborinho CEO, ETHOS INVESTMENTS

What is ETHOS Investments, and what are your local initiatives?

ETHOS Investments was created some 15 years ago as a family business. We create ideas and then test them on the market. The first idea was only to sell safety products and water processing solutions as well as personal protection equipment, fire protection solutions, water treatment solutions, and water pumping solutions. Later, we also introduced a swimming pool solution. The businesses related to protection are called Aeternu, and the other business line is PROAQUA Water Technology. PROAQUA is branching out into two or three companies. We will also sell smart solutions for outdoors not widely available. Aeternu, the safety solutions unit, is based locally, and already an official company. It will also be selling a wider range of safety-related products.

What are the future projects of ETHOS Investments?

One of the companies, a business consulting unit, will be focused on helping businesses coming to Angola to meet challenges easily. We have also decided to open a company focused on trading. We will represent and distribute brands locally that normally people tend to buy only overseas and work to place them the local market at the same price point.

Tatiana Serrão CEO, FBL ADVOGADOS

What has been the main goal of FBL Advogados?

We began operations in 2004, and since then we have been organized as a law firm even though at that time there were no regulations for law firms. Our founders have been in practice for 40 years, and we have inherited a great deal of experience. That is the reason why we decided to organize ourselves as a law firm. Our main goal as an Angolan law firm is to remain resilient in the market. Every day at FBL is a challenge because we do not know what will come next. From a work perspective, it is challenging, though we can always liaise with colleagues outside of Angola on complicated transactions and issues.

What considerations should be taken in Angola to attract foreign investment?

We should invest more in schools. Some of the people in our public administration are used to doing things in a specific way, and most times do not accept change. Perhaps there should be an investment in the structure of the public administration. Angola has good laws, and those working on devising regulations here have a tough job. On the subject of public tender law, we need to sit back and evaluate what is not functioning. Perhaps we need to look at the jurisdictions closer to us and see what is missing.

Image: maurodopereira

INVESTING in the country

Filipe Pescada CEO, GRUPO WM

Could you share with our readers the trajectory of Grupo WM?

Grupo WM is a construction and real estate company that has also expanded into civil construction, concrete, wood, and sheet metal sectors as well as agricultural enterprises.

Grupo WM was born in 1992 as a company born in civil construction linked to real estate. Therefore, with all the growth of this sector, we direct all our capital to construction. There are buildings where we did both design and construction, with two or three of note in the city, buildings aimed at residential and commercial markets. Over the years, we have been developing other civil construction activities involving the concrete industry and exploitation of wood in the provinces, as well as the metallic construction component. We also operate a sheet metal factory connected to air-conditioning ducts systems, making all elements at our own factory. Obviously, with such a large group, all our shared services of logistics, transport, and storage have grown over time. In 2000 and 2001, we invested in our first agricultural enterprise in Bengo province. This is a fruit farm of around 300ha on which we grow bananas, papayas, and passion fruit that are part of the Angolan diet. We also signed an agreement with the IFC, a division of the World Bank, for support with certification to potentially export fruits, and for another farm that we set up a few years ago to grow corn and soy. Additionally, we have a livestock-related facility in Cuanza Norte, Lucala, with a strong investment of USD200 million. On this farm, we produce cereals, and have an animal feed plant producing feed for cows, pigs, and chickens. Around three years ago, we invested heavily in an asphalt derivatives industry. We also have a concrete company called Base Solida.

ship for. We are motivated by beautifying the city, and over the past two years, we have had great feedback on our initiatives from tourists. This project has a real and positive environmental impact on Luanda.

How do your partnerships help Grupo WM achieve greater national and international exposure?

We are looking for partners to invest in our farms, having already hosted two or three interested parties. At the Cuanza Norte farm, IFC is lending support for a new project involving a 5,000-ha farm, providing us consultancy and helping with its development. We have a need for specialization in agricultural production.

How do you see the future of the Angolan economy?

Right now, with the oil situation, we need to be optimistic. There will need to be further public investment in certain sectors. Yet, we have recognized that several investments have been made in infrastructure, such as roads and access to electricity; however, more and greater investments are urgent and needed by the greatness of the country. In industry, there are already large projects in place with many investors, but in agriculture it is a little more difficult because the business takes many years to take off. We have had our farm in the Municipality of Cuanza Norte since 2018 and but only started producing in 2021. And until the product enters the market, and all the logistics are in place, still further time is required.

What are your next local investments likely to be?

Filipe Pescada is an economics graduate from Universidade Lusófona de Lisboa. He began his professional career at Sociedade Ponto Verde, where he worked as a client manager in the marketing and services department. In 2001, he moved to Angola to work with Paviterra, a company associated with Mota Engil Angola. In 2006, he received an invitation to take over the financial management of the head company of WM Construçoes, having reached the position of general manager in 2012.

How is the Adopte um Jardim project building confidence among foreign tourists and investors?

This project relates to the other farm, just next the fruit project, where we grow all our ornamental plants, trees, and flowers. The idea came up in 2019, and we opened the Expo Garden store, thereafter gaining visibility. And today we have laid out a large garden that we are seeking sponsor-

In Cuanza Norte, where we intend to build on an area of 5,000ha. The national road network is set to be around 5,000km in length. We are engaged in designing it and work in step with the IFC to develop the project. Another area that we are investing in is asphalt derivatives for road construction, to supply the material, and our investment in this area has already reached around USD10 million. ✖

Envolvidos com o seu Negócio

Operador de serviços de telecomunicações sob licença multi-serviços de direito Angolano, cuja actividades tem sido desenvolvida em diversas áreas das Tecnologias de Informação e de Telecomunicações, Internet, Dados e Rede de telefonia fixa, focada em soluções Corporativas, Governamentais, Provedores de Serviços de Internet e Telecom

NETSPACE

Soluções de Internet

Soluções Wireless Soluções de Data Centers

Soluções para Cybersegurança

Soluções de Virtual Private Network

Soluções para Services Providers

Voz sobre IP (VoIP)

Soluções SDWAN

Soluções na Cloud

Condomínio Alpha Escritórios, Rua do MAT, Via C3 Edifício 4 Piso 0 Talatona – Luanda, Caixa

REINFORCING FINANCE

Angola has significantly improved its financial system over the past few years, ensuring a healthier environment for foreign investors. The government has also been encouraging the private sector to invest in those sectors that remain undeveloped, such as training for employees and the digitalization of banking systems and other services. “The majority of the population of Angola is young, and most of them are comfortable with technology. We are targeting such clients, and we want to be their insurance company. We seek to remain close to them as they grow,” said Armando Mota, CEO of Fidelidade Seguros in Angola, in an interview with TBY.

In Angola’s financial landscape, one of the fastest-growing sectors is digital payments, which posted a total transaction value of around USD5 billion for FY2022 and is expected to reach USD13.42 billion by 2027, a strong indicator of

digitalization in the Angolan economy.

The Ministry of Finance has adopted different measures in order to strengthen the stability of the Angolan currency, the kwanza. The ministry implemented an exchange operation to reduce the risk of exchange exposure between the dollar and the kwanza and converted around USD80 million in index-linked bonds into non-adjustable treasury bonds at a two-year maturity for a portfolio of four, six, eight, and 10 years due in 2023 and 2024.

Elsewhere, mobile money remains a popular service across Africa, especially for the unbanked. A whopping 57% of Africans do not have a bank account. Mobile money firms are also managing to partner with banks and other important sectors of the economy to provide insurance, micro-credit, and micro-loans within the mobile money environment. ✖

MOST PROFITABLE BANKS IN ANGOLA AS OF 2021, BY PROFIT VALUE (IN BN KWANZAS)

Image: Prachaya Roekdeethaweesab

A POSITIVE impact

Banco Millennium Atlântico is highly committed to creating a positive impact for its stakeholders, namely its customers, employees, and communities in general.

Miguel Raposo Alves CEO, BANCO MILLENNIUM ATLÂNTICO

What has been the evolution of Banco Millennium Atlântico in Angola?

For a long time, Atlântico has been committed to supporting development, not only of companies but also of people in general. Our focus on customers, the way we cater to families and develop the economic agents are part of our makeup. We are also a bank highly committed to creating a positive impact for the stakeholder, which includes the customer, employees, and communities in general. We have been growing based on innovation and execution of a scalable business model. We deliver quality service and projects to diverse business segments, reaching out to diverse businesses as we migrate to the ESG paradigm. Banco Privado Atlântico was incorporated in 2006, and Banco Millennium Angola was converted from a branch into a bank the same year. They had business models that were somewhat different. Millennium Angola was more of a traditional commercial bank essentially in line with the business model. Privado Atlântico at the time was more focused on investment banking, private banking, and the upper affluent segment. In 2016, the two banks decided to merge, whereby the best of the two was preserved, which is is when the new business model began to be deployed.

Banco Millennium Angola and Banco Privado Atlântico merged with the intention of achieving a desired level of profitability. What are the main advantages of this unification?

The main advantages of this unification are scale, knowledge, and the capacity of the bank to better understand all market segments. Each of the banks had its own areas of specialization. And today, we have combined all that knowledge and know the different market segments well and can reach to different customers accordingly. We became the fourth largest private bank by asset size and the number one private bank by the number of loans to the economy. The new regulatory framework is significant and reflects banking tendencies the world over, especially after the crisis of 2007-2008.

Bank regulation has become much more stringent, and the merger rendering us a larger bank also helped in dealing with this challenge.

Angola is experiencing a period of unprecedented digitalization, giving a much-needed boost to many different areas of the economy. What are your innovative contributions?

We intend to work as much as possible on the omnichannel. We aim to service diverse customer groups the way they want to be served. We also aim to rapidly grow customer base, in a new relationship that leverages the advantages of technology for greater efficiency. Currently, 37% of our customers are digital customers, thanks to 400 Agiliza, a mobile banking solution that serves customers with feature phones as well as customers with mobile phones. In terms of digitalization, we have been investing heavily in additional digital processes, such as going paperless; today 62% of our processes are digital. We have had the digital onboarding of customers in place for some time now and were pioneers on offering our customers automatic deposit machines. Around 60% of our agencies are open 24/7 because in many cases, we have a self-banking section that is open the entire day. A large percentage of our deposits are done by clients directly; the last figures reveal that 80% of deposits in value terms done in recent months are made this way.

Banco Millenium Atlântico’s shares will be sold on the stock exchange, following the successful sale of BAI shares. How is this viewed by international investors? Our decision to hold an IPO sparked momentum that we are developing as we speak. It is a strategic condition of our shareholders, and we see the benefits of having a listed bank. It provides greater transparency among many other advantages. We have been improving the way we report information and our speed in closing our accounts every month. Becoming a listed bank is demanding and we have to be ready for that. We have to find the most strategic moment to act. ✖

Focused on supporting the development of companies and families

Leading the digitalization of banking in Angola, allowing it to serve 2.8M clients

BIO

Before joining Atlântico, Miguel Raposo Alves was Managing Director & CEO at Hemera Capital Partners. He has more than 25 years of experience in the international financial sector, with a track record in several countries, including Angola. He spent many years at KPMG Corporate Finance & Restructuring in Lisbon and London, where he became associate director. He was also a junior partner at TIIC. He has a postgraduate degree (with distinction) in global business from Saïd Business SchoolUniversity of Oxford in the UK, a master in finance from ISCTE Business School in Portugal, and a bachelor’s degree in business management from ISEG - University of Lisbon, in Portugal. He has also completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at the Wharton Business School - University of Pennsylvania in the US.

INNOVATIVE solutions

José Gualberto de Matos PRESIDENT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, INTERBANK SERVICE COMPANY (EMIS)

What services does EMIS offer to realize its mission to contribute to the massification of electronic payment in Angola?

EMIS is focused on its mission to contribute to the massification of electronic payments in Angola and the general efficiency of the Angolan payments system.

BIO

José Gualberto de Matos is an engineer with an MBA from the University of Chicago (honors) and specialization in project management from the University of Bremen in Germany. He started his career with CTT and later worked with the Secretary of State for Communications, where he held the position of department director. He was later appointed Director General of the National Telecommunications Company (ENATEL). He also held the position of president and general manager of Angola Telecom. In 2002, he assumed the position of executive director of EMIS and is currently President of the Executive Committee.

EMIS is a private company owned by the Angola Banks, with the main mission of establishing and operate the financial market infrastructure that supports the Angola Payments System. This infrastructure is organized in five payment systems. It is a shared infrastructure, essential for the development of payment services and which takes full advantage of economies of scale. This infrastructure fully complies with the principles defined by the bank for international payments (BIS) for financial market infrastructure, thus guaranteeing the necessary neutrality. EMIS also owns the MULTICAIXA Card Payment Scheme, which comprises debit, credit, and prepaid cards for domestic use only. All Angolan commercial banks issue MULTICAIXA cards. At this time, over 8 million MULTICAIXA cards are issued, processing AOA1.8 trillion per month. In addition to traditional cash withdrawal and payment of purchases at POS, MULTICAIXA System offers more than a dozen cashless operations (invoice payments, airtime loading, pay TV, and electricity) in four payment channels. EMIS processes the issuing of Visa and Mastercard cards and processes the acceptance of Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, and Union Pay cards for Angolan banks across the entire network. The credit transfer system (better known as EFT) handles more than AOA1 trillion per month. The direct debit system, which is in the launch phase, allows bank customers to make their punctual or periodic payments through an authorization to debit their bank account. This service is the culmination of an advanced banking system, whose objective is to consolidate banking, as it brings considerable value to the banked customer, thus contributing to their bank loyalty. The instant

transfer system (ITS) is the latest market infrastructure that EMIS is implementing in line with the worldwide trend of evolving traditional payment systems to instant payments. EMIS has also planned the development of a market infrastructure that facilitates the implementation of open banking.

MULTICAIXA Express is an innovative application that offers a solution for payments, inquiries, withdrawals, and transfers via mobile phone. How do you guarantee the use of the application by companies and private individuals? The experience with MCX Express, one of the four MULTICAIXA payment channels, showed us that the young Angolan population has a great propensity for the early adoption of innovative technologies, and this can be seen as an important factor in boosting the digital transformation of the Angolan society. As with all technological tools, MCX Express has been following its learning curve, both in terms of its best use and security. EMIS has been attentive to ensure constant evolution of this payment channel, in order to increase its security and improve the quality of the customer experience of the more than 600,000 active users, in just over two years, since its launch. In this sense, new developments are being prepared that will make the solution even more appealing, with the objective of reaching, at least, one million active users within a year, mak-

“EMIS has also planned the development of a market infrastructure that facilitates the implementation of open banking.”

ing it the fastest growing channel on the MULTICAIXA system, thus paving the way for dematerialization of the payment card.

What are your thoughts on the evolution of the electronic payment systems process in Angola?

Experience has shown that electronic payment systems have made their own way and coexist well with traditional payment methods, especially the use of physical money. Replacement, will take time. In any case, measures are needed that can prepare for the future and consolidate electronic payments. In Angola, there has been e-commerce for almost 10 years, where payment for purchases in online stores uses payment by reference, a two-step payment method involving the creation of a payment reference for each purchase. In mid-2020, we invested in an online payments gateway that implements another payment method, which uses MCX Express to validate payments,

in one step, without entering card data. This gateway, which is also a shared infrastructure, is positioned to be the great driving force of electronic commerce in Angola. One of the greatest challenges of electronic commerce in Angola lies in the delivery logistics due to toponymic insufficiency (the last mile). The other challenge lies with fraud in the delivery of goods. The development of new electronic payment methods must be accompanied by reinforcement of trust, that includes improving the application of the law.

What are the current challenges in the sector and how should they best be addressed?

The biggest challenge is to find quick and sustainable solutions that guarantee basic financial services to the sixty percent of the adult population excluded from the banking universe. Financial inclusion needs the contribution of mobile money, taking advantage of the capillarity of the mobile

operators, as they operate with commercial networks with extensive coverage. We are convinced that the implementation of the instant transfer system, enabling the emergence of non-banking payment service providers, can leverage the financial inclusion of the unbanked population.

As the country grows, EMIS is finding the right time and way to improve services and capabilities. What are your plans for the coming year? EMIS’ major strategic objective is growing with security. To this end, it has made important investments in processing capacity, in order to anticipate the demand due to transactional growth within a horizon of three to five years; and reinforcement of its operational resilience—to reinforce the physical and technological infrastructures, with a view to strengthening the existing quality and safety conditions and mitigating risks regarding business continuity.

PREMIUM SOLUTIONS

For Angola, as elsewhere, insurance is a core component of financial inclusion that benefits individuals while promoting reliable commerce and the sustainable rise of the formal economy. Yet, the sector remains ham-stringed by fundamentals.

IN 2020, as the global average insurance penetration rate scaled 7.40%, the African figure fell to an average of 2%. Angola’s penetration rate is below 1% for a population of 30 million, and the ratio of written premiums to GDP was at 0.6% in 2019. The African Insurance Organization (AIO) partly blaming the high level of financial exclusion on inadequate distribution channels and lack a skilled professional workforce. Sector data for 2021 values the Angolan insurance market at USD397 million, where the key segments were life and general coverage. In brief, Angola’s insurance sector is regulated and supervised by the Angolan Agency of Regulation and Supervision of Insurance (ARSEG) under the Ministry of Finance. Mandatory insurance is dominated by workmen’s compensation, motor third-party liability and aircraft liability insurance. The market is forecast growing at a CAGR of one 9% between 2020-2025.

THE PITFALLS

That said, continent-wide persistent social inequality, weak technology adoption, plus a general lack of confidence in the sector are perennial obstacles to premium generation. On the issue of confidence non-life insurer Protteja Seguros, ranked among the top 10 sector players, is working toward ISO certification. CEO Kianda Trozo Protteja Seguros explains to TBY how, “Today, the law is already open to internationalization to ensure success in any of the areas we operate.” The onus is now on insurers to comply, “…with local regulatory and international standards, because it facilitates compatibility with business rules that are universal.” Mauro Monteiro, General Manager of Morpheu’s Seguros suggests that inadequate protection is a key consideration in Angola’s insurance arena. “Angola could be more comprehensive in terms of the requirements of different branches.”

What’s required to boost coverage rates, he says, is to, “…develop regulations on insurance for companies and more protection for the business community in terms of civil liability and mandatory risk insurance, both for the protection of entrepreneurs and citizens.”

AND THE POTENTIAL

Recent legislation has heralded a competitive commercial environment more appetizing for foreign investment. Securing access to technological expertise will build local content across the economic matrix. And over time this will impact the insurance universe. Additionally, once established, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), an African Union initiative, will galvanize the continent’s industrial base, which will have a major catalytic effect on insurance underwriting amid heightened intra-African trade and knowledge exchange. And because Angola’s low base spells a wide hunting ground, insurance companies are honing themselves for tomorrow by rationalizing today. Commercial insurance may expect a bright future in step with cautious economic diversification away from oil. The eventual rise of the formal economy, too, promises to bring higher living standards, fueling the insurance market.

DIGITAL STEPPINGSTONES

Generating premiums depends upon the perceived need for coverage, determined by confidence in tomorrow. Poverty and a lack of financial education precludes such thinking, and insurers have turned to Angola’s youth to turn the sector around. By adopting the digital route, they hope to build trust through transparency and convenience. Fidelidade Seguros, the CEO Armando Mota insists that, “Our goal is not to sell insurance but to get people to get used to [a]

new way of contacting an insurer. We seek to remain close to [the youth] as they grow [although currently] we are more focused on reaching out to people.” That said, the firm’s Auto Easy platform, “had 19 million views in 6 weeks, generating more than 300 leads.” Digitalization requires comprehensive takeup, and Trozo notes that, “We were betting on people, and now we will have to make a strong bet on technology to ensure that there is integration between institutions.”

Predictably, COVID-19 has applied the brakes to the insurance sector, but the remote working and schooling experience of many in the country has highlighted the relevance of digital service provision. Monteiro insists that, “We have had a greater emphasis on the website and WhatsApp […] since the pandemic, and with digital formats, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp […] our main means of communication with people and companies, we have been able to

connect with customers better.” Rising mobile (46.5% as of Jan. 2022) and internet (36%) penetration provides the FinTech ecosystem an arena in which devise InsureTech apps and rebuild corporate identities that speaks to the citizen. Trozo mentions the use of, “…a portal that we currently call Transactional Portal, where our customers can subscribe and sign up for services without any interactions with Protteja.” And for the insurers themselves, digitalization enables riskbased underwriting while slashing operational costs.

Ultimately growth of the insurance market is contingent on the fate of the wider economy. And since nationwide electrification and fundamental infrastructure provision remains an ongoing process, patience will indeed prove to be a virtue. The challenge then is for successive governments to enforce promising legislation geared at promoting compliance and best practices and welcoming foreign expertise. ✖

GROWING the business

Sanlam Angola Seguros continues to invest heavily in the country, including in building a new headquarters, technology such as insurtech, ESG principles, and digital products.

André Philippe Alliali-Die CEO, SANLAM ANGOLA SEGUROS

Sanlam Angola Seguros is continually investing in the country, including its new headquarters opened in 2020. What have been your latest investments? Beyond buildings alone, Sanlam Angola Seguros has invested in its human resources through training and development. The trainings are being offered for internal employees as well as the market in general. We consider this critical for our sustained growth. The company is investing in technology, as it is in the process of finalizing new IT systems to handle business and account for it in an efficient and effective way as it ushers in IFRS 17. Investment in insurtech tops our priorities as insurance growth is dependent on this given the demographic of most insurance consumers today.

Sanlam Angola Seguros is an African-based group. What was its strategy when it came to expand its services to Angola?

also depend on its environmental, social, and governance principles. To what extent is Sanlam Angola Seguros adapting to these principles when insuring large projects?

As a member of the Sanlam Group, Sanlam Angola Seguros is fully supportive of sustainable insurance aims to reduce risk, develop innovative solutions, improve business performance, and contribute to environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Sanlam Angola Seguros has plans to reduce participation and eventually withdraw any support for entities that do not support the preservation of the environment. This will be implemented in a phased approach.

Insurtech is becoming a key issue in countries with a large and young, but still under-insured population, such as Angola. What are the main challenges and opportunities that Sanlam Seguros is facing when launching digital products?

BIO

André Philippe Alliali-Die graduated from one of the top business schools in Paris and holds a diploma in accounting.

Alliali-Die has 24 years of professional experience, including 17 within the group in Abidjan, Paris, and Casablanca. After a solid career at the international audit firm Ernst & Young in Europe and in Africa, he joined the Colina Group in 2002 as CFO, taking an active part in the merger with SAHAM. He also contributed to the preliminary discussions between SAHAM and Sanlam. He is currently the CEO of Sanlam Angola Seguros.

The Sanlam Group is present in India, Malaysia, the Middle East, and the UK. In Angola, the group wanted to grow its business beyond the traditional markets of health and motor. There is real opportunity for growth and diversification of risk given the diverse risk profile of the economy.

The insurance sector plays a strategic role in attracting investment to the country to mitigate project risk. In the current context, how does Sanlam Angola Seguros perceive the appetite for private investments in Angola?

Judging from the interest being shown by investors from the Middle East, Europe, the UK, North America, and other markets, it appears there is considerable appetite for Angola. This allows us to expect further opportunities to partner with these investors on risk management solutions, including insurance.

The viability of any project and its financing costs

Sanlam Angola’s thrust is to be a leader in the provision of insurance products and services through the use of technology which can reach a greater portion of consumers. In line with financial inclusion, Sanlam Angola Seguros will be looking at the use of technology to distribute mass market products to a maximum number of people. On the other hand, Sanlam has invested in technology that enables easy and flexible processing of insurance products, from onboarding to claims settlement, in the form of a new, agile information technology system that will make it easy for clients and the company to do business.

What are Sanlam Seguros projects and objectives for 2023?

We are currently working on products that support the agriculture and mining sectors to diversify the portfolio whilst increasing the nation’s insurance penetration ratio in line with its finan-

Angola provides a diversification opportunity, and liquidity has improved in the market owing to evidence of growing governance, which supports the Group’s culture.

cial inclusion agenda. Sanlam will continue to support various construction projects by providing solid insurance solutions.

What are the segments in which the company will invest in the short term and in the long term?

We do not want to remain focused only on motor, health and WCA and be permanently fighting with the rest of the market. Our goals are to bring more value to our customers and to the Angolan economy. We will therefore focus as much as possible on corporate business in order to best leverage our experience, expertise, and global group strength with our top-tier reinsurance capabilities.

What types of insurance will be given the most attention?

Whatever we think the market needs the most. We’ve announced our Sanlam Mining Day, Sanlam Agri Day, and Sanlam SME Day. Sanlam Angola Seguros will dedicate until the end of the year three days of conferences and workshops for listening and understanding our stakeholders and to focus on the value that each one can provide is fundamental in the face of the opportunity we have to promote specific insurance for these sectors contributing to the growth of the economy and the country of which we are all part and in which we should all feel truly involved. At Sanlam Angola Seguros, we want to drive dialogue from the inside and out with all those who, like us, wish to be part of this change and the future of the country.

The company has been losing market share. What is behind this?

The company is losing market share because we maybe focus on risk selection and management rather than on selling premiums or policies.

Does the life business show a growth trend?

I said a few years ago that the evolution of the life business in Angola does not reflect the level of its economy. And I made a comparison with Mozambique, where the rate for life compared to non-life was higher. However, it is possible to see that there was a huge correction in 2022.

What is Sanlam Angola Seguros’ overarching vision? Sanlam Angola Seguros is aligned with the group's global vision: quality of service, sustainable growth where we think of selling added value and know-how to the market instead of premiums, social empowerment, conscious insurance, innovation, ethics, risk management, care for people and diversity, awareness of more sustainable products, and, finally, environmental and waste management. Within this plan, the empowerment of women and young people stands out with several actions already carried out in recent years by the company. Also, to support the education and employability of young people we will have a talent factory. Sanlam Angola Seguros will continue to support several charities in Luanda and will continue throughout the country. In addition, the insurer also sponsors several activities related to sports to reinforce the great importance of health in disease prevention and will also support actions related to the fight against cancer. To empower all new entrepreneurs to conquer even more in the professional environment, the company will create a program with which it offers quality content on social networks, provides exclusive services, such as the online mentoring project for entrepreneurs, will promote events for brokers throughout the country addressing topics such as negotiation and influence, hold lectures and events, as well as support social institutions and promote fairs with social entrepreneurs. ✖

A NEW era

Protteja Seguros has emerged as one of the largest insurers in Angola, with new insurance products for various customers’ needs and more digitalized offerings.

What insurance solutions does Protteja Seguros offer, and which ones see greater demand in the market?

At the moment, as an insurance company and for 2022-2023, we will operate in the non-life sector.

The main solutions demanded by the market today are health insurance, because of companies want to do more for their workers. Today, because of the openness shown by the government in terms of public tenders, surety insurance is also a requirement. And then, there is car insurance as well as travel insurance. We have structured specific products tailored to customers; that is, today we look more broadly. We have used alternative channels and social networks to promote our products. In the end, we will focus on all products for the private segment. We also want to invest in technological platforms that can support companies.

What innovations is Protteja Seguros bringing to the market to keep up with market trends and clients’ needs?

Since COVID-19, Protteja, like other companies, had to make big decisions. We will never be the same again. We are making and continue to make large investments, because technologies are extremely important in some processes. It is the path that we must use to achieve, at the end, the desired levels of excellence and production, because the country has taken many steps in that direction in the last five years. From a legal point of view, it has promoted several norms, decrees, and laws. We were betting on people, and now we will have to make a strong bet on technology to ensure that there is integration between institutions. It is with this integration that the expected controls and automation can be enforced. We will make a significant investment to achieve our objectives. At the moment, in addition to our website, we have a portal that we currently call Transactional Portal, where our customers can subscribe and sign up for services without any interactions with Protteja. This is not something that will happen overnight due to the local culture and technological means;

however, the population and the internet are increasingly beginning to be a good for all.

The company is in the process of getting the ISO quality certification. What is the current status?

Protteja set some objectives for the end of 2022. The consulting firm has reviewed and adjusted the processes. It will invite a certification company to check that things are in place and then provide the quality certificate. Today, the law is already open to internationalization to ensure success in any of the areas we operate. We have to ensure that the company complies with local regulatory and international standards, because it facilitates compatibility with business rules that are universal. For us, preparing our application process on the stock exchange does not mean acquiring assets outside the country with high profitability. It is the shareholders’ desire to be within the scope of transparency. At any time, we can list the company to seek funding for major projects, so the company has to be valued as such.

Protteja Seguros will extend its insurance to more than 380 athletes, with a goal for teams to increasingly bet on insuring their players. Do you see this evolution happening in the country in the near future?

We have a mission that is not easy: promote awareness and improve society’s security level. In addition, a large portion of society in general sees insurance as a cost. We have to do this work in society to teach people it is a sure investment in all its nature and conception. There are initiatives of character and social responsibility that we have given this facility, and we have some teams that we provide that facility; however, we are not a philanthropic entity. We understand that society is gradually starting to realize the advantages of this investment, both for life and for the patrimonial component. We know the subject and the insurance company, from the point of view of profitability, has to do with the principle of mutualism. ✖

Kianda Trozo is an Angolan entrepreneur. He graduated from Private Higher Institute Angola in computer science. He is the chairman of the insurance company Protteja, with 25 years of proven experience in persuading and negotiating the most appropriate mergers and acquisitions strategies with shareholders, in addition to dealing with complex macro issues of the company, providing innovative solutions with excellent results.

Kianda Trozo CHAIRMAN, PROTTEJA SEGUROS

professional TOUCH

Tiago Dá Mesquita GENERAL MANAGER, ZILLIAN

Zillian is an insurance and reinsurance broker that advises and protects companies with innovative solutions. Can you tell us more about your services in Angola?

Zillian is able to count on both local specialists and a deep knowledge of the Angolan market and its various players as well as Aon’s global reach and expertise.

Our name and our brand resemble the idea of resilience, so the main goal behind the solutions we offer is to make our clients more resilient whenever they face a loss. We do that by advising our clients on the best insurance and risk management solutions for their specific context. This can include purely local lines of insurance, but also global insurance programs that multinational companies usually have. Whenever we need to place a large or complex risk, which the local market cannot fully insure, we approach the international reinsurance markets through our partner Aon, a leading global firm in our sector. We also have a consulting practice, more focused on risk management and professional training in risk and insurance, directed mainly at large corporates, insurance companies, and the public sector.

What was the strategy behind ceasing Aon’s business in Angola and creating Zillian?

documentation, including policy schedules, terms and conditions, lists of insured people and assets, claims, payments, etc. The portal is accessible 24/7. We have also implemented another system to manage client requests. Every time we receive a request from a client, it gets logged automatically into the system. It helps us enforce our service level agreements, and clients can always go online and check the status of their requests. It is a more interactive experience and a way to improve the overall client journey and be more transparent with clients overall.

What needs to be done within the insurance sector in order to make it more competitive?

BIO

Tiago Dá Mesquita began his career as a consultant at Deloitte, where he participated in various projects for clients in the insurance sector. He joined Aon Angola (now Zillian Angola) in 2009 as a senior account executive and was appointed general manager in 2013. He became the company’s majority shareholder following a management buyout in 2021. He holds an engineering degree in computer science from Instituto Superior Técnico (Portugal) and an MBA from Edinburgh Business School. He also holds the professional qualification of diploma (Dip CII) from the Chartered Insurance Institute (UK).

Aon decided to change its operating model in sub-Saharan Africa in most of the countries where it was present. In 12 countries where it had subsidiaries in the region, Aon decided to change the operating model in 10 of them, including Angola. Aon felt that business would be more agile if we were able to make decisions on the ground independently and develop products and solutions more catered to clients’ needs in Angola and in the other countries. We ended up having the best of both worlds, in the sense that we can still count on Aon’s global reach and expertise, while maintaining local specialists and a deep knowledge of the Angolan market and its various players.

Are you offering online services as well?

We have launched an online portal through which our clients can access a wide variety of policy information and

The new general insurance law has recently been approved. It brings our legal framework up to speed with the current reality and introduces the ability to market and sell products online, which was a gray area in the previous law. This new law also introduces changes to insurance company governance, which does not necessarily affect competitiveness, but financial security and perceived trust, which are equally important. In addition to governance, financial security and the solvency of insurers is also stricter under this new legislation. It brings us closer to the best practices in other geographies.

How did Zillian start offering services for the oil and gas industry?

We have been a trusted advisor to companies in the oil and gas industry since the inception of our company in Angola, almost 20 years ago. However, the timing of the approval of the new content law, which was fairly close to our transition from Aon to Zillian, was somewhat of a fortuitous coincidence for us. Because we are a 100% Angolan-owned entity, our clients can rest assured that they are fully compliant with the local content law, while enjoying the services of a local operator that conducts itself by international service standards, supported by Aon’s unmatched global network. ✖

INSURANCE

To significantly grow insurance penetration in Angola, insurance companies are looking at both boosting the image of the insurance sector and working on better ways to serve customers.

What services do you offer, and what differentiates you from other companies in the sector?

ANTONIO HENRIQUES DA SILVA Aliança Seguros is a young company. We obtained a license from the regulator to operate in the life and non-life business. Our business today is essentially focused on nonlife, where we have mandatory products under law, such as auto and workman's compensation. The main line among insurance companies is the health business. Life insurance in Angola works mainly with bank credit or loans, however the volume of credit provided by Banks is not enough to trigger the increase of life insurance. Our strategy not only depends on bank credit, but on educating the population on the value of insurance coverage against major misfortune. We need to raise the level of the insurance penetration rate in Angola which currently is less than 1%. Our underwriting process is highly responsible. We do not reduce premiums merely to win business as we analyze the business characteristics and the associated risk to them. Another thing that differentiates us from the market is that we are committed to our responsibil-

ities with respect to claims and the management team have experience of more than 20 years in the financial sector.

ARMANDO MOTA We had lost some important clients because we were not able to match the prices, and in 2022, some of these clients returned because the service with the other companies was not up to standard. In 2022, we are seeing the results of the strategy that we designed three or four years ago. On the corporate side, the other clients that stayed with us are growing because the economy is starting to grow as well. We are feeling stronger and have real partnership relationship with our clients. The most important companies in Angola are law clients. We specialize in the private sector, though in 2022, we started doing some business with the state, and we intend to move forward with that. In terms of individual insurance, our 800 salespeople are doing a great job. We are selling about 10,000 policies per month, mostly for motor insurance. Our claims department here has been working well, especially in motor, workers, compensation, and health. We have more than 140,000 individual clients

today, and we are growing rapidly. We are extremely satisfied with our progress, and we intend to maintain this growth rate over the next year.

Can you elaborate on your training process for your employees?

AHDS We have two types of training processes. The employees can be training inhouse, and we have also training program of Angolan Insurance Association (ASAN), which is a 12-month program that covers several areas of activities such as compliance, finance, marketing, and also management. And even externally, we also have training from our reinsurance partners.

AM Our employees enjoy working here, and this is fundamental to delivering results. Working with a smile makes all the difference. When working in Fidelidade, they can learn many things and have team leaders that are more experienced and pass on knowledge to them. We have about 1,000 employees at Fidelidade currently, and we create the conditions to make them feel they are important. That is reflected in our daily work and the level of service that we deliver back to our clients. We give them the opportunity to learn on the job, and we give them the opportunity to learn from someone with more experience. We strongly believe that the key to the success of Fidelidade is having people who works with a smile.

Who are your partners in the country?

AHDS I will start by mentioning our reference shareholder, which is Banco de Negócios Internacional (BNI). Then, there is Mediplus, the third-party administrator in the management of health insurance. The Angolan Insurance Association (ASAN) and the Angolan Insurance Regulation and Supervision Agency (ARSEG) are working hard in order to modernize the market.

AM We sell through the most important banks; however, our brokers are the most important channel of sales for the company. Wherever we are in the world, we are a broker insurance company; our first sales force is brokers, and Angola is no different. We have a great relationship with our salesforce. ✖

Antonio Henriques da Silva CEO, ALIANÇA SEGUROS

Armando Mota CEO, FIDELIDADE SEGUROS

Yubi Matias CEO & FOUNDER, KGDM GROUP

What is your strategy for helping your corporate and individual clients to start financial planning?

The first thing that we do is teach them the basics, and the basics are how to set up a business plan. We ensure that our clients understand what they are getting themselves into, and that they understand every single process of running their business. Sometimes we will come across the person that wants to enter agriculture but who has no fundamental knowledge, so we start asking questions, to know their intentions fully. At the end of the day, people will always come here and need assistance, and if they fail, we fail. The same applies to success that generates word of mouth business opportunities. We do what no one else is doing and start by grasping the fundamental idea, especially the financial component.

Isabel Moreira COUNTRY MANAGER, ADV ANGOLA

Can you elaborate on the services you offer?

Our core business is managing health insurance and health plans, for insurance companies, mainly in post-sales services. We also manage bodily injury claims for insurance line of businesses like worker’s compensation, automobile, and personal accidents. ADV Angola manages an accredited network of clinical providers to support the needs of health plan beneficiaries, which includes, among other types, hospitals, clinics, laboratories, pharmacies, opticians, and emergency medical evacuation. We provide services that cover the entire lifecycle of the use of health insurance, from clinical and contractual analysis of claims, clinical follow-up of cases, processing of provider invoices, processing of reimbursements to insured persons, management of the contact center for insured persons and providers and complaints management. We also support our customers by providing technical reporting and management information and technical studies.

BOOSTING inclusion

PayPay Africa aims to facilitate financial transactions between users, both in terms of payments and money transfers.

What has been the evolution of PayPay Africa since its establishment?

I had two platforms before: Tupuca, an e-commerce delivery for food products and groceries; and T’leva, an Uber-type business where we have thousands of drivers every day, riding around with our personal cash. At the time, there were no online payments or secure payment services, as a result we had many problems with Tupuca and T’leva. Many of our payments were transfers or cash, but it was unsustainable. That is how the idea of PayPay emerged, and after working on it for the last two years, I acquired the license in July 2021, and now we are one of two companies with a license and operating in the market: PayPay and the local mobile company Unitel. We are in competition, but it is healthy and boosting the environment.

How do you approach companies to use this technology as a payment method?

People trust me in the market. My reputation in the market has enabled people to automatically trust PayPay. Then, it is also because our service is excellent. With PayPay, rather than having to buy a machine, all they require is their phones. It is much easier paying or receiving money with QR instead of dealing with many other ways. Furthermore, for e-commerce, many companies are now able to put their business online because they finally can receive payments in a secure manner. We have been able to gain the public’s trust because of our excellent service. It takes some time because it is still new, and we have to go through that educational process to raise awareness.

PayPay has signed partnerships with Angolan digital influencers to become the face of the brand. How does this decision help promote the company?

The Angolan community loves its influencers and singers, so to spread awareness of our product we got the best DJ that holds parties that everyone follows. Wherever he goes, PayPay is there. We also

have the owner of Coolbets, which targets the European expat community, and a television celebrity woman who is followed by younger women. We target different segments that the community loves, and they help pass the word of PayPay.

As a founder and co-founder of some of the innovative companies in the country, what advice would your businesses about founding a new company in Angola and making it successful?

I have been extremely fortunate to study in the US and bring back my knowledge and experiences and create more jobs here. In the beginning, we did not have anything, but we just kept knocking on doors for new companies to come in. Five years ago, we found our first investor who invested AOA30 million (USD100,000) at the time. We pumped this moneys into marketing and better services. Just person pumping in AOA30 million Kwanzas added significant value to the market. After one year, another private Angolan businessman, said, “I believe in you,” and invested more funds. Because of all this experience, I have the know-how and can now easily start businesses. I have even personally become a micro investor. Angola is so dependent on oil and diamonds, but it is in fact a creative country. There are not that many start-up companies working like us.

What is your roadmap for 2023 and your main plans for the company?

We want to boost financial inclusion and have at least 20 million people here have a PayPay app. Angola is still a third-world country, and we need to focus more on what the country can offer. For us, in the future we will focus on what Angola actually needs, and I am already analyzing the agricultural market. The next government is creating a department just to focus on hunger; however, not many people are going into the agriculture business. Only a small number of real entrepreneurs are actually into this. ✖

BIO

Wilson Ganga graduated in business administration from the University of Saint Francis. He has extensive experience in marketing and digital business. In 2015, he launched Tupuca with his partners, the first on-demand delivery company in Angola and still the largest. They then worked to create the largest electric taxi fleet in Africa called T’Leva, with almost 4,000 electric cars. He is founder & director of G-Smart Solutions, a digital marketing company, and is working on the development of Paypay Africa, a digital wallet that is changing the way Angolans know payment.

Angolans are slowly but surely embracing the app

Partnering with local influencers to teach Angolan community about the platform

Wilson Ganga CEO, PAYPAY AFRICA

financial INCLUSION

Antonieta Gomes MOBILE FINANCIAL SERVICES BUSINESS DIRECTOR, UNITEL MONEY

UNITEL Money is the payment service brought by UNITEL enabling digital and immediate money transfer and payments. How did the idea come about?

Africa birthed mobile money services mainly because of its large unbanked population, where its largest portion has mobile phones but no bank accounts. In Angola, around 60% of the population is unbanked, according to the Central Bank. With the purpose to be part of the financial inclusion, in 2020, UNITEL, the biggest telecommunication company in Angola, collaborated in a governmental program to provide subsidies to the less privileged population through mobile phones KWENDA. The start of UNITEL Money was in fact a G2P program, focused on sending money through mobile phones. UNITEL created a mobile payment services company called UNITEL Money. The idea was to, simply, reach the unbanked. Mobile money allows people with any feature phone to access money, either by going to an agent or shop to withdraw and deposit it.

UNITEL Money solves an existing lack of services then. What are the current digital necessities of the Angolan population? Besides having a phone, there is still the literacy gap. The main challenge is education and financial inclusion. We want to include the entire population of Angola in financial services, because the economy of the country and of the average family stands to improve through the provision of micro-loans, micro-services, and so forth; however, this needs to start with education on the security and nature of mobile financial services.

How is UNITEL Money ensuring the integrity and quality of its services?

We have a dedicated team for compliance and fraud issues to ensure the security of our systems. Most issues regarding security are related to the aforementioned education component, because most frauds are related to social engineering, by giving access to someone who should not have

it; through pin or other data. The main concern in terms of security is to educate people to never be too trustful. Educating people on how to use financial and digital services is crucial. As consumers, it is imperative to be vigilant by not accepting unknown calls or clicking on unsafe links. We communicate this through text messages, social media, and our other communication channels, as well as in person.

Who have been UNITEL Money’s partners in developing this technology?

Our main partner is Huawei. They are the vendors for the platform, and have enormous experience in other geographies regarding such services. It is a financial service, but it is also a telco land service. It is crucial to have partners that know about such services because it is rather different from other fintechs available on the market. Huawei has been a partner since the inception of UNITEL Money, along with other partners keen to add value and be part of the ecosystem, such as television and internet suppliers, allowing a user to top-up and pay for internet or tv subscriptions. We are in talks with other financial institutions including insurance, micro-credits, and micro-loans; these are the road maps for services of this nature. If we truly want to achieve financial inclusion, we need to start by developing those financial institutions. This is the reason such solutions began in the first place. It is easier to open a UNITEL Money account than to open a bank account. If someone lacks a bank account, they also lack access to credit, loans, and savings. That is why UNITEL Money needs to provide these services in collaboration with partners such as insurance companies. People in rural areas often do not have documentation or the minimum sum required to open a bank account. However, this inclusion has the potential to transform people’s lives. Solutions of this nature can provide up to AOA1,000 in loans, which might not be much in the grand scheme of things, but goes a long way for some individuals. ✖

BIO

Antonieta Gomes, Mobile Financial Services Business Director, has more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications sector in Portugal and Angola and a master’s in marketing management. She was the project manager of UNITEL Money’s launch after several years following the mobile money industry in African countries and has several years of experience in the development of the UNITEL’s agent network in Angola.

UNITEL Money is contributing to the broader digitalization of the Angolan economy by enabling a wide range of financial transactions on mobile phones.

Todas as competências para um alto nível de qualidade na prestação de serviços

26 ANOS DEPOIS, CONTINUAMOS A ACREDITAR PORQUE INVESTIMOS NOS RECURSOS HUMANOS

PARCERIA TITANIUM:

Energy & Sustainability

THE SUSTAINABILITY PRIORITY

Angola has abundant oil and gas resources, with an estimated 9 billion barrels of crude oil reserves and 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. The government, in recent years, has become increasingly conscious of the need for environmental sustainability and has begun to seek ways to best utilize its resources without causing permanent damage.

“In a first for Angola, there is an energy transition director. He's in charge of defining, implementing, and monitoring all initiatives for the decarbonization of Azule Energy. The decarbonization of Angola, of course, is critically important,” said Adriano Mongini, CEO of Azule Energy, in an interview with TBY.

When it comes to waste management services, both the private and public sector play an important role in the country, focused on offering innovative solutions for decontamination and reduction of volumes of waste and educating the community on the needs of adopting adequate behavior to foster sustainable solutions.

In 2019, the government also created the National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels

(ANPG) to reorganize the sector and regulate oil, gas, and biofuel exploration activities. It also established the Oil Derivatives Regulatory Institute (IRDP) to handle the supervision and regulation of midstream and downstream activities. And in order to attract investment, a slew of programs have been designed, including a set of legal provisions for upstream, midstream, and downstream activities, with a big focus on the bidding strategy for new oil concessions, a refining strategy, a strategy for the development of petrochemical complexes, and a general strategy for granting oil concessions until 2025. The government has realized that there should exist better incentives for companies to invest more and they are already working on the issue, with certain suggestions already on the table. ANPG, for instance, is already working on incentives for the mature fields to improve production in those areas and is further developing marginal fields. Also, one of the country’s initiatives and aims is to improve the efficiency of gas extraction and enhance the logistical dimension of operations for cost effectiveness. ✖

LNG OPERATING EXPORT CAPACITY IN AFRICA AS OF 2021, BY COUNTRY (IN MILLION METRIC TONS PER YEAR) SOURCE:

EQUATORIAL GUINEA

CAMEROON SHARE OF RENEWABLES IN ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION (INCL HYDRO, %)

Image: Antonio Rodrigues Peyneau

moving FORWARD

ANPG was established as a significant initiative by the Angolan government to reorganize the oil sector, optimize production around the country, and incentivize more investment into the sector.

Paulino Fernando de Carvalho Jerónimo CEO, NATIONAL AGENCY OF OIL, GAS AND BIOFUELS (ANPG)

What has been ANPG’s strategy in the country since its establishment?

ANPG was established in 2019, and the first thing we did was define an ambitious and clear strategic plan focused on implementing a robust institution capable of facing the industry’s challenges and execute actions and initiatives to mitigate the decline in production and reserves that the country has been dealing with for the last few years. In this strategic plan we set out our mission, vision, and values and defined four main objectives: consolidate the function of the regulator and the national concession in ANPG; work to reverse the decline in production; focus on HSE best practices; and take care of our people. The first objective was to optimize the function of the regulator, and here we successfully transferred people, processes, and critical tools from Sonangol. To tackle the decline in production, weworked with our industry partners to develop a plan to prevent downtime in production as well as with operators to identify ways to maximize the production of mature fields. In addition to proposing seismic testing to accurately determine the status of non-producing areas, we partnered with several operators on concessions license extensions and redevelopment plans to enable additional investment and increase production. We have a new decree in place that gives investors the right to explore, develop, produce, and monetize gas, which formerly only lied with the state. This paved the way for the creation of a new gas consortium operated by ENI, for which we recently approved the final investment decision for the development of the non-associated gas fields in north-

ern Angola. The majority of gas produced here will be sent to Angola LNG. Over the past 20-30 years, we have had several marginal fields discoveries. There are around 4 billion barrels of reserves that we are not producing from such marginal fields, and with the new decree, we will be able to do so. Furthermore, we are conducting exploration as a result of the bidding rounds strategy approved in 2019. There were only three such rounds in the 20 years before 2019, though under this strategy, we have done three bidding rounds in the last four years awarding more than 20 blocks, with plans to hold two more rounds before 2025. We believe this is the best way to mitigate the decline of production in the mid to long term.

In order to achieve further improvements, ANPG is carrying out a study on the competitiveness of the Angolan oil sector versus other countries. Could you specify what these improvements entail?

We need to identify the reserves we have yet to tap. One example is related to the frontier areas for exploration. Contractual and fiscal terms for those frontier areas have no comparisons, while existing mature areas are operated more or less on identical terms. The study has revealed we need to pay attention to new frontier areas, such as the Namibe and Benguela basins. The prospects in frontier basins merit new, better terms than those in place for mature areas. Another challenge to attracting new investments for mature fields is that the contract share of oil proceeds at this stage stipulates an 80-20 profit split between the state and companies. We realized we need to better incentivize com-

panies to invest more and are working on the issue, with certain suggestions already on the table for discussion.

Angola boasts an array of renewables including solar, wind, and hydropower. What is the country’s strategic plan to reach international standards in this endeavor?

The president has created a body coordinated by the Ministry of Energy to follow up on the energy transition. The nation is also increasing power generation through alternative sources such as solar energy. Total is building a solar facility in Huila, while ENI is building another one in Namibe. Our energy transition starts with producing oil with a reduced carbon footprint. We are working with our industry partners to reduce gas emissions, as our energy transition starts with emitting less carbon. Angola produces oil not only to generate energy, but also as export revenue to be channeled into wider national development, which means we cannot abruptly step away from this resource. ✖

BIO

Paulino Fernando de Carvalho Jerónimo holds a master’s in geophysics from the Higher Institute of Oil and Gas of Azerbaijan Azisbekova. He has more than 33 years of experience in the oil industry, having held leading positions including exploration director at Sonangol Pesquisa & Produção, a member of the research & production executive committee, sole manager of Sonangol Hidrocarbonetos Internacional, executive director of SNL EP, chairman of the executive committee of SNL EP, and secretary of state for petroleum.

7 (PROVEN) STRATEGIES TO CONTAIN YOUR COMPANY’S COST WITH MEDICAL INSURANCE

MEDICAL INSURANCE is one of the most valued employee benefits in Angola. If not properly managed, it can also be a major source of increasingly high costs for employers.

Premiums charged by insurance companies are intimately tied to how each member group utilizes their benefits, meaning that higher spending will invariably translate into higher premiums.

The best strategies to control and contain premiums over the long-term consist of having a deep understanding of utilization patterns and devising strategies to contain such utilization, while adapting each policy to the preferences of employers and their respective workforces.

This article presents a few of those strategies.

CO-PAY

A co-pay exists when members must contribute to the cost of the medical expenses they incur. For instance, members may be required to pay 10% of every consultation and exam. Co-pays help contain utilization in two ways:

• By lowering the amount paid by the insurance company to medical providers; and

• By discouraging superfluous utilization, thereby reducing frequency.

PROVIDER MANAGEMENT

When using more expensive providers (clinics, pharmacies, etc.), members tend to consume their limits quicker and increase the policy’s overall level of spending. Although price usually reflects the quality of a provider, it is still possible to identify less expensive providers with equivalent levels of service and quality.

Informing members on the pricing of each provider allows them to make better choices

and manage their limits more efficiently.

It is also possible to decrease overall spending by increasing levels of co-pay at selected providers, thereby diverting utilization to equivalent but less expensive providers.

LIMIT MANAGEMENT

Detailed utilization data allows us to identify how many members are expected to reach their limits for each benefit, keep those numbers at acceptable levels, and adapt the mix of benefits versus limits to the risk profile and preferences of each group, while optimizing overall spending.

CASE MANAGEMENT

It is common for a small number of members to represent the highest portion of spending in a medical insurance policy. This can happen due to once-off events, but chronic cases can be managed to improve medical outcomes and contain expenses. This can be accomplished by a mix of second opinions with a multidisciplinary approach, alternative providers, close management of acute episodes, private counselling, and so on.

PEAK CLAIMS

Renewal discussions with insurers always consider the utilization patterns of previous years. Peak claims (i.e., high-cost episodes with high severity and low frequency) tend to skew the analysis and falsely predict the occurrence of similar episodes in future years, which can result in insurers overly protecting themselves by proposing excessively higher premiums for renewals.

Careful renewal discussions must always take this phenomenon into account, in such a way that the policy does not over-penalize the insured, nor becomes unsustainable for the insurer.

AUTHORED BY Tiago Dá Mesquita, General Manager ZILLIAN IN ANGOLA Cidade Financeira, Bloco 10, R/C, Talatona/Luanda

TREND ANALYSIS AND FRAUD DETECTION

Analyzing utilization trends, identifying patterns, and ultimately benchmarking those against historical data from the same group and other industry peers, can help to uncover opportunities for improvement, but also the occurrence of sustained fraud, the latter of which invariably represents higher costs for insurance companies and, ultimately, insureds.

The root cause of identified discrepancies is not always obvious, but it is an excellent starting point for the design of countermeasures to stop and prevent member and provider abuse.

PARTNER WITH A SPECIALST

An experienced and certified insurance broker can be your best asset when managing your medical insurance policy and dealing with the insurance market. Partnering with a specialist will enable your company to explore and implement the strategies mentioned above, which will translate into contained costs and a happy, productive workforce. ✖

ABOUT ZILLIAN

Zillian is an insurance and reinsurance broker that advises and protects businesses and families by delivering innovative risk transfer and management solutions.

Established in Angola in 2004, Zillian was originally named Aon Angola, a subsidiary of Aon plc (NYSE:AON), a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions to clients in over 120 countries.

In 2021, following a management buyout (MBO) operation, Aon Angola became Zillian, Aon’s exclusive correspondent in Angola.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

plans IN PLACE

Azule Energy has a two-pronged strategy to increase oil production while working on the energy transition and the decarbonization of Angola.

Azule Energy is an incorporated joint venture between bp and Eni, with each holding a 50% share. How does the company contribute to the Angolan economy?

The reason why bp and Eni thought to establish this business was basically two-fold. One is that the global energy market now has certain capital constraints that are limiting the investment of the big corporations. And so, there is a selection process of priority projects worldwide. Oil production in Angola is important because it is one of the most important revenue sources for the country. We have much more opportunities for creating synergies and reducing costs. Lowering the cost for the company also means lowering the cost for the country. We are the primary equity producer in Angola and are in the best position to develop its reserves. We pursue an integrated approach between exploration and development, which has been extremely successful in Block 15/06. We have a history of exploration that is successful with a high ratio of success in Block 15/06, and having quick-fast development to put in production and resources discovered quickly. We are targeting a rise to 250,000bpd at the end of the fourth year. It is an increase of 30,000bpd to overcome the decline and to be even able to increase. To do so, we have an impressive pipeline of projects already established by bp and Eni. We commenced the first FID when we established the company. That FID was in July, a few days before Azule Energy became active. We signed all the contracts for the New Gas Consortium (NGC) at the beginning of August. This is important for the country as well as being the first project for non-associated gas. Till now, the gas produced by the stream has been a byproduct that had zero value. This situation changed 10 years ago, when the Angola LNG consortium was created, and this product became managed by the Angola LNG plant generating value, even though the gas is supplied to the plant at zero cost. With the global energy transition, we know how important gas is today. This gas project

will lead to exploration for gas because we were finding gas without difficulty. I can only imagine the opportunities with active exploration.

Azule Energy is the result of a strategic partnership under different petroleum agreements. How is the company preparing for the energy transition?

Energy transition and the decarbonization of our activities are important for Azule Energy. The three main branches of our decarbonization plan are renewable, technical solutions for reducing emissions, and compensation. And in a first for Angola, there is an energy transition director reporting to me. He is in charge of defining, implementing, and monitoring all initiatives for the decarbonization of Azule Energy. bp and Eni have an aggressive worldwide energy transition plan. The decarbonization of Angola is critically important. We are already benefitting in the perimeter of Azule Energy from the solar project of Caraculo, which is managed by Solenova, a joint venture between Eni and Sonangol. Once the project began in Angola, Azule Energy became involved. Angola still has certain steps to take because, among others, the REDD+ regulation is not yet approved by the government.

What are Azule Energy’s strategies for supporting people development in-country?

This is one of the main focuses for us. Right now, we have an 80% Angolan workforce. We are abiding by all the Angolanization programs of the government and, in this case, trying to be even more effective than bp and Eni. It is important because nationals are the backbone of Azule Energy. After all, Azule Energy is an international company based in Luanda. This means that while the expatriates are seconded, they will come and go, while the Angolans will be Azule Energy employees forever. In addition, we are trying to maintain all the opportunities of Eni and bp to send people for training and development. ✖

Adriano Mongini CEO, AZULE ENERGY BIO

Present at 16 blocks in Angola

80% Angolan employees

Adriano Mongini, the first CEO of Azule Energy, joined Eni in 1988 and has over 20 years of experience in managerial roles at Eni, both at the headquarters and in different affiliates, among where he was appointed executive vice-president of different upstream regional organizations and deputy COO for the upstream. In the recent past, he covered the position of Eni’s regional manager for Europe and Americas before moving to Angola in 2022.

CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS

Given its untapped hydrocarbon resources, notably oil, Angola is pursuing a strategy of gradual transition toward a more renewables-rich energy matrix.

ULTIMATELY, Angola is an African oil giant boasting estimated reserves of 9 billion barrels, with production of roughly 1.22 million bpd in 2021. Then, there are its gas reserves of 11 trillion cubic feet. And since the oil and gas sector delivers a third of GDP and 90% of exports it makes sense to diversify the energy matrix, and in its wake the wider economy, to escape hydrocarbon dependence.

THE DILEMMA

Angola’s current energy malaise calls for urgent remedial work. Electrification languishes at just 45%, of which 65% is urban and just 6% rural. An additional installed generation capacity of 9.9GW by 2025, and a 60% electrification rate are targeted. Angola’s electrification and renewables drive underpins the Angola 2025 Strategy and 2018–2022 Sector Development Plan.

DIVERSIFYING THE MATRIX

Diversification is based upon the phased development of a renewable energy sector, bold electrification targets, and resolute environmental protection. Angola is no novice in the renewables arena. By end-2021, non-polluting energy was already prominent its energy mix with 68% hydropower, 31% fossil fuels and around 1.0% hybrid (solar/fossil fuel). Decarbonization of oil and gas aside, Angola also has solar and wind potential.

In fact, potentially an additional 55GW of solar energy, 18GW of hydroelectric power, and 3GW of wind power. The government has pledged to install 100MW of solar panels by 2025. To date just 20% the hydro capacity is being tapped, although 100 sites with a combined capacity of 600MW have been identified as viable. Meanwhile, an additional 100MW of energy could be generated from five potential wind farms in southern Angola.

ENERGETIC REFORM

Angola has ensured that its key state entities are lean and task oriented to meet the challenges. Rejigged for efficiency, they target electrification to stimulate diversified industrial endeavor. Duly, in 2017 parastatal holding company SONAGOL, the erstwhile Angolan fuel concessionaire, shed all non-energy businesses. The National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) took over the concessionaire mantle, while SONAGOL got its boots on the ground, mapping out energy diversity.

As Paulino Fernando de Carvalho Jerónimo, CEO of the National Agency of Oil, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) explains, upon establishment in 2019, “…the first thing we did was strategic planning [creating] four objectives: to consolidate the function of the regulator and the National Concession in ANPG; to reverse the decline in production; focus on HSE; and take care of the people.” Angola’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas, too, is unequivocal that energy

transition must be inclusive at root, providing greater electrification, skills transfer and employment.

GREEN IN THE BEST WAY

In 2021 SONAGOL inked a USD1.5 billion solar and hydro deal with solar-project developer Sun Africa, and US-based Africa Global. These deals promise knowledge transfer and employment. SONAGOL had previously signed Angola’s first energy transition project, a 50MW photovoltaic project with Italian enterprise ENI in Namibe province. A second, 35MW photovoltaic project was confirmed for Huíla province, with French firm Total and local name Greentech Angola.

HYDROGEN EXPLOSION

SONAGOL’s strategy covers the production of green hydrogen, a hot topic in international energy circles. Early work is being done for future domestic consumption and possible export of the commodity in a project that partners German companies Conjuncta GmbH and Gauff GmbH & Co. Engineering Kg. Angola’s abundant water resources bode well for this venture.

MARGIN CALL

Remaining with gas, Paulino Fernando de Carvalho Jerónimo reveals that, “We have a new decree in place that gives investors the right to monetize gas, which formerly only lay with the state.” The outcome is a, “…new gas consortium operated by ENI [whereby] the gas will be sent to Angola Energy in the north in order to be liquified on the spot.” Moreover, the decree renders appealing the exploitation of Angola’s long discovered, but untapped marginal fields. What’s more, exploitation of Angola’s more exotic mineral resources has consequences for international energy greening. After all, future minerals such as lithium are vital for electric vehicle batteries and stand to contribute notably to GDP as projects unfold.

TEACH A MAN TO FISH

By 2025, renewable energy could account for 70% of Angola’s energy matrix, curbing carbon emissions by c.14% by 2030. According to the International Energy Agency, by that year renewable energy will have created 25 million jobs globally. Angola is adamant of its place at the table. The will is strong, but the targets require a skillset still not met from local expertise. Therefore, Presidential Decree no. 271/20 of October 2020 stipulated knowledge transfer to the local workforce for all businesses operating in Angola. Overall, then, aside from safeguarding the water table, soil quality, and natural biodiversity, Angola’s energy transition impacts the wider economy. This through its catalytic effect on quality of life, industrialization, agriculture, transportation, and the infrastructure essential for it all. ✖

HYDROCARBONS

Companies in Angola’s hydrocarbons sector are focused on continued investment in assets, equipment, and expansion in order to be prepared for new and exciting projects in the country.

Walter Vinha GENERAL MANAGER, LUBÁFRICA

IN ANGOLA, there is demand for all types of product, regardless of quality, because the country’s economic situation dictates it. In our case, in addition to having a comprehensive product portfolio for most of the equipment used, we have a loyal customer base given the quality of our products. Our customers want quality and the assurance that when they buy our lubricant for their machines, they will not encounter any problems. There are many unknown brands in this market, but we do not worry about that, because we have a clientele that cares about the quality of the product and prefers to invest in one that will increase the useful life of their equipment. An oil of poor quality is not the same as one of superior quality. Over time, people will realize that, especially with large-scale, expensive equipment such as a generator or excavator. We have clients in almost all sectors of activity, but specifically the transport, construction, agriculture and industrial sectors. In the medium term, with the inspection taking place in the national market to control lubricant imports, brands of dubious quality will naturally disappear. With better quality lubricants, there will be an improvement in equipment and a reduction in the consumption of parts for them.

WE DRILL THE WELLS in Angola and build the infrastructure for production, subsea wellheads, and umbilical risers. For platforms, we supply other critical equipment, specifically turbines and compressors. The turbines power the platforms, subsea operations, and production operations, while the compressors provide the enabling pressure for the oil to flow. We are part of the critical elements for oil production. There are competitors, therefore we work hard to be more efficient and deliver additional value more reliably, as well as improve the life cycle cost of our equipment and drive value for our customers. We are also complementing our traditional services with a digital offering to drive predictable options for our customers, while we help them be more proactive in how they run their business. We are able to embed software and sensors on the machines that tell us exactly how they are performing, allowing for smart maintenance decisions and extending the maintenance intervals. We adapt and make sure we succeed regardless of what happens. We need more activity in Angola and more rigs to sustain us, which is beginning to come; however, most of it is on brownfield work, namely revamping old fields and so on. Hopefully, exploration will lead to huge discoveries so we can have large development projects available.

Frédéric Heintz GENERAL MANAGER, PETROMAR

WE STARTED A LONG TIME AGO, initially as an offshore company in a joint venture with Sonangol, starting with offshore fabrication activities. We decided to move to more solo operations in light of certain national events and global uncertainties. In 2022, we are focused on our base in Cabinda. During all these years we have developed two main activities. One is upstream, involving fabrication activities for new product developments. When the operators discover a field, they engage in either subsea or above sea developments. Then, we have downstream activities. Either offshore in the client site, such as in Senegal, where we have worked in block three for many years on the electrical instrumentation, mechanical issues, maintenance of equipment, and so on. In 2021, we signed a new two-year contract with BP for fabrication maintenance, which means a greater focus on the repair or modification of steel structures or piping on existing facilities. We have been working for seven years to pursue good strategies on maintaining the asset and low pollution levels. Mostly our direct clients are the operators. And our fabrication activity in recent years has mainly been customized. Occasionally based on this model, we can also offer services to the subcontractors of those companies.

Valter Escórcio COUNTRY DIRECTOR, BAKER HUGHES

CEMENT CAN BE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY, TOO

NOVA CIMANGOLA is a large cement company in Angola that is known for its high-quality products and commitment to sustainability. The company is dedicated to reducing its environmental footprint and has implemented several initiatives to minimize its impact on the environment. The company has also implemented waste management programs to reduce the amount of waste generated by its operations and will be the first company in the world to convert a wet cement kiln to produce calcined clay, required to produce “green” cement, called LC3 (Limestone, calcined clay cement), which will save fuel consumption and reduce emissions. The first cement plant in Angola will be prepared to produce cement and refuse-derived fuel, and it is estimated to start during the current year.

Nova Cimangola has also invested in renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, Nova Cimangola has worked to reduce its carbon footprint by optimizing its production processes and using alternative raw materials, such as fly ash and slag, which are waste products from other industrial processes.

WHAT IS LC3?

LC3 is a type of green cement and a sustainable alternative to traditional cement. It is made by combining limestone, calcined clay, and gypsum and has a low carbon footprint, reduced energy consumption, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. LC3 is a more environmentally friendly option for construction projects and infrastructure development. The mix of limestone, cal-

cined clay, and gypsum results in stronger and more durable cement than traditional cement. There are many reasons why green cement is beneficial for both the environment and companies: it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by using raw materials and production processes with lower emissions; conserves natural resources by using alternative materials and reducing waste products, such as fly ash and slag; improves air quality by producing fewer pollutants than traditional cement; supports sustainable construction and building projects with a lower carbon footprint; and enhances sustainability reputation, reducing the impact on the environment.

WHY IS ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT SO IMPORTANT FOR COMPANIES?

The environmental footprint of a company refers to the total amount of resources used and waste generated in the production and delivery of its goods and services. This in-

cludes the use of energy, water, raw materials, and emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Businesses have the responsibility of impacting the environment as little as possible, and consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious and demanding more environmentally conscious products and services. Reducing waste and emissions can help companies conserve natural resources and protect the environment. Reducing a company’s environmental footprint is becoming increasingly important for businesses. Companies that adopt sustainable practices are more likely to remain financially successful in the long run. By reducing their environmental impact, companies can reduce their operating costs, increase their competitiveness, and improve their brand image. Adopting renewable energy sources, sustainable waste management practices, and reducing water usage are just a few of the ways that companies can achieve this. ✖

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

INCREASED investments

EPAL is a public service provider that collects, treats, distributes, and markets drinking water to the population.

Manuel da Cruz CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, EPAL

Pro Agua aims to improve structure in terms of production, equipment, and automation

EPAL found the solution for its clients’ water payments using new technologies

BIO

Manuel Silva Lopes da Cruz is an Angolan graduate in civil engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico de Lisboa with a postgraduate MBA in project management from Escola Internacional de Negócios/Escola Superior de Administração e Business. He joined EPAL E.P. in 2017 and was appointed Executive Director by presidential decree. In February 2022, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors by presidential decree. His professional career was spent in several public and private institutions, including the Institute of Planning and Urban Management of Luanda, the Administrative Commission of Luanda, the Institute of Roads of Angola, among others, as well as in the field of academia as a professor at the Independent University of Angola.

What current projects is EPAL working on?

EPAL is focused on the capture, distribution, and commercialization of water. EPAL is made up of three main water supply systems—the third system is made up of the Luanda southeast and south straights—and we also have other isolated systems, one of which supplies Kilamaba, Calumbo, and the Bom Jesus society. This set of systems consists of 14 water treatment plants and 32 distribution centers. We have an average production of 780,000cbm per day that supplies the city of Luanda. Of the different projects that we have in progress today, one has to do with the Candelabro phase three project. We are at the commissioning stage, and this treatment plant will have around 210,000cbm. It supplies the centrality of Sequele and other cities below Luanda. We also have another project, the Cassaque project, which is a pumping station for raw water and feeds our system. In terms of production capacity, we have Luanda Sudeste, with 216,000cbm per day, and Luanda South with 57,000cbm; however, all this capacity comes down to an average of 3.5cbm per second. The Cassaque pumping station by itself produces about 4,600cbm per second, and with this project there was a duplication, increasing to 9,100cbm per second due to the channels that go from Capiapia to Cassaque, which allows for an expansion in the future. Apart from these two structural projects, we are working on making improvements to current projects.

How do you ensure the quality of the water that you supply to the Angolan population?

We fulfill all the requirements of the World Health Organization. Our first concern is to ensure that the turbidity level is within the required standard. Throughout the water treatment process, we take great care, from capitation to distribution. We reduce the chlorine gas, so that the water is disinfected, then we proceed with the flotation process and sedimentation to eliminate all the microorganisms in the water. Finally, we have the filtration process. However, this water, until it reaches the population’s homes, undergoes

changes, caused by outside forces such as vandalism of infrastructure. However, we do everything possible to guarantee that the water that is supplied to consumers’ homes is of a high quality. We have made investments in projects that are already underway. In Viana at Kilometer 9, there was a distribution network, but no water, and we developed interconnections with existing networks so that there could be a supply of water. We are currently in the testing phase. In 2021, we also built around 15,000 water current connections. In 2022, we had to create a reservoir for one of these stations. We have other areas that are also undergoing the same process. We have built a distribution center in Centro Vila Flor, where there was no water network, as well as several other places.

How are you employing technology to develop a new way for the Angolan community to pay their water bills? This technology serves the population. Initially, we had some difficulties in the past, whereby our system was outdated and could not always make the connection involving consumer payments to our control system. However, through a WhatsApp technology, we developed a system where consumers could check their accounts and statements, and through a series of other applications, they can make payments. These are the technologies that we are using to facilitate this process.

What investments and projects does EPAL have for the future?

We want to bring the water system to those areas that are in need, including Ícolo and Bengo, which has a marked shortage of water. Viana is growing significantly, with industrial areas, which includes a high consumption of water in these areas. We want to bring raw water to these industrial zones and also supply potable water to the population. We have a project called Pro Agua to revitalize EPAL that will improve our structure in terms of production, improvement of equipment, greater automation. We want to further modernize EPAL. ✖

FP AD HOLDER ÁGUA É VIDA.

Dê vida a EPAL valorizando a água.

Fase III da estação de tratamento de água de Candelabro, com a sua conclusão adicionou mais 90.000 m3/dia aos actuais 120.000 m3/dia, perfazendo um total de 210.000 m3/dia para o reforço do abastecimento de água na Centralidade do Sequele, Funda, Panguila, Cacuaco, Zona Industrial de Viana, bairros Mulenvos de Cima e de Baixo, Condomínio Vida Pacifica,

Reforço de adução de água bruta ao sistema 3 (Estações de tratamento de água Luanda Sudeste, Luanda Sul, Kikuxi 1 e Kikuxi 2) com a sua conclusão está a assegurar o volume de água bruta que é necessário para as 4 estações de tratamento e consequentemente melhorar o volume de água a aduzir aos centros de distribuição que dependem destas estações.

A água é captada em tres rios: Bengo, Kwanza e Dande

9 pontos de captação

HIGHEST standards

AES provides innovative environmental and integrated waste management services for the Angolan oil and gas industry.

Matuzalem Sukete GENERAL MANAGER, ANGOLA ENVIRONMENTAL SERVIÇOS (AES)

What main services does the company offer?

AES provides integrated waste management services to the oil and gas sector in Angola and has been a pioneer in Angola in solutions focused on decontamination and reduction of volumes of NORM waste. By integrated we mean, besides the actual waste management, we also provide a list of complementary services that make the entire waste management process feasible, conducive and easy for our clients. The core activity carried out is the treatment of drill cuttings, which is done through a technology called thermal desorption. This allows the drill cuttings or drilling mud to be treated through a thermal process in which the oil contained in the cuttings is recovered without altering its original properties, and this is reused in the production of new drilling mud. The remaining cleaned solids are then sent for final disposal at AES’s own certified landfill properly designed for this type and nature of waste. AES also carries out incineration activity for hazardous waste that cannot be recovered or recycled. This is incinerated to ensure that the hazardous element of it gets significantly reduced, hence, eliminating the risks/threats to the environment. One important challenge in the extractive industry, but which also is found in multiple sectors and industries worldwide, has to do with the existence of radioactive waste. This is a challenge that the world is still in the pursuit of better solutions.

Our shareholders are very committed to invest for building local competitive solutions that will keep making AES an important reference mainly in Angola but also in different parts of the world as well which already now contact Angola Environmental Serviços. AES’ organizational structure and its infrastructure are all set up to respond to such necessities.

How possible is environmental education in Angola in a short period of time?

BIO

The General Manager of AES, Matuzalem Sukete has been with the company for more than 15 years, where he held various positions including assistant operations manager, operations manager, and deputy general manager. With his training in power engineering, Matuzalém has also worked in companies like Empresa Nacional de Electricidade and Global SantaFe in an offshore drilling rig. Matuzalém holds a master’s degree in purchase and supply chain management from Robert Gordon University.

The government plans to reverse the oil deficit in domestic oil derivatives production with the construction of three different refineries. How will this be reflected in the operations of AES? AES is aware of the various projects and has been building capabilities to respond to such growing needs for environmental preservation. We exist to provide solutions and to serve as a tool that allows this important sector of the economy to carry out its activities in a sustainable way. We have had several discussions with the different stakeholders on this issue including contractors and owners for these projects and they can count on AES’ support for that.

Angola’s government is environmentally conscious and holds all the main player of the oil and gas sector to the highest global standards to protect marine and other resources for future generations with zero emissions. AES’ operating premises and its landfills meet the highest standards. This custodial role has to be passed on to younger generations to preserve our Angolan heritage. To build sustainable solutions, especially when talking about education that involves reshaping mentality and culture, time is of the essence as well as dedication and collaboration. AES has involved itself in multiple fronts to help shaping and molding the culture, mentality, and awareness by initiating and supporting various initiatives amongst which include offering internship programs to students pursuing studies related to environmental preservations. In engaging with the communities and the authorities, AES has conducted social welfare projects geared to educating the community on the needs of adopting adequate behavior to foster sustainable solutions. One example of such collaboration is that with the support of the regulatory authorities and the local government, AES has committed and is now working on a project to build a carpentry to donate to the community, and this carpentry will use the received wood waste as input for the production. This helps to pass a number of lessons such as the waste valorization initiatives and circular economy as whole, the social benefits of employment and the influence AES can have on the community to steer them toward more sustainable practices. ✖

José Manuel Pinto CEO, GUARA

Guara was created in 2015 and provides services to several clients, namely to commerce and services companies. What are the company’s main activities in Angola?

The company has two major activities: the collection of waste, which started together with the company; and environmental consultancy, which later emerged. In waste collection, we started with non-hazardous waste, and over time we moved on to hazardous waste too. It was in this context that the company developed, and today we have the capacity and environmental certification to work with hazardous, petroleum, and hospital materials. The area of environmental consulting occupies about 30% of the company’s business. In this department we develop environmental studies in order to certify the companies at this level, in compliance with Angolan law and, after that, we are monitoring our customers in the post licensing. We also have a small business area where we execute and sell recycling bins that our clients can later sort their waste. We have offices to support the administrative areas of the company’s management and logistical sup-

port for the collection activity.

Is environmental education in Angola possible in a short period of time?

There is great concern on the part of the executive about this, which is the most important step that can be taken; otherwise, it will never happen. There is a training plan in schools, where the government is already planning to carry out basic training for the next years. In schools, it is much easier, as children absorb more what is being taught. Environmental education is more difficult to do with those who are older but we must insist. This awareness campaign by the government, with advertisements on television and the media, will help people learn. People often complain that there is a great deal of garbage on the streets, and companies should do something about it; however, environmental education needs to start everywhere. It is true that the ones that can drive this change on an industrial level are companies. New companies need to keep these challenges in mind. Training and requirements are important, and companies need to start taking bigger steps. I am not in favor of fines and penalties; however, if these did not exist, companies would not take responsibility. The legislation is important, and I believe that eventually improvements will be made in the future. ✖

BIO

José Manuel Pinto has a degree in engineering from the University of Porto and is a partner and CEO of Guara. With 24 years of professional experience, he founded Guara in 2014 after holding management positions in different internationally recognized companies, which allowed him to develop engineering and business management skills. His goal is to grow and consolidate Guara in Angola and expand the company in new businesses and markets in the coming years.

MINING EXPLORATION BUDGETS IN AFRICA IN 2019, BY LEADING COUNTRY

Mining

TICKLED PINK

In July 2022, workers at an alluvial mine in Angola discovered a rare pink diamond, the largest of its kind discovered in 300 years. The “Lulo Rose,” as it was later named, is a 170-carat stone that weighs just 34 grams. Only one in 10,000 diamonds are pink, so the discovery created quite the stir. The timing was impeccable, coming as the government places extra emphasis on the mining sector to help wean the country off a reliance on carbon’s ugly side; oil.

Angola, which boasts one of the world’s richest stocks of metallic and non-metallic mineral resources, has always framed mining as its best alternative to an economy dominated by oil and gas. Yet despite being well known for its diamond mines, mining in general remains fairly undeveloped.

The government is currently running a program aimed at the development and modernization of mining activities to promote sustainability and the creation of local employment, and much is being done to open up the country to external markets, such as the arrival of the Angolan Diamond Exchange. The creation of this exchange also includes the creation of an academy to train the staff who will handle jobs

of high responsibility. “A diamond exchange will start operating here later in 2022, and it will also open up to outsiders as well. We are interested in developing the diamond value chain,” said Dr. José Ganga Junior, CEO at ENDIAMA, in a recent interview with TBY.

Diamonds are not the only resources that the mining sector can offer in Angola; gold, iron ore, phosphates, copper, and manganese, among other valuable minerals, are also seen as key to the development of the sector.

The authorities are seeking investment in the sector and aim to position the country as a competitive mineral producer and exporter, boosting the mining sector’s contribution to GDP, which currently stands at around 1.6%. The majority of the contribution is made by the diamond industry, where there is also plenty of room for growth.

According to the Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, the country aims to become the second-largest producer of rough diamonds by 2030. Around 60% of the country's mineral basins remain unexplored, and from 2022 onward, the country is hoping to create desirable opportunities for investors willing to enter the Angolan mining sector. ✖

SHINY prospects

With numerous fruitful years thus far, ENDIAMA is currently focused on increasing productivity, reducing costs, and producing more carats in an encouraging environment.

José Ganga Júnior CHAIRMAN, ENDIAMA

Invested in laboratory to become selfsufficient in research and expand its expertise

The return of De Beers to Angola has been a historic milestone. What are your expectations of this partnership to develop stable exploration in the country?

Our goal is to better contribute to the diamond industry, not only in Angola but also on a global level. De Beers is a global diamond mining company and perhaps the most important one in terms of value. Our goal since we took office has been to retain the most important companies by our side. Angola has great potential, but it is still a virgin market; De Beers has the technical, financial capacity, and know-how. As seen in data, Angola has huge potential in the diamond mining sector, and we hope De Beers can keep at least one good mine running to contribute to this challenge.

Angola is one of the richest countries in the world in natural resources. What does the local mining industry need to become more competitive?

10M

BIO

We are in the phase of concluding a national geological plan that aims to carry out a geological survey across the entire country. Some maps have already been prepared with the occurrences found, so they again prove that Angola has enormous mining potential. In diamonds—the part that concerns us—we have invested in a laboratory so that we can be self-sufficient when it comes to research in Angola when before we would have to send samples overseas to be studied. Today, we can cover all the steps of geological research in Angola. Regarding diamonds, we have had investment from the ministries of mining resources, oil, and gas through the Geological Institute of Angola. We have built three new laboratories that will serve us with mining investigations. We have also invested in a vocational training center to do multidisciplinary training, aiming to teach prospection, geology, mining, and much more. We will finance the construction of a state university to increase our level of knowledge. In short, we are creating conditions for us to improve our

research, calculate reserves, and start new projects by starting at the base.

How does ENDIAMA participate in the important issues of sustainability and creation of local employment in Angola?

We have many actions to take, but I choose to focus on the creation of knowledge at the base. We have many important initiatives that will allow us to improve what we have in operation today, as well as prepare for the increase in production that we will see shortly. For example, a diamond exchange will start operating here later in 2022, and it will also open up to outsiders as well. We are interested in developing the diamond value chain, and have decided to invest in gold refining. In addition, we have started gold production in Angola. Over the next year, we will be able to develop our jewelry industry here. Our goal is to work sustainably so that we can increase the value of our entire mining industry.

What are your plans and goals for 2023?

We want to improve our services. In 2023, we intend to be even better than the 10 million carats in 2022; our goal is to have 12 million carats. Later in 2024, we hope to be close to 15 million. Therefore, our goal is to take big steps. To do that, we need to be more organized. We have an ENDIAMA restructuring program, and we hope that we can have partial privatization of the stock exchange shortly. That way, we will no longer be a state company, with public domain capital, as is the case today. With that, we hope to bring in many investors to ENDIAMA. With this performance, we expect to capitalize financially to improve our business portfolio. Also, we want to continue our human development actions. We also worry heavily about the environment, and we intend to repair all the damage we have caused as well as make some profit from it.

More than 80% of technicians are Angolans

carats in 2022, with target of 12M in 2023

José Ganga Júnior studied management and economy at the Institute of Mines in Saint Petersburg and later attended the Catholic University of Lisbon. He has held senior positions at companies such as CATOCA and was also previously associate professor of managerial accounting at Agostinho Neto University. He was recognized by Deloitte Consulting as the Best Manager in Angola of the Year in 2012. He is currently CEO of ENDIAMA.

a better WAY

CATOCA is working toward sustainable diamond mining in Angola by integrating technologies, such as digitalization and waste management, and providing training to employees and local communities to preserve the environment and create a sustainable economic source of living.

A key aspect for Angola’s development is the responsible exploitation of its mining potential, including diamond mining. For this it is necessary to improve Angola’s image as a diamond producer through more sustainable and transparent practices. How is CATOCA working to integrate such practices?

From the point of view of production, Catoca is among the three largest open pit mines, supplying diamonds to the global market. This needs to be a sustainable venture. We have extensive experience of certain countries rich in gold and oth-

er minerals and are thinking long term in terms of diamond production. We have about 10 years remaining for open mining before we move operations underground. And with the CATOCA concept and available resources, we are creating conditions for that supply area to be a sustainable economic source of living. Interestingly, too, there is a tourism dimension, and today we are creating the conditions for mining tourism. The plateau and beautiful plains of Chicapa are a place of interest for visitors.

Technological uptake a fundamental for the development of Angola’s mining sector. How is CATOCA implementing technologies in key areas such as waste management?

Our responsibility is to care for and preserve the environment. Mining is necessary for the broader economy. CATOCA provides training not only to our employees, but also in the communities themselves. Digitalization yields relevant information that increases affluence and reduces waste. For example, the east of the country has a great deal of water and trees, but locals burning the earth depletes soil quality. The communities believe this to be a useful practice. We transfer actionable information on soil preservation and so forth. And doing a soil survey analysis for agriculture, in the last seven years, we have had extraordinary results. With the use of technology, we have less waste and greater efficiency, and the most important thing is that we can use the resources that nature gives us responsibly. Today in our ore treatment process we use river water, which is then treated and returned to the river in good condition. ✖

Catoca is among the three-largest open-pit mines in the world

Benedito Paulo Manuel has been CEO of Catoca since 2018. He has a degree in civil engineering from ISECK (Ukraine) and master’s degrees in metallic structures from AEEUK (Kharkov), cementing engineering from CEDEX (Spain), and techniques scientific. He is the second Angolan and fourth administrator to occupy this position in the fourth-largest open-pit diamond mining company in the world.

Benedito Paulo CEO, CATOCA BIO

“We have extensive experience of certain countries rich in gold and other minerals and are thinking long term in terms of diamond production. We have about 10 years remaining for open mining before we move operations underground. And with the CATOCA concept and available resources, we are creating conditions for that supply area to be a sustainable economic source of living.”

AN EYE ON THE FUTURE

With 28 years of existence, Sociedade Mineira de Catoca is directly linked to the development process of Angola and actively contributes to its progress. For the coming years, the focus is on increasing reserves and the energy transition.

SOCIEDADE MINEIRA DE CATOCA is the largest mining company in Angola, responsible for the production of more than 80% of the country’s diamonds. This positions it as the sixth-largest diamond producer in the world and generator of more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs. It has developed a vast package of social programs for the benefit of its workers and the communities around the mine.

With nearly three decades in operations, Catoca has a history of overcoming challenges; ones that all pioneers must face. It believes in the dream of becoming the greatest, actively contributing to the economic and social development of our country. It puts out the highest-quality products on the international market and that meet all the internationally accepted norms and industry standards.

“28 years has gone by fast, so fast that it seems like yesterday that we started at the Catoca mine. We have overcome all the challenges

along the way. This is definitely a path that makes us proud, because we are contributing to the economic development of the country, providing the international market with a high-quality product, and complying with all internationally accepted standards,” says Benedito Paulo Manuel, Director General of Sociedade Mineira de Catoca.

Looking to the future, the focus is on increasing our reserves, because the Catoca mine has approximately just 10 more years of openpit mining; however, it may be able evolve to into an underground mine if the ongoing studies prove technically and economically feasibility. Another step we are looking at to increase our reserves has to do with the reopening of a wave of geological studies regarding the discovery of kimberlite deposits that can be exploited by the Sociedade Mineira de Catoca. This is similar to a process that has already been undertaken in the past.

Another aspect of great importance, besides the permanent investment in training and qualification of our staff, is the energy transition that is being undertaken. The construction of a photovoltaic panel plant will significantly impact the change in the country’s energy matrix, meaning the majority of our needs will be supplied by environmentally friendly sources such as solar and hydroelectric power.

Intra-African trade and the relocation of companies can improve the efficiency of the logistics chain to support the sector

According to Benedito Paulo Manuel, conditions in the country will have an increasing effect on the international diamond market. This will result in growing availability of Angolan diamonds globally because of numerous start-ups entering the prospecting phase with some already in production, such as the Luele mine in the Luaxe concession.

It should also be noted that the fiscal and economic climate has seen significant advances in recent years, creating a favorable environment for investors in Angola. In addition to legislation being improved to make it more investor friendly, there has been a major focus on the quantity and quality of information regarding diamond occurrences and the facilitated procedures to access this information for investment purposes.

The government believes that the conditions are in place for a significant growth of the diamond sub-sector, which can be leveraged faster if the logistics support chain of mining activity is made more efficient. This essentially involves the strengthening of intra-African trade of goods and services, as well as some of the largest equipment and international services companies establishing themselves in Angola. ✖

VALUABLE assistance

Ndjamila Chilunda MANAGING DIRECTOR, GEOANGOL S.A.

BIO

N'djamila Chilunda has been Managing Director at Geoangol since October 2014. She graduated in 2005 with an BSc in mining engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand and holds the Mine Managers Certificate of Competency for South African mines. She started her professional career at DeBeers in 2004. In 2012, she was appointed planning and execution coordinator of the strategic plan for closure and rehabilitation of the Venetia Mine, working with the multidisciplinary team that saw Venetia Mine become a reference within the De Beers group

What services does Geoangol provide, and how has the company evolved since its establishment?

Geoangol provides mineral and geological services to the mining industry and is broken down into three basic pillars of services: exploration drilling services, laboratory services, professional training. Finally, as an aggregate of drilling services, we also provide geoscience services. We started our first activities in 2015 by first focusing on implementing and establishing the laboratory services, namely the beneficiation and analytical service for the mining industry which attend to all minerals except diamonds, and at the moment we work on precious and non-precious metals like gold, copper, and iron. For our drilling and laboratory services, our key people are expats, due to a lack of local expertise, although they come with a mandate: they have to train locals (skills transfer).

What are the long-term expectations for your gold refinery in the industrial complex of Viana?

Gold is a strategic commodity for any country, and the establishment of this refinery is a first step which demonstrates how the mining industry in Angola is developing and that strategic projects in gold currently in production and under development are the reasons behind the construction of the refinery. The refinery is the first one to be built in Angola, which serves as testament of what is to yet to come. The new policies and regulations are based on international industry best practice, giving way to a formal regulated gold industry for companies as well as for artisanal mining. This refinery will work according to international standards, which are quite high. We place an emphasis on professionalism, efficiency, and excellent customer services to ensure the refinery truly benefits the country and gold mining companies. The value chain from having this refinery here is huge, and creating many permanent employment opportunities for Angolans. The lab is a medium-scale, yet it meets the current production requirements. As the volume of gold production increases in the following years as projected, this refinery will expand accordingly, as will everything

linked to the refinery along the value chain.

How is Geoangol making foreign investment in the mining sector attractive?

At the top of concerns for any mine developer are the exploration services which are value determinants of any mining investor. Geoangol sets out to provide exploration services and solutions to mining investors, backed by our established professional track record of service. Ours is a business that only survives on providing transparent services while striving to maintain its service merit, and the government is working hard to manage this carefully. For example, our contract with Rio Tinto is based on trust, and our policies and procedures are also aligned with international standards; for example, in procurement, we follow specific processes when we are invited to bid. It is all about showing what you can do, and once the opportunity comes, we work hard to deliver. The most important thing is communication, because it is all about the relationships, which we’ve built in the past which position Geoangol as the preferred service provider and supplier for the mining industry.

How can the mining sector in Angola become more competitive?

The mining sector in Angola is full of infrastructure deficiencies, making it a great market for aggressive and adventurous investors. The government has overhauled the Mining Law, making it more investor friendly, providing a greater growth horizon and diversity for services companies such as Geoangol; however, there are two to three distinct areas of concern; Number one is the technology to be implemented, because many of these international companies, like Australian companies, have a fully developed exploration sector in their country. All the resources and technology are readily available there, which is not the case here. We have to import everything, including the people and equipment, and that automatically adds to the cost of the service. This is our Achilles heel, because we do not produce anything in Angola. ✖

Geoangol was created to provide mineral and geological services in response to the needs of the mining sector in Angola.

Building gold refinery in Viana, first one built in

Image: Jose Luis Stephens

DIGGING FOR GLORY

Investment requires a climate of predictability to be a viable proposition. Angola, once so damaged by decades of civil war and its aftermath, is gradually creating that climate across its industrial complex, with mining a prominent beneficiary.

Aside from oil—Angola is Africa’s second largest producer—the country boasts a wealth of unexplored natural resources that the global mining community is anticipating from the wings. The mining sector requires consistent investment in technology to maximize its potential, and the 2018 Competition Law and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Law of 2020 were squarely geared toward building in investors confidence that the sector and Angola were investable. Transparency was further established with the launch of the National Agency of Mineral Resources and Angolan Diamond Bourse, both vehicles of standardization within the sector.

Mining-related economic reforms have led to the sale of 175 state-owned enterprises, to include a key stake in Sociedade Mineira de Catoca, the entity that accounts for 80% of Angola’s diamond output. These sales are especially significant considering since by Angolan mining law, the state owns all mineral resources, and, therefore, alone apportions mining rights. And now the state’s commitment to free market operations and economic diversification away from hydrocarbons (a perilous 90% of export revenues) stands to benefit both parties as the sector unfurls. Moreover, Angolan law does not stipulate local partner participation in mineral concessions, whereby foreign and local mining companies owned by Angolan nationals can seek awarded concessions for exploration and mining of minerals.

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

Much of Angola’s resources were beyond exploitation during the civil conflict, but a combination of economic reform and a leg-up from international agencies such as the World Bank and African Development Bank should help leverage Angola’s mineral wealth.

The proverbial “girl’s best friend” is the country’s key mineral export, and it ranks 4th among the world’s largest diamond producers. In 2021 diamond production was at 8.7 million carats, up a glittering 11.5% YoY. Exports for the year were at approximately USD1.15 billion. The 2018–2022 National Development Plan forecast a huge rise in diamond production to 13.8 million carats for 2022. And the search is on for promising greenfield investments, with studies suggesting that the Huambo and Bie provinces, along the Lucapa Graben belt, promise profitable diamond extraction. The government intends for Angola to become the world’s largest diamond producer in value terms by the end of 2023. Ambitious indeed, as the country produces around a quarter of the volume of leading producer, Russia.

DIGGING DEEPER

Angola also boasts iron ore, phosphates, copper, gold, and manganese underfoot and the mining sector’s roadmap is laid out in the National Geology Plan and the 2018–2022 National Development Plan. But efforts are underway to exploit a wider range of more lucrative minerals that are in great demand globally. In 2021, UK-headquartered Pensana revealed plans to mine the rare earth resources of neodymium and praseodymium, essential in the production of electric vehicles and wind farms—two industries clearly on a massive upward trajectory, with respective demand for each set to rise 350% and 1,500% over the next six and 20 years by industry estimates. The company’s Longonjo project was earmarked to yield an annual concentrate volume of 56,000 tons, ranking it the second-largest operation in the world. What’s more, detailed mapping has confirmed fourfold the resources than originally believed.

To that list we may add Angola’s untapped rare earth metals (niobium), ferrous metals (manganese), and industrial and construction mineral resources (limestone). Investment in rare earth, industrial, and construction mineral resources is taking place in areas such as Huambo, Bengo, Namibe, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza-South, Zaire, Benguela, and Cunene.

GOLDEN YEARS

Angola’s gold industry as at the start of 2022 had registered volume of USD48.6 million in exploration and USD14.3 million in prospecting according to data of the National Agency of Mineral Resources (ANRM), attached to the Ministry of Mineral Resources. The sums pertained to 32 gold projects. Data from 2020 to 1Q2022 indicates gold production of 129,375kg, up 11% over the period. A 2022 work-

shop entitled “Diversification of the Mining Sector in Angola” indicated that up to April of 2022, around 21 requests had been received for gold mining exploration and exploitation rights for the provinces of Bengo, Kwanza Norte, Huambo, Huila, Lunda Norte, Uige and Zaire.

Mining, then, is a steady rung on the ladder of economic diversification. And in the words of Ndjamila Chilunda, the General Manager, of Geoangol S.A. which delivers mineral and geological services to the industry, “Angola is serious about becoming the next investment destination for investors,” which she believes, “…is visible in the institutional restructuring which the mining sector has undergone, with particular reference to the established Mineral Resource Agency [the regulator], for the purpose of clearly defining departmental roles for the mining industry.” ✖

A beverages factory in Luanda

Image: Andre Silva Pinto

Industry & Food

FUTURE PLANNING

The Angolan government recently presented a EUR100-million plan, running until 2025, to boost industrial activity. It hopes to diversify the economy and expand investment, both local and foreign. The Ministry of Industry and Trade's development plan covers the strategic policies for industrialization and further aims to reduce imports and boost food production with self-sufficiency in mind. “We have a lot of capacity in the food and beverage sectors and we want this vision of economic diversification to be replicated in the production of food self-sufficiency, promoting the products that can be transformed or processed in sufficient quantity to feed the population.

We are working so that the industrialization of agribusiness allows food self-sufficiency as one of the ways, but not the only one, to increase industrial production, reduce dependence on imports, and create more jobs,” said Victor Francisco dos Santos Fernandes, Minister of Industry and Trade, in a re-

cent interview with The Business Year.

The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has already gone a long way to imbuing the sector with confidence, with private firms benefitting from preferential tariffs. Indeed, significant benefits have been recorded in roads, energy, water, tourism, and more. The evolution of this FTA is likely to continue to be a boon for the Angolan economy, reducing trade costs and encouraging reforms to sustain the country’s future growth as well.

Much focus is also being placed on Angola’s overreliance on imports. The “Made in Angola” initiative, therefore, is targeted at promoting national production and local products with added value equal to or greater than 30%, stimulating competitiveness and promoting the improvement of product quality. During our research for this chapter, we saw growing enthusiasm among Angolan firms for the program. ✖

REAPING the benefits

The Ministry of Industry and Trade's ambitious development plan will help Angola increase local production, attract greater investment, and improve logistics to boost export potential.

Victor Francisco Dos Santos Fernandes MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE

Industrial Development Plan focused on facilitating investment in sector

Angola presented a plan of EUR100 million to boost the industry by 2025. What projects is the Ministry of Industry and Trade developing to increase industrial production, reduce dependence on foreigners, and create jobs?

the ways, but not the only one, to increase industrial production, reduce dependence on imports and create more jobs.

BIO

Victor Francisco Dos Santos Fernandes holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico and aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Academy. Before becoming Minister of Industry and Trade in 2020, he was consultant to the secretary of state for the Ministry of Economy in 2018-2020, consultant to the Ministry of Finance in 2018, chairman of the Global Management Challenge, executive director of Banco Postal, executive director of TPA, executive director of Grupo Score, and vice-president of FACIDE. He also had a long career in banking with Banco Espírito Santo and Comercial de Lisboa.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has an Industrial Development Plan (PDIA) that systematizes the guidelines of public policies regarding the industry sector, given its role in diversifying the economy and expanding investments, both public and private. In it, we have the characterization of the Angolan industry current situation, the strategic vision for industrialization, the logical structure, and the challenges to its implementation. In this context, among the several projects that the ministry already has in progress, we can mention the operationalization of the Industrial Poles and the Integrated Plan for the Development of Rural Commerce (PIDCR). PIDCR, among others, seeks to empower industries through freight transport operators, reduce producers’ limitations, and increase, in quantity and quality, industry’s access to primary goods. The poles concentrate industrial units where entrepreneurs can connect with suppliers for the most varied segments, thus streamlining the process of purchasing raw materials diverse raw material and the sale of final products, which involves producers and communities in general. The executive is committed to creating conditions for businessmen to install transformation factories that work regularly so that jobs are maintained and imports are not made a priority. Another industrial component that has contributed well to reducing imports and increasing employability is essentially linked to the production of building materials. This industrial branch accompanied the development of infrastructure in the country and the process of national reconstruction; however, as we have great capacity in the food and beverage sectors, we want this vision of economic diversification to be replicated in the production of food self-sufficiency, promoting that products that can be transformed or processed can exist in sufficient quantity to feed the population and the industry. We are working so that the industrialization of agribusiness allows food self-sufficiency as one of

How will Angola improve its industrial development and diversification upon joining the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)?

Work is underway to publicize potentialities and opportunities to ensure that economic groups and investors act with confidence. Our laws relating to these matters are relatively recent and protect both investors and their investments. Work is under way to improve the issue of access. Our adherence to the AfCFTA requires redoubled efforts from Angola in the rehabilitation and construction of road access routes. The country’s infrastructure has to be in line with what we want to attract. If we want to attract businessmen to do a certain business in a certain Angolan location, going there should not be a constraint. Improvements are underway in the roads, energy, water, tourism and much more sectors.

How do Angola’s agreements in the region help it benefit from the vast business opportunities resulting from geographical and cultural proximity?

Angola’s geostrategic location on the African continent is an enormous advantage for us, as, in addition to the fluidity of operations with countries in the region. Otherwise, it is understood that if we have a product to export and there are two potential buyers, one of which is from a more distant region than the other, some agreements will lead us to act in the closest region, guaranteeing speed in transactions and efficiency in processes. In general, the advantages will be bilateral, since both importers and exporters want the transaction to be completed in a timely manner and with as few constraints as possible. From a cultural point of view, it is easy to understand that certain cultures are more consumed or more accepted in our region. Therefore, the intensification of intracontinental transactions will reveal the opportunity to produce on a large scale that which is in great demand by the countries with which we have signed agreements. ✖

MAKING a difference

In addition to investing in new facilities and increasing capacity, Fabrimetal has also made important contributions to environmental sustainability as well as community engagement.

Luis Diogo CEO, FABRIMETAL

BIO

Luis Diogo is CEO of Fabrimetal. He holds a postgraduate degree in business management, a degree in auditing and account review, and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and auditing. He is also a chartered accountant and holds a diploma in taxation and advisory, given by the Center for Business Technical Studies. Before being appointed CEO in 2017, he was Fabrimetal’s director, commercial and strategic projects from 2014-2017. He also held several positions in different companies before that. Diogo is a member of the board of the Association of Construction Materials Industries of Angola and a member of the Rotary Club of Luanda.

In 2020, Fabrimetal invested USD25 million to increase its melting and processing capacity for scrap. What next step in innovation is the company working on? We made a reinvestment, and our goal now is to maximize our capacity. In May, we achieved 92% of our capacity. We have solid demand in terms of export, mainly for our group companies, and we want to build a new steel plant. The land has already been purchased, and it is located next to us in order to maximize our resources. The main goal is to build a new state-of-the-art steel plant to focus more on exports and retain the actual current plant more for the local market.

How challenging is to grow in your existing countries while expanding to other countries at the same time? Everyone is aware of the challenges in international markets today. Internally, we need to put in place quality norms for all industries, which we are doing it now, so our products are certified. However, in addition countries also need to build some bridges and develop more connections in order for greater reciprocity between Europe and Angola, because Europe today needs more from Angola. Internally, we need to become stronger and do away with some of barriers the country has today. There are challenges in expanding in countries we currently operate in plus going to new countries. We are expanding in Kinshasa, Ghana,

Senegal, and Angola. We have just started in Benin and Burundi. General challenges include access to power, human resources, building capacity, and maintaining a strong culture as we grow. New countries offer unique challenges, including access to power, human resources, and adapting to micro and macro environments, which spreads management thin.

What else can be done in order to develop a win-win situation between Angola and other regional countries? What Angola needs to do is create a better environment to encourage, both international as well as local investment because there are already many companies here, and they need better conditions in order reinvest again in country. The new law of investment has changed, allowing domestic companies to do reinvestments and get benefits. This was a significant development and was something that needed be done in order to have more competitiveness. Angola needs to develop further and adopt international norms that are common in most countries around the world. We have a huge opportunity to sell our products in Europe, but how do you market your products there? They cannot accept our products, if we our products are not certified by international standards. Angola is focused on that and using this opportunity to expand further. In addition, we defi-

nitely need better roads, for access, to improve the cost of logistics.

What is your approach on the environmental side?

We have a large sustainable initiative. We started by purchasing waste and scrap metal and developing a brand-new product of high quality. The slag is the waste from melting scrap metal. We invested about USD50,000-60,000 to purchase a machine to process this waste, and the goal is to recover around 10-15% from this that we can melt again. The balance will be made available for civil construction companies to purchase and use in there works. It is all part of a circular economy. This investment will result in savings not only in the recovery part, but savings in terms of space, because weekly, we generate around 120 tons of slag. We do not have a space to dump this. If we process this slag, we have more space, we can purchase more scrap, and with this we do more for the environment. We are reducing our waste. The other waste product is powder. We have an FS system in place in the furnace when the scrap is melting.

The system reduces the atmospheric pollution by about 80%. We want to increase this figure. This is something that we want to do in order to reduce atmospheric pollution. Furthermore, we are doing other small activities that have a major impact on our workers and the communities around us. Twice a month, on average our environment department goes out to communities, talks to them, and teaches them to collect waste, dispose of them correctly, and in the proper space, and so on. Another of our initiatives that not only impacts the environmental side but is also more on social responsibility is that we are building a training center in one neighborhood next to our plant. We will invest around USD80,000-85,000 and teach people how to cut scrap, use cutting machines, do welding, and so on. Later, we will focus more on internal activities because our main goal is to have our workers take pride in working in our company. We will also launch “worker of the month” recognition. We will set up a committee that will speak to the employee and determine what kind of help they need at home, for example. ✖

Expanding to Burundi in 2023, exploring options in Ivory Coast Improving employees’ commitment to environment with new initiatives

A ROLE to play

Daimic Motors is part of a multibusiness group with activities in automotive, food production, and mining, all of which make an important contribution to the economy.

The group has been in existence since the 1980s. Can you elaborate on the evolution of the company since its establishment and the brands it represents?

BIOS

Zamir Ibraimo is CEO of Daimic Motors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the UK and a master’s in international management from Portugal. He has over 10 years of experience in the automotive sector in the UAE and Angola.

Ansar Ibraimo is currently CFO of Daimic Motors & Managing Partner of Luanda Moagens. He holds a bachelor’s degree in financial management from the UK and a post-graduation degree in real estate in Portugal. He has spent over 10 years in the automotive sectors in Brazil and Angola, in real estate, and general trading.

The COO of Daimic Motors, Mohsin Ibraimo has over 20 years’ experience in the automotive sector in Brazil and Angola.

ZAMIR IBRAIMO The Legatus Group in Angola owns Daimic Motors, Luanda Moagens, Leggus and Trilénia. We are a family group with businesses in several countries around the world and in different sectors. We started in Angola in 1988 with Imporáfrica, which is present in several sectors, including vehicle trade, agricultural machinery, and civil construction, among other areas. In 2011, we focused on the automotive sector, making Daimic Motors an autonomous company from the rest of the family business, representing several brands such as Citroën, Changan, Haima, Maxus, SYM for motorcycles, Total lubricants, and Kumho Tires. Today, we are positioned as the fifth-largest importer of vehicles in Angola. We currently have a team of more than 200 people, with three open showrooms and three workshops where we provide aftersales services, parts, and accessories. In 2020, our range of investments expanded to the food industry and the exploration of aggregates, both in the secondary sector, but with high value for the Angolan economy. We believe in the country, and for that reason, even in the midst of the recession and the pandemic, we continued to invest in the belief that our projects would benefit Angola.

What innovative technologies do you bring to the country?

ANSAR IBRAIMO We are looking at the new phase of automation and electrical vehicles. We want to be ready if the market tomorrow wants to move toward more environmentally friendly initiatives. We are also ready to bring in electrical vehicles.

ZI In terms of technology, we are developing a better digital experience with online-friendly showroom layouts, re-

vamped websites, online test drive and service bookings, mobile apps, and so on. All these are part of our plans of digital transformation. We want to have customer login access so they can access all this information at their convenience.

What should be done to improve the Angolan automotive industry?

ZI There are three areas to consider to boost the automotive industry. The first is the need for financial products to encourage the purchase of cars, with more appealing prices. There is a large number of vehicles that need replacing, but people find it difficult to obtain financing, which makes car purchases close to impossible. For SMEs, leasing and renting are also financial products. There are still financial institutions that do not have either of the two products in the market, while others have leasing at the bare minimum. The second point is that companies should not limit themselves solely and exclusively to the import and sale of vehicles, but also instill in customers the importance of assistance and aftersales. The third is the need for stronger implementation of inspection checks by the authorities to minimize the number of unsafe cars in circulation, which cause many road accidents. Without such inspection, it will become impossible for unsafe cars to be on the roads, and this will force their owners to carry out more adequate maintenance or, in some cases, even replace their vehicles.

Could you elaborate more on Luanda Moagens?

AI We started with the import of wheat flour because we saw a good market for it, and we also wanted to return to our origins, which was trading of food products. In 2016, we started importing this product under a newly created FAMILYA brand, though in 2018 there were some restrictions applied to importers to protect national industry. After these

restrictions and following the executive’s strategic plan for the diversification of the Angolan economy, we intensified our preexisting plans to invest in a mill. In 2019, we started the necessary partnerships with international investors to acquire an unfinished mill as well as qualified staff in the sector and operational experience in such industrial machinery. Even with COVID-19, we finished the factory in 2020, including the infrastructure works and the rehabilitation of the production lines, and started producing in 2022. Currently, there is some competition in the market, with several industries already implemented and others to be created, which is healthy for the market. Our goal is to produce wheat flour for Angolan bakeries—we have a specific market segment. We know our brand will soon be part of Angolan dining tables.

What is the purpose of your company Leggus?

AI Leggus is a project that we partnered with because of our know-how. Our product is mainly for the construction sector, as we know there is still much to build and rebuild in Angola. The construction sector is promising, and there is enormous potential in public infrastructure. Our products can be used for paints, though we need to carry out more R&D to

get the right product, as one of our principles is the quality of the products and services we present to the market. We are working to become a significant player in the extractive sector of the mining sector. This is just the beginning for us.

How does the group intend to position itself in the medium term?

ZI In terms of Daimic Motors, we want to be a reference in the automotive sector in supplying all of the country’s mobility needs. We have been the option of choice for the public and private sectors in terms of the supply of multi-brand vehicles that we import from all over the world, with an increasingly assertive penetration with Changan, our flagship brand that we have been representing exclusively in Angola for over 13 years. The values that hold our commercial relationships are strict compliance with agreements and customer satisfaction at the time of purchase and in the support of after-sales assistance, which has made a key difference. In the other two industries, we want both to grow in a sustained way and gain their space in the market. We want this growth to also mature and play a bigger role in the value chain of the sector of the activity in which they are inserted.

Do you plans to expand these brands across Angola?

MOHSIN IBRAIMO We want to be represented in the provinces with the highest populations. For Daimic Motors, in 4Q2022 we started an expansion by opening a dealer in the province of Benguela, specifically in Lobito. Strategically, we want to be in Lubango/Namibe by 2023. It is a province with extremely rapid growth, due to its proximity to the sea and excellent land for agricultural exploration and animal husbandry. In terms of the food industry, we intend to have a distribution network throughout the national territory.

Are you also looking at expanding overseas?

MI We already have some investments underway in other countries in the real estate sector; however, we want to focus on these three businesses in Angola in a sustainable way, fully implemented while improving our procedures and continued training for our staff. After the consolidation and maturity of the nascent industries, we are aware of the geographic advantages of the SADC Protocol on Trade, where we will expand, as well as the surrounding land countries, namely the Democratic Republic of Congo. ✖

Zamir Ibraimo CEO, DAIMIC MOTORS

Ansar Ibraimo CFO, DAIMIC MOTORS

Mohsin Ibraimo COO, DAIMIC MOTORS

BRAND you can trust

Present in Angola for over 20 years, Noble Group has an active presence all over the country via its manufacturing facilities as well as wholesale and retail stores.

What was the idea behind the creation of Noble group?

NAZIM CHARANIA Noble Group started in Angola in 2002 as a trading company to first assess the potential of the market, understand the gaps, and determine what can be produced or packed locally. And 10 years of understanding the challenges and opportunities, we prepared ourselves for more aggressive forward integration with the opening of our retail business in 2014. With considerable presence on the market and driving volumes, backward integration was the mantra thereafter to plan what and how to produce locally. In 2015, we set up our first manufacturing unit in Angola to develop an identity that Angolans associate with and also caters to different sectors of businesses. We want to be known as the biggest distribution hub in central and sub-Saharan Africa in the near future and a major player in the industrial growth of Angola.

HUGO MOUTINHO Globally, Noble Group is part of Group SNS. The group started with trading in Angola through traditional wholesale stores under the brand Nossa Casa as well as more modern retail stores AngoMart and Dukan. While AngoMart trades primarily in quality, fresh, variety of grocery and basic needs, Dukan serves lifestyle products to every Angolan. While the focus remained primarily on trading, the group also focused on building local capacity through manufacturing. We are now present in many sectors, and our investment is planned after a careful analysis of each and every sector we enter. In the manufacturing sector, Noble Group has entered into different sectors including biscuits, beverage (water and juices), detergents, bottling of non-alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, toothpaste, milk, and packaging, retail, wholesale, and recycling of paper. In trading, the group has a wholesale and retail format to ensure its products and services reach every Angolan.

Noble Group’s biggest investment in Angola was in 2021 despite the crisis. What are your expectations of this investment in the long term?

NC I must acknowledge the people who believed in us and stayed with us during the trying times of COVID-19. We have always believed in this great nation, especially because of its stability and investment-friendly laws, and that drove our passion to expand our businesses. We focused our investment in 2020 and 2021. In that same period, Angola witnessed an economic downturn along with other countries around the world. We saw this as an opportunity and invested in real estate,

keeping in mind future businesses growth and expansion in trading and manufacturing. I see many opportunities in the areas of local manufacturing and retail sector. As there is a growing need by an average Angolan for better quality and variety, growth in the retail sector is imminent. And with the experience and capacity we have, we can meet that expectation with quality services and products at best prices at all times.

HM During and post the pandemic, most businesses either closed permanently or shut down for some time. But Noble Group believed in Angola and its policies and continued to invest in different manufacturing sectors and retained its employees throughout the period as well. Our investments in manufacturing started with Unique Beverages in the non-alcoholic beer sector in 2015 to other different sectors. In 2022, the group made acquisitions in three new sectors: Future Group, which works in juice and beverages; Alimentos Sabaros, which is focused on biscuits; and Basel Angola. The group continues to expand to other provinces with the wholesale format Nossa Casa and the retail format, AngoMart and Dukan. We opened AngoMart in other provinces in more remote areas to serve more Angolans with a variety of products and services at best prices. We have aggressive plans to open more than 11 stores in 2023.

How committed is the company when creating new job opportunities in Angola?

NC Since we started our business in 2002, we have been employing Angolans, now employing more than 6,000 directly and more than 12,000 indirectly in different businesses under Noble Group. Besides creating employment, the group identifies training needs from time to time among employees, and continuously build local capacity and develop human capital for sustenance and future growth.

What are the company’s internationalization plans?

HM Noble Group continues to serve central and sub-Saharan Africa with goods and services and employees 6,500 people directly and more than 12,000 indirectly through associations and the multiplier effect via its several businesses. Noble Group has already ventured into planned outlay in terms of investment and activities in Mozambique and Namibia, primarily focusing on trading for the moment. After settling in these two countries, the group will expand in a structured manner with additional investments. ✖

Hugo Moutinho MD, NOBLE GROUP

Nazim Charania PRESIDENT, NOBLE GROUP

BIO

Nazim Charania is an entrepreneur with close to three decades of hands-on, value-driven experience in wholesale, retail and FMCG, manufacturing sectors, and more.

BIO

Hugo Moutinho has worked across the food and non-food retail industry, at firms such as Decathlon, Aldi, Lidl, Mangolê Market, Maxi, and is currently MD at Noble Group.

FOOD DISTRIBUTION

Though the last few years in Angola have been unpredictable, food companies foresee better times ahead and are gearing up accordingly with more options and better stores.

OUR FOCUS is food-based retail. We are also active in non-food business units such as electronics and home appliances, which is one of the large business lines that we run. Another area is health and beauty through the pharmacies. We started the company in 2015 and opened our first hypermarket on the May 12, 2016. Initially, the plan was to establish around 10 stores, effectively as powerhouses, the hypermarkets and the adjacent brands. The key factors in such an undertaking are mainly logistics costs, energy, and a trained workforce. In addition, the country is large, and it would have been challenging to opt for widespread presence at that time. In 2017, we opened two stores, and we then decided to establish our own logistic center though it was postponed to 2019 given the economic climate in Angola. Therefore, we started small convenience stores in the city center, where we opened three stores of around 400sqm each. In 2020 and 2021, we were unable to develop our business, though we foresee better performance moving forward. We expect to continue our investment in the small, convenience and proximity business models rather than hypermarkets or shopping malls.

ADISTRIBUIDORA has been in the market for over 20 years and has around 120 employees today. It was created with the objective of distributing and commercializing products and initially started by representing various brands, among them Ginga coffee as well as juices and waters. Today, what we do goes further than that, not only because of the importance of the brands we represent, but also because of the services we provide. We meet the needs of Angolan consumers, as well as fit the brands and products into the different segments of the Angolan socioeconomic structure. ADistribuidora currently has the Bom Petisco brand; the Bom Amigo brand, which is one of our main brands here; and the Risonho brand, only present in Angola. Here, we wanted to have a quality product, but at a slightly lower price. We exclusively represent the D’Avó brand, where we have pulses, peas, beans, grains, tomatoes, and peeled tomatoes, which are also part of our portfolio, and it is a brand that we have also been trying to develop over the last three years. Above all else, we want to increase our portfolio in terms of the diversification of our products.

THE CORE PURPOSE OF NEWACO is to provide the best quality fresh and frozen food in Angola. We worked on the best way to sell to the community at a good price. In the beginning, we thought about having a large store where people could come to us; however, considering the consumer and customer, we strategically decided instead to go to them. We do not just want to be big; we want to be better, which is why we are adapting our stores to be nearer to the consumer. As far as the food is concerned, it is not just about importing. We are engaged in agriculture and poultry and are set to establish a sausage producing facility. In offering affordable, quality nutrition to the public, we considered the alternative potential in Angola, which lies in the banana. We are also engaged in banana production and selling through our own channels exclusively. Newaco has been recognized by the Central Bank of Angola as the best player in the market. Solving the problem of individual nutrition through better pricing, quality, and accessibility was the macro thought process when venturing into the business.

Lalani Prayesh CEO, NEWACO GRUPO

Tatiana Santos CEO, ADISTRIBUIDORA

João Oliveira CEO, CONTIDIS

BIO

Mário Amaro studied and worked in Portugal from 1993 to 2007. Four years after returning to his home country, he joined Grupo Trirumo, co-founded by his father. Starting as sales and warehouse manager, he worked his way to his current position as Managing Partner and plans to expands the group business for another 30 years and beyond.

VOICES OF experience

Trirumo is currently the country’s largest specialist in the manufacturing and sale of aluminum frame systems, cutting machines, and various accessories, offering a strategic range of products to meet clients’ expectations.

What have been the major achievements of Grupo Trirumo in recent years?

MÁRIO AMARO Our company has had an interesting journey that began in 1993. In the early 2000s decade we started thinking about opening a factory dedicated to surface treatment for aluminum profiles and sheets. And so, in early 2003 Tri-Alumínios was created in Viana, with an industrial powder coating unit for aluminum, and since then it has become a national reference in the sector due to the quality of its products. We are always cautious regarding expansion in terms of the location of our sales units, besides Luanda, includes Catumbela and Lubango. It has always been our wish to expand to other regions of the country. For example, in a recent past, we conducted some market research in Cabinda.

How did you position the company in the market and what differentiates it from other firms in the sector?

such as Namibia and South Africa are more industrialized than us. We must, however, be aware of our limitations.

How does Trirumo contribute to environmental protection?

GM We operate in the aluminum sector, precisely because it is 100% recyclable. Currently, our company is going through a reset, where some aluminum of low market demand is being cast with others for reuse and repurposing. Aluminum frames are also more resistant than wood. When its useful life ends, the product can be cast and reused. And with this, throughout our 30-year history, we have been able to meet demand, follow trends, and create new meaningful products for customers.

BIO

Guilherme Mogas studied at the Industrial School of Luanda and the Technological Institute of Luanda. In the 1970s, he was admitted to the Portuguese Association of Inventors, having registered several patents. At this time, he joined Rádio Nacional de Angola and later became its general manager. He later set up the first six private radio stations in post-independent Angola. He later co-founded Trirumo and the other companies in the group.

MA Our catalogue offers a wide range of aluminum systems, from the most economical options up to the most advanced versions used in highly technological countries, such as those in Europe. Systems that are embedded with thermal technology, and also facades. In terms of the needs of the evolving Angolan market, we are focused on making our products available nationwide. Our technical team looks for new ways to provide meaningful products for the market at a realistic price point while maintaining our high-quality process. In this way, we are able to deliver to different segments of the market.

Trirumo is the largest Angolan specialist of the aluminum industry. What strategies should the public and private sectors consider to further grow the sector?

GUILHERME MOGAS Our goal is to expand in order to dominate the domestic market and later start looking into neighboring markets, namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a huge market, as well as Zambia, and, if possible, our southern neighbors. That said, countries

MA Our technical and commercial teams work alongside construction companies to find the best solutions and products whereby the type of cut these aluminum frames go through results in the least possible waste. This is an industry where waste is inevitable, but the more we optimize the project, the less waste we have in the environment.

What advice could Trirumo give foreign companies considering coming to Angola?

GM People often make the mistake of thinking that Angola is a rich country, when it is actually potentially rich one. What I recommend to Angolan companies wishing to go international is to first do their job well locally, and other then look for business further afield. Foreign companies wishing to come here are welcome. All the conditions are here, although there is still more to be done in every sector, from agriculture to industry. Companies should come with solid intentions, ethics, and principles to leave something positive behind in Angola. If a company finds a local partner so much the better, in order to bridge cultures. We have some unique cultural issues that must be understood and taken into consideration. If a firm has a solid Angolan partner, it can help other foreign companies to establish themselves here. ✖

Guilherme Mogas CO-FOUNDER, GRUPO TRIRUMO

Mário Amaro MANAGING PARTNER, GRUPO TRIRUMO

A carpentry workshop in Cabinda

Image: Andre Silva Pinto

GLOBAL standards

Teleservice provides a range of security services and products, including industrial and electronic security and aerial surveillance services, with plans to transform its service provision scope to more specific and highquality services in the future.

Teleservice is a 100% Angolan company. Based on the private security legislation in force in Angola, what services and products are provided by the company?

We mainly provide services associated with the security business, which encompasses everything from industrial security, electronic security, close protection officers, and driver services, to rent a car, cash in transit, and meet and greet at the airport. We have a strong marine security component, where we have a vessel fleet that we operate and maintain that works for the oil companies to ensure their security offshore. We are also developing a drone unit, aerial surveillance unit, and canine unit. We have partners that allow us to provide other services such business intelligence and cyber security.

What have been the key milestones of the company since its establishment in 1993?

José Carlos Figueiredo holds a degree in Biology, a master’s in epidemiology, and a PhD in epidemiology. He worked for the English government for five years on development projects in Liberia, Uganda, Kenya, and Namibia. In 2014, he moved to Angola, and a year later he joined his family’s group of companies. He joined Teleservice in 2017 and was appointed CEO in 2019.

After the first election in 1993, there was a significant change in the political and even the military setting in the country, wherein a unified armed forces was created, and the government was accepted internationally for the first time. Certain ways of doing business had to change, one of them being private security. As a paramilitary company, one of our first milestones was helping the government with the security of state assets that were being used by foreign corporations. In 2002, we saw a second major milestone, which was the transition from paramilitary company to a civilian security company, and that change had to happen quickly because of political objectives. We had to guarantee that the image of Angola had changed, from a wartime country to a nation of peace. And so, our security apparatus in the oil companies changed from having weapons to unarmed people and in white shirts. This change had to happen quickly, but we had the assistance of the gov-

ernment through numerous incentives. Our third big milestone, in 2007-2010, was having to abide by the new challenges imposed by our clients that needed much more conformity, which included external audits for our company as well as ISO 9001 certification. This was a struggle for a paramilitary company that now required an array of documents and related costs. Yet, we achieved this because our clients demanded it. Our fourth milestone was the way we adapted to the 2016/18 crisis, where clients were pushing for lower prices and not pursuing what they deemed non-essential services.

What are the current trends in the private security industry and what have been your latest investments?

For 2022, our main objective is to invest in the training of our staff from the ground up. We have upgraded our training center, which is just south of Luanda, to create the conditions to be able to continue the training of our 4,000 employees. More than 2,500 people are being trained every year and in 2022 we are focusing much more on that especially for senior staff to guarantee that we are up to date on the standards of security service worldwide, that we are adapting to this new reality where the security officer is much more of a public relationship client-driven service

José Carlos Figueiredo CHAIRMAN, TELESERVICE

“We have upgraded our training center, which is just south of Luanda, to create the conditions to be able to continue the training of our 4,000 employees.”

1,000 and 7,000ha. If the entire area is not provider, and not just person standing in

THE SAFEST WAY

SINCE 1993

scope from the normal security services that are being provided by other companies to more specific and high-quality services. There is a market for it if the investment and service are planned properly, and this is our primary focus at the moment. The backbone of our service are the men and women out there providing a service. Our team accounts for around 80% of our costs, including insurance, salaries, training, and uniforms. If we lower our prices, we are also lowering standards and salaries, and people will therefore become worse off. Such a policy is unsustainable if we intend to continue providing a premium service. ✖

WE OFFER INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS OF SECURITY

OFERECEMOS SOLUÇÕES INTEGRADAS DE SEGURANÇA

As leading private security partners of the Oil and Gas Industry, TELESERVICE is permanently committed to providing innovative and reliable security solutions.

Enquanto principais parceiros de segurança privada da Industria de Petróleo e Gás, a TELESERVICE está permanentemente comprometida em fornecer soluções de segurança inovadoras e de confiança.

ONE-STOP shop

Among others, Adinova sells quality sewing machines, fabrics, and haberdashery in Angola, developing an entire supply chain in the country.

Asif Jaffer FOUNDER & CEO, ADINOVA

Largest distributor of industrial sewing machines and textiles in Angola

15 years in the market promoting product diversity within the industry Committed to supporting and developing local production

What prompted you to create a textile company in Angola?

Along with food and shelter, clothes are one of our most basic necessities. As long as human civilization exists, the need for clothing will remain. There is a big gap in the Angolan market, as textiles are being sold at extremely high prices and there is no way that any local producer can buy the products, make garments, and sell them locally at a reasonable price. As an established entrepreneur I understand this business and creating a supply chain was a natural progression. This is where Adinova comes in—to supply quality machinery, fabrics, and accessories at an affordable price.

Who are your main clients and strategic partners in the country?

It is essential to first understand your current customers, what they seek, and why. Understanding this gives an insight into gaining new customers. We have a wide range of clients from large-scale garment factories and garment manufacturers to mid-sized and micro industries. These small-scale tailoring shops often operate from smaller premises but supplement the income raised and play a significant role in the economy of developing countries. Our aim is to provide our customers with equipment, raw materials, and the technical know-how, all under one roof. We are committed to providing complete customer satisfaction, both external and internal, with quality products and services conforming at all times to clearly established company norms.

Are you seeing quality local talent in the market?

BIO

Asif Jaffer is the founder & CEO of Adinova in Angola and a director of the Textile and Industrial Equipment Association (AITECA). He studied at the University of Reading in UK and has been in Angola for 22 years and in the textile sector for 15 years.

Currently, garment manufactures in Angola are solely concentrating on the production of work wear and uniforms; however, the textile sector in Angola has immense potential for fashion, sports, and daily wear. There are talented designers here who can create a diverse range of clothing from high-end fashion to sports, from lingerie to daily wear, all of which will play a huge part in the growth of this sector. Angola imports over USD300 million worth of finished clothing per year. We can provide the market with a wide range of fabrics, machin-

ery, and technical support to help the market reach self-sufficiency and, in turn, reduce dependency on imports and support the development of Made in Angola products.

How do international fairs such as FILDA help the company to grow nationally and internationally?

International fairs provide a unique networking platform and have helped us in promotion, marketing and publicity efforts. FILDA has provided Adinova with a platform to conduct business on a national and international scale.

Given the current logistics crisis, how have the changes in transportation prices and distribution affected the company?

Put simply, transportation affects the price of goods because it is a key component in a supply chain. Higher freight costs affect every aspect of this chain, which in turn affects what companies must charge for goods to break even or make a profit. While there isn’t necessarily a direct correlation between higher freight charges and higher consumer costs, there is certainly a relationship. With freight costs up, companies must make up for that increase, and they generally will pass those increases on to the consumer. One of the measures we undertook to offset the increase in transportation costs and maintain our prices is negotiating with our suppliers and buying in bulk to pass on these benefits to the customer. Another measure is revising packaging and product design to reduce weight and increase shipment density to maximize transportation costs.

How would you convince foreign investors to come to Angola and exploit a textile sector of considerable potential? Regarding foreign investors, this is certainly the right time to enter the country that's screaming for foreign investment. Competition is healthy, in what is effectively a virgin market. Angola is still a country of opportunity and foreign investment would bring in the capital needed to enhance the local industries, boosting infrastructure and productivity and creating employment opportunities in the process. ✖

mark OF EXCELLENCE

Graphic Systems is the market leader in labelling, packaging, and commercial printing in Angola.

Adam Dewji CEO, GRAPHIC SYSTEMS

What main products and services does Graphic Systems offer?

Our printing and packaging business is divided into industrial and commercial departments. Within our commercial sector, we supply local companies and corporates with printing material such as booklets, flyers, and brochures. Our industrial department is the main focus of Graphic Systems and comprises of largescale packaging and printing for a wide range of local industries such as beverages, food products, and detergents. Due to our long-term experience in the African market, we understand the importance of delivering high quality material while also providing reliable customer service. As a result of growing demand for local packaging, and increased competition, we have a strong focus on meeting client demands with precision, time efficiency and positioning ourselves as a reliable supplier and partner. We believe in growing together and working with our clients to create sustainable growth for them and the economy as a whole.

Graphic systems already produces labels and packaging for the local market. How prepared would you be to cater to the rapid growth of the brands you work with?

As a company, our vision has always been to grow with our clients and meet the increasing demands of the local population. We consistently invest in new machinery

and aim to expand our products lines. In 2019, we bought new machinery which was slightly delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, we finalized the installation and this has assisted in meeting the growing client demands. In the future, we hope to see further improvement of regulations that favor the protection and development of local industry. This will give us confidence to continue investing in the Angolan economy.

How do you ensure a lasting relationship with your partners and clients?

We believe in the importance of maintaining an honest, transparent, and reliable work relationship. Our consistency and work ethic has allowed us to build trust and long-term relationships with our clients. As a result, some of our key clients have been working with us for almost 40 years.

How important is the use of innovative technologies and equipment to providing a quality service for the company and sector?

Graphic Systems believes in supplying the market with high quality products and services and we cannot do that without sourcing exceptional machinery from countries such as Germany, Italy, or Switzerland. We regularly work alongside our clients to understand their needs and upcoming projects. This enables us to make

sustainable investments to source the right machines to best serve our clients. We stand by our product firmly and believe that quality is key.

What is your roadmap and what are your priorities for the upcoming year?

As we believe in the growth of the Angolan economy, we have solidified some new investments which will be up and running within the next two years. As a result, the potential to supply a wider range of products promises to be a solid contributor for growth. Secondly, we have plans to extend our reach across the continent by investing in new markets and creating export hubs to cater to the African region. ✖

BIO

Adam Dewji holds a BSc in business management from King’s College London. Early in his career, he worked for large beverage companies like Diageo and Heineken. He is currently the Managing Director of Graphic Systems Angola and XL Media LDA, with seven years of experience in the Angolan market. He is also a director of Graphic Group, which has a presence in the DRC and Uganda.

TBY ANALYTICS: ANGOLA 2023 INDUSTRY

Manufacturing value added is on the rise in Angola as companies look to develop and deepen domestic operations. The sector's overall contribution to GDP remains low, however, although a gradual weaning from oil and gas is likely to change the picture long term.

We posed a number of questions to our interviewees in the industry sector. These are their responses.

What are your priorities for the year?

What is your outlook for the year ahead?

SOURCE: WORLD BANK

tale OF SUCCESS

AMA África – Indústria has successfully established itself as the most successful supplier of branded equipment in Angola, building upon years of hard work and innovation.

How have your operations in Angola progressed since its establishment?

We entered Africa in 2012 to establish new trade agreements because Portugal was in the midst of a serious crisis. The founder of the company began by selling agricultural equipment; however, in 2009, we obtained the representation of Terex Construction Equipment for the center of Portugal. Then, the crisis struck. Initially, there were three distributors in Portugal, but they closed due to the crisis, and we were appointed as the Terex dealer for the entire country. Some months later, Terex contacted us to state its interest in also having a port equipment representative for Portugal. This was an opportunity and a challenge that we decided to face. Those two different businesses that we started almost at the same time motivated us to proceed with prospecting the Angolan market. Why Angola? The Portuguese language is an advantage for us; furthermore, the market is large and has a large number of Terex equipment, which is why we focused on the Terex brand in Angola. At that time, we restructured the company into three divisions: agricultural equipment to Portugal; Terex spare parts trading; and Terex equipment for Angola. Our initial focus in Angola were seaports customers, oil and gas companies, and mining companies. We are proud to be one of the top three on the suppliers list of most of our clients. We are growing annually by between 30% and 35%. Despite all the constraints caused by the pandemic, 2021 and 2022 proved to be, by far, the best sales years of the company in its 47-year history. Now, the company turnover’s is eight to even 10 times more than during the crisis when we already had Terex on board, but only for construction and only selling in central Portugal. Now, we have customers in 30 countries.

Carlos António Ramalho Gonçalves CEO AMA ÁFRICA – INDÚSTRIA, LDA

How is AMA helping to develop the agricultural and construction sectors in Angola?

The innovations we are going to bring may appear basic, but that is not the case. There are many clients with Terex port equipment and Terex mobile cranes and equipment, but no company in Angola has specialized technicians for Terex port equipment and Terex cranes mobiles. Nor do they have a stock of spare parts for these brands here. We will have both spare parts availability and technical support. We are keen to hire Angolans and give them training, be they auto electricians or painters.

Do you currently have local people collaborating with you?

This is a future plan. We want to hire local commercial players, and most of the people are going to be local. We know that we will have to be patient with those who will work with us and give them time to gain experience because this is a truly specific market.

What is the road map for 2023?

We have to start by getting to know local people and training them. And for now, we must retain the clients we already have from Ama Portugal. Later, when we feel with more comfortable in this starting period, we can begin to pursue other opportunities, but for now, we are going to be a little more contained so that everything is very controlled. We are official dealers in Angola of well-known brands such as Terex and Kalmar. Right now, we are growing, and we have always been adding new people who collaborate with us in Portugal. Ultimately, we will hire more and more local people and give the training they need to help us grow and increase the client-base. ✖

BIO

Gonçalves spent part of his childhood working at his father’s company Auto Mecânica Alvorgense, Lda (AMA) in Portugal and later joined the company’s technical team as an apprentice. After working in the sales and equipment demonstration department and the commercial team of the agricultural department, he was assigned to manage one of the company’s branches. In 2009, he became the commercial director of the commercial department in the Portuguese market. He later started the internationalization of AMA, which led to the creation of AMA África – Indústria, Lda, of which he became the CEO.

Carlos António Ramalho

Realized the enormous advantage of speaking the same language and working with Portuguese speakers

HOME-BAKED WISDOM

An inward focus on quality stands to project Angolan products further afield.

ANGOLA is in the lengthy process of wholesale transformation to lift its largely neglected population out of poverty and into a more equitable society. This has both economic and social ramifications, and is beginning to reflect in the promotion of, and investment in, local value to reduce massive import dependence. On this journey, the phrase ‘Feito em Angola,’ or ‘Made in Angola’ in English, has become a mantra of self-development and national pride.

MEANS TO AN END

Angola’s economy has long borne the risk of massive oil dependence. Unsurprisingly then, the collapse of oil prices in 2014 deepened the problem. This prompted the then government to pursue a national program of economic diversification through national production. A drive to reduce imports and boost exports in pursuit of foreign exchange that would enable the costly process of internal development. Enter ‘Made in Angola.’

Now in its 11th year, the ‘Made in Angola’ initiative remains concerned with authenticity, with the introduction of QR to distinguish genuine local products from those falsely labelled as made in Angola. As an incentive, qualifying firms will now require a minimum 30% of national content in their output, down from 50% before. Increased product quality stands to raise Angola’s industrial image internationally.

WHAT’S THE BENEFIT?

Quite simply, qualifying firms benefit from participation in global branding under the logo, maximizing their own marketing initiatives. They also receive training by The National Institute of Support to Micro, Small and Medium Firms (INAPEM), and greater networking

opportunities. For a payment of AOA50,000, firms may register three products. Beyond that, each additional product incurs a payment of half of that sum. Just five years after launch around 900 products had earned the the “Made in Angola” badge. The vast majority of those firms hailed from Luanda province. This underlines the perennial underdevelopment of all but a few economically significant regions, a situation that government initiatives today aim to reverse.

LOCALS IN ACTION

Webcor Group owns Angoalissar, ranked among Angola’s largest food importers and distributors, with multinational brands like Red Bull, Philip Morris, Kelloggs, and Pringles in its stable. Yet, Webcor Group CEO Sergio Limonti tells TBY how their own brands, “…being Angolan, and on the market for 30 years, are national FMCG leaders.” He explains how, “The group is now set to build a local Angolan value chain […] investing in local factories and including local manufacturers [which] gives us the opportunity of raising the bar when it comes to sustainability and rethinking the industrialization model.” He highlights ongoing cooperation, “with local farmers, supplying them with everything from seeds to crop protection and fertilizers. From there we go to local manufacturing, branding, wholesaling and marketing, thereby creating the entire value chain providing the most accessible, highest quality product for consumers.”

THE SPOILS OF QUALITY…

With a stamp of quality pinned to their logos, Angolan firms become more investable for foreign counterparts. And with foreign investment comes essential knowledge transfer. Refriango is a prominent producer and distributor of soft drinks, water, energy drinks and al-

coholic beverages. The company holds industrial certifications such as ISO 2001 and FSSC 22000 food safety certification. CEO Diogo Caldas touches on the advantages. “This guarantees all of our manufactured products are certified according to global standards, while assuring the best quality for our consumers.” Moreover, the company’s partnership with Coca-Cola, “…represents an extraordinary opportunity […] to consolidate and enhance our credentials in industrial capacity, quality, and distribution.” Meanwhile, other partnerships [enable us to] leverage on their acquired knowledge and international expertise while growing our internal capabilities.”

Also representing the local FMCG sector is Rayan Nasser, CEO of Rayan Investment, who notes that, “Angola was a 100% import market merely 15-20 years ago, but this is shifting now.” He foresees many, “local industrial players with increased competition [which] forces the country to be more export minded.” Indeed, he believes that Angola could become, “…the regional industrial hub for FMCG as well as other product sectors.”

PUTTING MEAT ON THE BONES

Engaged in processed food products for the past 25 years, Valinho’s corporate motto is ‘We produce in Angola, with Angolans, for Angolans.’ The company originally imported products from Portugal. But as CEO Nelson da Silva Abreu tells TBY, “In 2008, we decided to build a factory here and produce those products locally. It was the first factory of its kind in Angola.” The purchase in 2011 of a 50% stake by Portugal’s Grupo Primor also brought, “expertise and know-how.”

Angola’s economic modernization drive and local value initiatives warrant international acknowledgement. Indeed, in 2021 its improved sovereign profile returned the country to the international debt market with a twice oversubscribed USD1.75 billion Eurobond issuance. And while international investors’ eye the prospective 30% privatization of state oil giant Sonangol by 2027, quality initiatives across the industrial matrix are gradually advancing local value. ✖

ONLY the best

Grupo Imex uses only the finest machines in its production, whether that is the assembly of home appliances or the manufacturing of packaging materials.

Ramzi El-Houchaimi CEO, GRUPO IMEX

What have been the main activities of Grupo IMEX since its foundation?

We started in 2002 and started with the production of auto-molding water tanks of different sizes. In 2006, we did a joint venture with the Webcor Group, and we merged two business together—the production of water tanks and the production of foam mattresses. We later opened our first factory in the province of Benguela in 2008 for water tanks and mattress production. This led to our first factory for foam mattresses in Huambo in 2010. Fast forward to 2012, we decided to consolidate all our businesses in Luanda onto one site, so we built our premises and offices and invested in new machinery and technology for these products. At the same time, we also invested in Lobito and Huambo. We built our own site and invested in new machinery. In 2008, we also established our first factory for paint and all things related to construction. Later in 2018, we invested in our first factory for packaging material, namely 50-kg woven bags that we sell to the producers of cement, flour, sugar, fertilizers, and so on. In 2021, we built a new factory that triples our current capacity for woven bags; in fact, it is one of the biggest in sub-Saharan countries. Today, our main businesses include woven bags, mattresses, paint, and water tanks.

Grupo IMEX has diversified into different products and activities. Who are its target market, and what are their main needs?

At the same time, we also have our retail stores where we sell our mattresses. Three years ago, we also started distributing the home appliances of a brand called Beko, including ACs, fridges, cookers, and more. We have 10 stores in Luanda and five in the provinces where we sell both mattresses and home appliances. The goal of this distribution is to eventually develop a partnership with Beko to assemble these products locally. In September, we started our first assembling units for ACs, fridges, and hobs.

Grupo IMEX is applying new technologies to its products. What innovations and technologies have you brought in?

For each product that we produce, we always acquire our machines from Europe or Asia. We want to use the best machines in our production. In the home appliances sector, we have a joint venture with Beko; it develops the home appliances, and we are just there to assemble and sell them here. It is a Turkish group, and it does a great deal of development on its end. It has the biggest factory in South Africa, and it operates in Africa, Asia, and the US. We are also working closely to make sure these products are of a high quality.

What is the future of Grupo IMEX?

BIO

Ramzi El-Houchaimi has a bachelor’s in business administration from AIU London. After graduating in 2000 he worked in banking before spending over a year in Gabon working for a family business. He later moved to Angola and is currently CEO of Grupo IMEX.

Our paint production is more of a B2B business, while mattresses are more of consumer-facing good that we sell to furniture stores and so on. Our water tanks and PVC pipes are targeted at construction material companies. We also opened a new factory for mattresses in 2021 in Cabinda. We are opening smaller factories in the provinces because transporting mattresses around the country else entails a great deal of freight, so it is better to just produce them in each of these provinces.

Our aim is for the company to keep growing and be a leader, at least in some of the products that we produce. We want to make sure the company continues to grow. We are the first company in Angola to implement the Kaizen methodology four years ago, which has to do with continuous improvement. Our factories are extremely well organized in order to ensure we are more competitive and working at a higher level. In industry, it is not just about machinery, raw material, and the team; you also need a methodology to work properly. Kaizen is also being used in other factories in Angola, and this increases the overall standards and helps us be more efficient. ✖

RAPID GROWTH

The food industry in Angola is expected to experience significant growth in 2022. Factors influencing this growth include increasing demand for food products, government initiatives supporting the industry, and improvements in infrastructure.

Improvements in infrastructure are expected to have a huge impact on Angola's food industry, including advancements in water and sanitation systems. The government has invested in constructing new highways, ports, and airports, which should help exporters access new markets. “Another area for improvement is transportation infrastructure. Angola is a large country, and transporting goods to the provinces via road is not cheap. The quality of the roads often needs improvement and it makes it more expensive to deliver products to remote areas. This is also partly why it makes it expensive to export to the neighboring countries at the moment”, said Rayan Nasser, CEO of Rayan Investment, in a recent interview with The Business Year.

The production of packaged and processed foods is expected to see significant growth as more Angolans turn to packed foods such as snacks and ready-to-eat meals. This presents an

opportunity for food producers and processors to create new products that meet the needs of this growing market.

The food industry in Angola has significant potential to export to other African countries and beyond, thanks to its strategic location for exporting and the government's efforts to improve trade relations with other countries. However, the lack of skilled employees in the industry, as in other sectors, is a significant challenge. Young Angolans are choosing to work in other sectors such as finance and technology, leading to a shortage of skilled labor in the industry.

The high cost of fertilizer and seeds is another challenge facing the sector. Small-scale farmers cannot afford these products, limiting their ability to improve the quality of their products. The government is providing support to farmers in the form of subsidies and credit, but more needs to be done to ensure that small-scale farmers can access the products they need to be successful.

Lastly, loyalty from the Angolan population toward locally produced products will facilitate the government's plans to rely less on imports from other markets and improve domestic production going forward. ✖

SLOW and steady

Refriango is a leader among Angolan companies, specialized in the production and distribution of juices, soft drinks, water, energy drinks, and alcoholic beverages.

Diogo Caldas CEO REFRIANGO

How have Refriango’s operations evolved over its long history in Angola? Refriango began operations in Angola 70 years ago, specializing in non-alcoholic beverages, with the production and distribution of soft drinks, water, juices, energy drinks, and tonic water. From the outset, our four pillars have been innovation, brand, distribution, and quality. Our focus was strongly set on non-alcoholic products, and having established a consolidated position in this category, we venture into a partnership to exclusively distribute Moët Hennessy in Angola, a product from the Louis Vuitton group that enabled Refriango to add champagne and cognac to its distribution portfolio. These are heavily consumed in Angola and rapidly became one of the most important markets for the company. With proven success and growth with these products, in 2012, we began an exclusive distribution deal of distilled products with Diageo, the largest producer of spirits in the world. In addition, we became importers of Johnny Walker, Gordon’s, Tanqueray, Smirnoff, and J&B, all of which are Diageo brands. In 2016, we decided to enter yet into another category—beer, one of the most important ones in Angola. We built a new plant and a new brand of our own, Tigra. We had to take all of the necessary steps to enter in a highly competitive market where we battle with strong and iconic brands. Entering 2018, we further developed our relationship with Diageo through a joint venture to invest in a spirits production plant in Angola, that allowed to initiate that year the production of Smirnoff, Smirnoff Ice, Gordon’s, Vat 69, White Horse, and Mr. Dowell’s. Through 2020 and 2021, we established new dialog with various companies to grow in other categories, such as Coca-Cola. We are currently getting started with the entire Coca-Cola portfolio. We have also partnered with Super Bock Group, a Portuguese company that leads the beer market in its country, and which has been distributing products in Angola since 2010. We have developed a partnership to distribute and produce their products locally. Elsewhere, we have created a partnership with Leche Pascual,

a Spanish leader in Iberia, to produce locally all of their dairy products. Today we count on one of the largest facilities in Africa, with 27 bottling lines that allow a 2.5-million-liter capacity per year on an area of 50ha.

What are your benefits from collaboration with brands like Coca-Cola?

For us, the partnership with Coca-Cola represents an extraordinary opportunity, not only to complete our portfolio, but also to consolidate and enhance our credentials in industrial capacity, quality, and distribution. Our partnerships with Diageo, Super Bock, and Leche Pascual are also very important, as we can leverage on their acquired knowledge and international expertise while growing our internal capabilities. This allows us to not only develop our brands and nurture a deeper relationship with our consumers so they can enjoy our products, but also broaden their experience with internationally known products by placing them on every Angolan table and hearts.

What is the company’s approach to corporate social responsibility?

Today, we employ around 2,400 people in Refriango, and our company champions sustained educational and development programs for our Angolan workforces. Our investments in people are instrumental in our corporate vision and through and intensive social-responsibility agenda, we are able to fund, promote, and execute projects, both domestically and abroad, that ensure a better life, better opportunities, and better social development for our families. From the supply of sports equipment to weekly training at numerous schools in the popular sport of volleyball, we have witnessed the success of our teams that have gone on to compete nationally and internationally. Education and access to education are key factors to build a stronger foundation of a nation, and Refriango champions projects that are more related to school education and meals, while supporting several orphanages with funding, equipment, and meals for their children. ✖

success STORY

One of the largest food importers and distributors in Angola, Angoalissar’s brands are the leaders in the market.

Can you outline Angoalissar’s growth and development trajectory since its founding?

Angoalissar started out in the FMCG food sector and is currently the country’s largest distribution company, with three different business units—soft commodities, FMCGs, and frozen foods. These include both our own and multinational brands like Red Bull, Philip Morris, Kellogg’s, Pringles, and Arcor, among others. Our own brands, being Angolan and on the market for 30 years, are national FMCG leaders. Over the past decade, the government has provided more incentives and advantages to boost local production, and, because we have been producing in Angola since 1993, with our mattress manufacturing company IMEX and a paint factory, we were amongst the first to take this initiative seriously. This initiative also promotes local food manufacturing, historically hampered by the lack of certain basic ingredients, encouraging us to invest in the Grandes Moagens de Angola. This sparked a change in our business model. Distribution is increasingly dependent on locally manufactured goods, so we are strengthening the distribution network which, by 2027, should be 100% locally supplied. We plan to build a value chain, investing in local factories and including local manufacturers, and using our shipping charter expertise. This also gives us the opportunity of raising the bar when it comes to sustainability and rethinking the industrialization model. The UN SDGs are a fundamental component of modern industry. We are highly aware of the stakes when it comes to SDG and ESG issues and consumer perceptions and expectations, and we want to be an African and international benchmark for sustainable industrial development. We are also expanding our areas of expertise to take into account product price sensitivity and bringing in international partners that can apply their expertise to growing first-class industries domestically. In fact, Arcor, the world’s third largest confection producer, is now keen to produce in Angola.

Are you planning on becoming the official distributor for certain international brands in the region?

Yes, some of our top brands are already in Angola

Sergio Limonti CEO, WEBCOR GROUP

and Mozambique. We are strategically positioned to trade in both Central and West Africa, moving into the south of Congo, and eventually the rest of that market, all the way to Zambia. From Mozambique, Zimbabwe could be serviced from Beira, or from Luhito, depending on cost-effective logistics. Arcor is already looking at exporting to South Africa.

Supply chains sometimes suffer from operational management due to all the factors involved. How do you reassure your clients of the company’s capacity on this front? It can be costly fulfilling the supply chain to our customers because shipping companies often neglect our region in favor of other countries; however, by planning ahead, we have mastered the challenge of maintaining three to four months of buffer stocks to continue supplying our consumers with product and manufacturers with raw material. It is a matter of investment and better planning, something we would like to see the rest of Africa doing so that we can strengthen local manufacturing and avoid being susceptible to global supply chain inadequacy.

How did you differentiate yourself in the Angolan market?

The Angolan consumer is loyal to local brands and ensuring a consistent supply has contributed in a major way to this loyalty. Africa is one continent, but every country displays different consumer behaviors. Spending time in the markets is invaluable to understand the various country preferences.

Moving forward, what are your long-term goals? We will continue to focus mainly on Angola of course, with a long-term strategy of building an Angola-dependent value chain. We are already working with local farmers, supplying them with everything from seeds to crop protection and fertilizers. From there, we go to local manufacturing, branding, wholesaling and marketing, thereby creating the entire value chain providing the most accessible, highest quality product for consumers. And maintaining our strong market position. If needed, we will also enter into partnerships with any firm that can meet our requirements domestically. ✖

Celebrating

30th anniversary

At least

55% of distribution is for domestically produced goods.

100% rate aimed for by 2027

BIO

Sergio Limonti was appointed CEO of Webcor Group in June 2022. He was previously its head of industry & deputy CEO. Prior to joining Webcor, he held several leadership positions at Arcor Group, where he worked for 28 years. Most recently, he was Arcor’s managing director for Central, North America, and overseas. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in marketing.

MUCH more to do

Rayan Investment Angola has made a name for itself in Angola in the import, distribution, and manufacturing of fastmoving consumer goods.

Rayan Nasser CEO, RAYAN INVESTMENT ANGOLA

Shifting from import company to manufacturing company

Angola has great potential for local industry and exports

Angola has

much higher loyalty toward local brands than other African markets

BIO

Rayan Nasser, CEO of family-owned business Rayan Investment Angola, has over nine years of experience in the FMCG industry. He started his career as a brand manager before eventually taking on the role of commercial director, a position he successfully served for four years. In 2021, he was appointed CEO of the company after having led many significant initiatives including the remodelling of the business structure with a drive to modernize company-wide culture.

What has been the trajectory of Rayan Investment Angola’s operations since it was established in Angola?

Rayan Investment Angola was established in 1997 as an FMCG wholesaler, specializing in the food and non-food FMCG products sector and was responsible for introducing many products and brands which have become house hold staples. Soon after establishing, we also expanded into the dairy, alcoholic beverages, and electronics categories, further strengthening our offering to the Angolan market. As our products and brands became more recognized and sought after, we eventually transitioned our business model from being a wholesaler to a brand-focused company in order to focus the consumers of our brands and establishing a stronger connection with them. We also began our industrial journey in 2004, investing in a hygienic paper factory. By having a wider degree of control in the supply chain, we are able to add more value to the country, as well as offer products to the consumers at more affordable prices. In 2021, we began a series of investments into further industrial projects, expanding our production capacity into the sauces and other food segments.

Does Angola need to start producing products here and depend less on imports?

We see Angola as a regional hub for industry. Looking at the surrounding markets of the DRC, Namibia, Zambia, and others, Angola is in the most advantageous position to produce more products locally and export them, rather than rely on imports. There is a great deal of government support for local production, and we are seeing a large influx of companies looking to produce in Angola, which gives us much confidence. In addition, there is a growth in secondary industries as well, which in some cases further reduces the need to import raw materials. Importing means always being at the mercy of the global markets, and, therefore, we can have more control if we can rely on other industries in the country in strategic partnerships. On the other

hand, in order for this to become successful, further work is needed on an infrastructural level, as well as more stability in the value of the local currency, in order for Angola to be a competitive exporter. Currently, it is still cheaper to import products into the surrounding countries from Europe or Asia, than to do so just across the border—from Angola.

What does the sector need in order to become more competitive?

There are a few areas that need lasting improvement, such as the education sector, as well as the stability of the currency, and infrastructure for the transportation of raw materials and finished goods. The education sector for example, is an area that is improving with visible results, but still requires further improvement in the quality in order to grow the number of skilled labor and senior executives. The pool of highly skilled local talent is growing, but still small, and many companies here still rely on hiring foreign nationals to fill skilled or senior executive roles. Another area for improvement is the transportation infrastructure. Angola is a large country, and transporting goods to the provinces via road is not cheap. The quality of roads often needs improvement, and this makes it more expensive to deliver products to remote areas. This is also partly why it makes it expensive to export to the neighboring countries at the moment.

How proud are Angolans of their own brands?

Angolans are extremely proud and loyal people. They feel pride when a big brand is produced here locally, and they enjoy consuming products that they know are produced in their country. Of course, nowadays price has become a major issue for Angolans, as the country endured a difficult economic climate since the oil price crash of 2014 and then COVID-19 in 2020. Purchasing power has been decreasing gradually since 2016, but even in this climate, they definitely appreciate locally produced brands. ✖

a

HIGHEST standards

Befco Industria is a local F&B company that produces Angolan water brand Perla and a wide range of soft drinks and juices under international license agreements.

Youssef El Sahely CEO, BEFCO INDUSTRIA

Grew 30% YoY in 2021

Can you elaborate on the company’s evolution in Angola in the last few years?

The evolution began with the development of our own brand, Perla water. After that, we began to have other licensed brands for Monarch beverage. Monarch is a brand that have multiple bottlers in Africa, and our most diverse portfolio is from Monarch. In 2023, we will also be the partner boasting the most diverse portfolio for the Bubble Up brand. We started with Perla and moved to another licensed brand at Monarch. In 2016, we also commenced operations with our international partner Tampico, a part of Tampico International, and in 2017 with Orangina from Suntory, while from 2017 to date we have also developed our own brands.

How are these strategic partnerships meeting your expectations in the local market?

due to the logistical challenges that have arisen. The delays to the delivery of products and consequent price increases undoubtedly impact the consumer. We have tried not to change our strategy too much to avoid placing a burden on the consumer while ensuring sustainable distribution.

What CSR actions does the company take in Angola?

BIO

Youssef El Sahely is one of the shareholders and the current CEO of Befco Industria. Upon completion of his studies in Lebanon, El Sahely moved back to Bangui, where he participated in the family business before relocating to Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo, working as a logistics manager of STT, a timber distribution company, as well as operating as a manager for La Cité supermarket and pastry shop. In 2007, he moved to Angola, where with his father and brothers founded Purangol, currently known as Befco Industria. He is the CEO of the company that produces Perla and other licensed brands.

Customer satisfaction right now among consumers is good. One of our best-selling SKUs is from our licensed brand, the Planet, which has enjoyed excellent accessibility in the market. The partnerships also give us an advantage and know-how in terms of how to develop our own product. This collaborative work suits us well and is ideal for the market because we produce our own brands with the quality and standards of international companies.

What strategy differentiates Befco from other companies in the sector?

One of our challenges is the opportunity to create our own brand for the consumer. This is what differentiates us from our competitors, in that most of them work exclusively with licensed brands.

Did the global supply chain crisis affect the company in terms of transportation and supply times?

This is the common experience of any company that works with external partners in light of the pandemic. The prices of transport were increased and we faced certain delays in terms of production,

Our CSR field is active, and we are focused on awareness of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and the fight against HIV. Therefore, it is pink in October, November is blue, and December is red. We are also signing partnerships with external companies. In 2022, we signed with Pernod Ricard, the French company that launched a global campaign to drink more water to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol. And we were pleased to be one of the companies chosen to be partner in this global campaign. Meanwhile, we also have other initiatives concerning plastic reduction and recycling, as well as campaigns for garbage recycling. We also encouraged the state to distribute water at vaccination centers for free and to distribute water to more remote communities providing transport to the vaccination centers and giving water.

How did the company approach the COVID-19 situation, and what is the situation currently?

We put into practice many strategies that do not impact our performance and enable us to realize the deliveries demanded by the market. In addition to this, we implemented working remotely.

What are your objectives for 2023 and what does the roadmap look like for you?

For 2023, our road map is basically one of enlarging our portfolio. In 2023, we will have double the SKUs that we have today. So, we will invest in product portfolio expansion and create strategies and business models that best serve the consumer. Portfolio expansion it the way to go for 2023. ✖

Ultimately aims to export to neighboring countries of Namibia, Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Mozambique

Danny Mokbel CEO, MOKBEL INTERNATIONAL TRADING

Can you provide a brief breakdown on the trajectory of the company?

We created Mokbel International Trading in 1997. It was mostly engaged in importation and distribution, selling wholesale and retail throughout the country, mainly in Luanda, but we also have clients all over the provinces. Today, we have business units in Luanda and Cabinda that are engaged in cold and dry storage. We have over 250 employees, and in 2023, we expect to have over 350 employees because of all the projects that we have under construction.

Given the current global logistics crisis, how have the changes in transportation prices affected the company?

Internationally, cost increases made it difficult for consumers and businesses. Meanwhile, the kwanza has appreciated in value. The strength of the kwanza helped us maintain price stability in Angola. So, in one way, that maintained our prices despite the circumstances. Whether we like it or not, there are delays, and there are no other options. We simply have to expect delays with all of our orders, predicting lead times of four or five months instead of 45-60 days, because globally, everyone is going through the same thing.

How do you see the sector transforming, and what changes are essential for the evolution of the industry?

The challenge we are facing today didn't actually start today. It started with the economic crisis in Angola back in October 2015. We were recovering, but then we got hit with COVID in 2020. The country itself got shut down to the world. In our business, if the product is not moving, it's not just that product that’s impacted, it has a ripple effect over a year, a year and a half in our inventories. We are still going through that, but we are working. We were able to maintain our workforce throughout these difficulties, and we are growing. In fact, we are diversifying our business into completely new sectors.

António Aragão GENERAL DIRECTOR, INDUVE

What have been the major milestones of Induve since its establishment?

We acquired Induve in 2003, changing its core business from refining vegetable oil and soap production to the production of corn flour. We maintained only part of the edible oil business, specifically the bottling of imported refined vegetable oil. In 2005, we commissioned a corn flour mill with a milling capacity of 400 metric tons per day. Following the country’s ambition to diversify the economy, with the emphasized focus on industry, in 2021 we commissioned a wheat flour mill with a milling capacity of 700 metric tons per day. Aside from supplying the existing baking industry, our vision was to support and incentivize the emergence of auxiliary industries such as biscuit and pasta production, and industrial baking. We are in the process of installing a new corn mill for the production of grits for the brewing and snacks industries. The new mill will have a crushing capacity of 250 metric tons per day and is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2022. From all stated, it is obvious that our aim has been to contribute to setting the foundations for further diversification and industrialization of food and agricultural industry of Angola.

What makes Angola’s flour milling industry interesting for potential investors considering entering the country?

As is well known, Angola has vast expanses of arable land, perfectly appropriate for the cultivation of most cereals, vegetables and fruits. With the eventually possibility of Angola being part of SADEC’s free trade zone, the possibility of export and bilateral trade with other zone members in sub-Saharan Africa presents a huge opportunity, particularly with Congo considering its proximity and size. Transformative capacity is therefore essential and greatly needed.

What main challenges does the company encounter when it comes to logistics, and how does it face them?

One difficulty we face daily is the lack of availability of spare parts and technical assistance for our productive units. All this must come from abroad, which can cause significant difficulties and bottlenecks, aside from also having a high cost. While the government has greatly improved access to visas for these specialized visitors, the lack of local support and supply is still a great challenge. Freight and transportation in the country is also not as adequate and organized as it should be, and it is also prohibitively expensive. This has forced Induve to invest heavily in its own trucking fleet to alleviate this difficult. However, the development of train freight and storage capacities across the country is of crucial importance for the efficient and cost-effective movement of goods.

Roberto Bernuy DIRECTOR, LACTO RP

What are the ambitions of Lacto RP?

We aspire to be, if not the main dairy group in the country, then among the leaders. We have all the ingredients for it, and the joint venture takes advantage of the strengths of the two partners: Refriango provides the manufacturing and distribution capacities, with one of the largest beverages industrial complexes in Africa and a large commercial network, as well as a profound knowledge of the local consumer and market dynamics, having experienced its fluctuations and challenges and gained priceless insights in the process. Pascual, meanwhile, brings the brand awareness in the country associated with high-quality products. It also contributes to the knowledge of the dairy world. Our synergy gives us confidence in the future.

Pascual Group exports extend to 52 countries. What is the nature of Pascual Angola?

Pascual focuses on product quality. Yet, we are well aware that a high-quality imported product is not accessible to the majority of the population. This is why they have sought to produce a local products of the highest possible quality, but at a price that most of the population can afford. And ultimately, being of high nutritional content, these products are of social benefit.

Nelson da Silva Abreu GENERAL MANAGER, VALINHO

The brand’s motto is “We produce in Angola, with Angolans, for Angolans.” What is your vision for self-sufficiency in-country?

Agriculture, food production, and animal production are tricky because there are certain requirements that are needed. One of them is animal feed. When a country has to import cereals, it is tough to produce meat protein products because of the cost. If we have to import most of the feed for the animals, it is hard to reach competitive prices on the production. The veterinary side of production is also complicated, because we still have to import medicines. It is not easy, because the supply chain is long, and everything is imported. Anyone who wants to invest in food production or animal production must have courage.

What other opportunities are there in agriculture and the overall food sector?

Animal protein is important. There is significant room to grow in agriculture to replace imports. A great deal of work has been done to encourage companies to come in this area. However, most of the companies coming to Angola are working in other sectors or are repacking industries rather than processing. There is significant a room for people to grow.

Gonçalo Ferreira CEO, BIAGIO

How has the company evolved since its foundation?

Biagio started its activity in 2014 as a B2B company. Our main goal was to provide solutions, especially to the bakery market. Many people may not be familiar with our products, but almost every person already consumes them because we produce technical products such as improvers, premixes and dehydrated mixtures, complemented by hydrated products for fillings, toppings, and decorations. Biagio covers most needs of the professional chain for bread, confectionery, ice creams, and desserts.

What have been your other recent investments in the country?

Our last investment was the chocolate factory, and we are still increasing capacity as this remains a new business. We are also importing additional machinery to enable a more diverse product range. At the moment we produce tablet chocolate, but we are starting to make other products and prepare ourselves to better supply other industries as well. We can produce tailor-made products for the industry. An advantage of such products is that they are often readily exportable. The local chocolate market is dependent upon increased agricultural output. Supply was limited because growers themselves lacked a market. Now that we have started producing cocoa production of will increase substantially allowing for scale.

MISSION critical

YoniBen is working on investing more in the country to diversify into wheat milling and flour production on the back of its successful pasta production facilities.

Aron Zerihun GENERAL MANAGER, YONIBEN

BIO

Prior to being General Manager at YoniBen, Aron Zerihun worked in the academic profession and has a degree in psychology from the Eritrean Institute of Technology. He has over a decade of experience in sales, bank relations, project management, and more.

Yoniben produces different types of pasta in Angola, with a production line capable of manufacturing up to 144 tons of pasta per day. What has been the evolution of the company since its establishment in Angola?

YoniBen is a relatively new company that transitioned from import to local production. YoniBen was established in 2017 with the objective of producing faster. The moment that we started to implement the project in 2019, we were ambitious, and we had the objective of finishing the construction in 10 months; however, the work was delayed due to COVID-19, and we only came into production in 2021. The evolution has been significantly good, because we were able to achieve peak production in just three months. We have a capacity of six tons per hour, which is 144 tons per day, as we are working 24/7, stopping only once in 18 days for maintenance. By producing locally, we have more control of how we produce the pasta, which has enabled us to increase our market share and achieve one of our missions as a company: to be pioneers in the pasta production industry in Angola and the region. The feedback and testimonies that we have received from the market and customers confirms this. We now look forward to diversifying the types of pasta, depending on the needs of the market.

YoniBen will invest in milling in 2023 and will be partially financed by the National Bank of Angola. The company is also importing the raw material from Turkey. Who are your principal national and international partners?

We are waiting to implement a corn milling project that should be finalized soon. The objective is to align with the Angolan executive policy and contribute to the diversification of the economy by substituting imports. Angola certainly has all the resources needed to be self-sufficient. We are aware that this will not be achieved in one or two

years; however, we will continue to work hard. We are currently importing raw materials from Turkey due to the unavailability of our required quality standard to get the desired product. We are also working on a project to do our own wheat milling in order to have greater control over the production process and make it 100% local. We expect this project to be ready by 2023. Regarding to partnerships, we work closely with all government entities and the private sector, as we believe that we would not be able to reach those goals without these partnerships. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the government bodies that have always helped us meet our objectives. Internationally, we partner with companies from all parts of the globe for our raw material and machinery needs.

How did you overcome the challenges arising from COVID-19?

We can say that no one from our team was out from the effects of COVID-19. The main challenge we faced was the movement of people, which compromised our plan to start the factory earlier. Again, the support we got from government authorities and our partners during this period was crucial. Furthermore, our entire team demonstrated great dedication during this period, working without ceasing and for many more extra hours. All this enabled us to overcome the challenges from COVID-19.

What are your plans for 2023?

In 2023, our main objective is starting up the corn mill factory and proceeding with the implementation of wheat flour milling for our raw material. In addition, we intend to intensify our contributions to the economic diversification program of the Angolan government. ✖

In 2018, Angola witnessed a considerable industrialization drive.

The move from import to local production was a success in terms of quality and turnover.

95% of the workforce in YoniBen is Angolan nationals.

feeding ANGOLA

Carrinho is an Angolan family-owned company committed to developing the first vertically integrated organizational structure in the food sector.

Décio Catarro CEO, CARRINHO INDUSTRY

What are the main activities of Carrinho in the country?

Once we started to work on the vision behind Carrinho Industry, we were up and running within three years and built a company that could make Angola a food self-sufficient and healthy country. The company at that time was in the catering business as well as logistics as a trader. It bought food products for resale in Angola. With that, we created this project, and we developed the company creating the first industrial park in Benguela. We were obliged to transform Leonor Carrinho company into the large structure we are today. We have the Carrinho holding company and three different firms within it. One o is Carrinho Agri, which takes care of the agriculture business. Then, there are Carrinho Indústria and Carrinho Comércio, which take care of manufacturing, production, distribution, and sales, as well as our Bem Barato stores located all over Angola. Each company has its own autonomy leadership but with same vision and targets from Carrinho Holding.

What opportunities did you see during the pandemic?

The opportunity was to have all our factories operational in Angola with no competition. What we also discovered is that it is important to develop agriculture because if countries don’t have their own primary production in agriculture, it’s impossible to sustain such a sizable food park. The opportunity we took was to develop the agricultural business and not be dependent on anybody and imported raw ma-

terials. Angola has all the possibilities for good local production. The company has two wheat mills, two maize mills, and two rice mills. Additionally, we produce short and long pasta. We have a plant producing biscuits on five lines. Incidentally, we provide lunches for 200,000 kids per day featuring biscuits, breakfast cereals, and some baby food or formula. We also have a packaging area for all of our products. Apart from that, we have a food plant that produces animal feed. We have two refineries for edible oil, or for crude oil that we transform into edible oil. Our plant is set up to fill one, three, five liter, or 250 milliliter bottles. We also have a plant for mayonnaise, ketchup, and sauces, and another for candy, among a total of 17 different plants. We are a completely integrated food park. Our main customer is Carrinho Comércio, and our major supplier is set to be Carrinho Agri, for wheat, rice, and maize. We have a total capacity of production of 1.5 million tons of food products. Normally, worldwide logistics accounts for around 20 to 25% of the total costs of such a food park. Here, the number is just 5% only.

What are the company’s most recent investments?

In 2022, we are investing in agriculture, but in the industrial component, we also have another ongoing project namely a sugar refinery. Our refinery will have a capacity of 3,000 tons per day for all types of sugar, even powdered. We will need to have it running within the next two years. The second project is the seeds crushing plant to crush and extract oil from soya

beans, sunflowers, and more. This crusher will have a capacity of 4,000 tons per day of soya bean. After close to this one, we will install also a glucose plant, which is needed for candies, sweet milk condensate, biscuit, breakfast, cereals, and so forth.

What is the roadmap for Carrinho for the coming years?

Our president, Nelson Carrinho, always says that we are a project company. We need to build a new food park three times the size of our current one in the north of Angola. Because, first, we need to feed the local market. We are also set to produce certain products traditional in Angola, such as cassava, in the forms of cassava flour, cassava starch, and cassava fuba. We intend to transform this small-scale production into a big one. ✖

Décio Catarro has training in the areas of electrotechnical engineering, branches of production, and energy transport and holds a post-graduation in the area of management of investment projects. He specializes in the design of food industry units, obtained his experience in the management of industrial processes. Later, he graduated in industrial operations management and supply chain management. Catarro held various leadership and management positions in engineering and maintenance of food industry factories in several European countries, until reaching the general management and administration of industrial companies, even before embracing the Carrinho project.

BIO

PLANS in place

With ambitious plans to diversify further into food production and export to the surrounding region, Mafcom is optimistic about Angola and is investing accordingly.

Wasim Alimohamed PRESIDENT, MAFCOM

Mafcom has entered agriculture in step with the diversification of the Angolan economy

How has 2022 been for the company?

In 2022, we launched many new industries, beginning with a spaghetti plant on an investment of around EUR15 million with an hourly capacity of five tons. We also invested in a sausage plant, which gives three to four tons per hour. We have been heavily investing in agriculture, where we are planting coffee, soy, and palm. We are more focused today on local manufacturing as trading is dying down in Angola. We are also engaged in lease-holding, frozen food, and pharmaceuticals.

We have invested in Club Naval and we already have 300 kids enrolled in the school. The reason we chose to go into education was to provide it at a better price for those who cannot afford it. We follow the Cambridge curriculum and have Angolan staff from abroad.

How could Angola become more internationally competitive?

We need to stop relying on external markets and instead develop local content. That is why we invest in industries where we see great potential. We support the local community by making things here and supplying them at a cheaper price. We saw positive demand for sausage because we used to trade the product. So, we decided to invest and manufacture locally. We want to give back and also be able to export. We are almost in all the provinces and now we have plans to open in Soyo and Dundo as well.

Will you be creating new jobs?

We built a new warehouse in the ZEE and employ about 500 Angolans there to help us run our industries. We want to support more Angolans and also bring in people from abroad where necessary. In 2022, we employed about 500 Angolans. We have a team that we brought in from outside to teach our employees on how to handle food; the business is highly sensitive and has to be sanitary. Everything at our facilities is food grade, including the pallets.

What are the investment opportunities in Angola?

Investment is all about industry right now, as Angola’s trading businesses are completely dying. In 2022, we invested EUR50 million in the country and want to put the industries online. In 2023, we are looking at more extensive industrial activity. Investing in Angola is capital intensive. The market is competitive, smaller players have trouble, and you have to deal with currency issues. Prices change daily due to exchange rate fluctuations.

Who is your target client and what are their needs?

In the food business, our target is supermarkets. We have over 300 items in the Alimo brand with specialties such as tuna, popcorn, ketchup, and mayonnaise. We also have “cesta basica,” which features the basic needs such as rice, oil, spaghetti, farina, and salt. Our target, therefore, is the mass market. In frozen food, we have chicken and other meat, again set up for the mass market. Pharmaceuticals are a mass market, too, and we sell to retail pharmacies. We are wholesalers and distributors and do not engage in retail.

What plans do you have for expansion?

We are based in four countries: Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, and Ghana, which we entered three years ago. We have a margarine factory we established four years ago from where we export to Congo and Ghana. We export spaghetti to all our markets. In terms of agriculture, we have coffee, which we export to Spain, Portugal, and many other European countries. In Africa, we are heavily focused on industries, especially high-volume items like spaghetti. In the future, palm oil is set to become a large market, and we could potentially set up an oil refinery in a country yet to be selected. West Africa offers the possibility of exporting without incurring duties if a company locates their industry there. ✖

A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES

The Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone (ZEE) is at the forefront of efforts to grow and diversify the economy, offering a range of incentives.

THE LUANDA-BENGO Special Economic Zone was created as the first special economic zone (SEZ) in Angola under the Ministry of Economy in 2009, in line with the vision of the Angolan executive, with the main objective of attracting domestic and foreign investment to support the economic diversification of the country by increasing domestic production and exports, playing an important role in the materialization of initiatives aimed at fostering national production.

The government of Angola, led by His Excellency the President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, in its program to diversify the national economy and boost private investment, has invested in significant structural reforms to achieve a robust and self-sustaining economy, to increase the incentives for business activity in the country, and, in turn, to significantly improve the business environment.

The legal structures aim to make the country more attractive to foreign investors by introducing measures to improve the business environment, reducing bureaucracy and facilitating the granting of benefits and advantages to investors, fighting corruption, diversifying the non-oil sector, encouraging local production, promoting employability, intensifying economic diplomacy, and reducing bureaucracy in the treatment of processes related to public administration.

The Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone presents itself as an important catalyst for the development of the Angolan economy, and the focus on the development of the SEZ is an important sign that the country is open for business, especially with the focus on providing quality infrastructure and administrative efficiency at globally competitive costs.

The SEZ manages its functions with the intention of improving many of the constraints that hinder the country's industrial development, in order to stimulate economic growth. The SEZ is divided into two industrial reserves—the Viana Reserve and the Uala Reserve. The Viana Industrial Reserve covers an area of 4,718 hectares, and the Uala Reserve covers an area of 2,878 hectares and is not yet developed.

A determining factor for the success of the SEZ is the availability of high-quality infrastructure, optimizing the supply of services and support infrastructure, and facilitating the business climate, making it more favorable than that provided in the rest of the country.

It is in an ideal geographical location, with plenty of land available for industrial exploration and development, and within easy reach of major ports, including, the capital's coastline, railroad, and airports, and in a strategic position to serve neighboring markets without access to the ocean and other regional markets.

The SEZ's vision is to become the benchmark in the management of infrastructure spaces for industrial, agricultural, and renewable energy facilities. It is expected to provide a wide range of products and services that contribute to the development of a strengthened business environment, capable of replacing imports, exporting, and generating jobs and income in line with the government of Angola's economic diversification agenda.

The Angolan economy is on the rise—the country’s economic resilience is evident in the confirmation of 3% GDP growth in 2022. This is the second consecutive year of economic growth after a hard recession from 2016 to 2019. The recession was due to two major factors: the sharp decline in the value of oil on international markets in the second half of the previous decade, penalizing the oil extraction industry, and the crisis motivated by the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that generated a global cooling of all world economic indicators.

Now, six months into the beginning of a new legislature, the Republic of Angola offers unique opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs who wish to develop wealth-generating projects that will contribute to a sustainable and environmentally friendly economy for Angolans and millions of citizens throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

The reforms initiated by President João Lourenço in 2017 have decisively contributed to a shift in the perception of economic agents about the Angolan economy. Examples of these changes are: the fight against all forms of corruption; the progressive reduc-

tion of dependence on oil sector revenue as well as the containment of the decline in oil production; the fostering of policies to attract private investment both domestic and foreign to diversify the economy and increase national production and exports; and the prioritization of investments for areas such as agriculture, agro-livestock, mining, energy production, and water supply.

The improvement in Angola’s business environment was also evident with the passing of the New Private Investment Law of 2018, which put all investors, domestic and foreign, on the same level, providing the same rights to access tax incentives and financial support.

Even the sensitive issue of capital repatriation was safeguarded, with its legislation, which guarantees foreign investors the right to transfer dividends or other direct investment income out of the country.

Indeed, one of the fundamental poles of economic diversification is the Special Economic Zone of Luanda-Bengo, or ZEE, as it is commonly known. Created in 2009, the ZEE has become a reference for special economic zones in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing investors and entrepreneurs with numerous quality services, an excellent business environment, modern, flexible, and unbureaucratic business practices, and a commitment to simplifying the approval of new public and private investment projects.

One of the ZEE's crucial service offerings is the Office of Investor Support, or GAI, created to eliminate bureaucratic obstacles. The GAI reduces the time needed for accessing and resolving issues involving the Angolan public administration.

The ZEE’s management principles ensure the highest international standards, unmatched on the African continent. The ZEE offers a number of differentiating services, from the provision of employee public transportation, waste collection, and a reliable supply of fuel, water, and electricity to the secure connection of a state-of-the-art fiber optic network.

The ZEE is an important catalyst for the development of the Angolan economy. It is a clear example of the opening of the Republic of Angola to a modern business world, with a focus on providing

infrastructure with quality and administrative efficiency at very competitive overall costs.

The great challenge now is to transform the ZEE into a free zone endowed with a specific and subsidized tax regime and a productive apparatus based on state-of-the-art technology.

This new Free Zone will function as a great business center for the African region capable of establishing connections as disparate and important as the EU, the Middle East, Asia, and South America.

And it will obviously have privileged relations in the future common market of the African continent, which encompasses more than one billion potential consumers.

Already a member of the Organization of African Economic Zones (AEZO), the ZEE is one of the main job-generating areas in Angola, with more than one hundred companies and service providers. The ZEE is a national reference for managing infrastructure spaces in industrial, agricultural, and renewable energy installation.

The ZEE is Angola's largest space for implementing industrial projects, with its integrated commercial hub, housing projects, green areas, and roads.

And with the reformulation of its statute and consequent allocation of territories from the municipalities of Viana and Icolo and Bengo, as defined by a Presidential decree, the ZEE now also holds the UALA Reserve.

This reserve, with more than 2,800 hectares, has enormous potential for developing agro-industry projects, making it one of the major bets for the Angolan government for the next five years.

The ZEE is a strategic platform for the Republic of Angola's economic development. It has an ideal geographical location as it is a short distance from the main ports, including the capital and the future deep-water port of Barra do Dande, via the railroad. and it is close to Luanda's new international airport.

The ZEE is more than qualified to serve the Angolan population and it can also help neighboring countries sell their products as it provides easy access to the Atlantic Ocean and Luanda's future aviation hub. ✖

SOCIAL MEDIA USE SNAPSHOT

Image: Mrgomez

Telecoms & IT ON THE RIGHT PATH

Telecommunications is a crucial component of any economy, especially if diversification is on the agenda. With that in mind, the Angolan government has earmarked the sector for increased investment over recent years.

The result has been the appearance of new and dynamic telecoms firms, creating the kind of healthy competition associated with innovation of products and services. Indeed, the sector has developed faster than could possibly have been expected. Undoubtably helped along by the catalyzing force of COVID-19 restrictions, Angola is undergoing an unprecedented process of digitalization, providing a much-needed boost in many different areas of the economy, opening the country up to new opportunities and new international markets.

The country is taking advance of new trends in technology, such as telemedicine, to extend minimum services to rural provinces such as Moxico, Bengo, and Huambo. Angosat-2, Angola’s second communication satellite, launched in October 2022 and is already adding value in this regard,

providing telecoms services to remote parts of the country.

Due to the high percentage of young people in Angola, the development of new technologies will be an important aspect in the country’s development and sustainable growth. “About 35% of the population is under 15 years old and quite familiar with social media. Now, the government is taking advantage of this. Citizens will be able to use a cheaper smartphone using a private or operator network to access public services. And then if the tools are intuitive, they can learn by themselves,” said Meick Afonso, General Manager at the Institute of Administrative Modernization (IMA).

Moving forward, The Business Year’s interviewees for this chapter underlined how important the extension of services into rural areas is, as well as the improvement of infrastructure in some cities. It is widely believed that investments in this area could not only support existing businesses but create jobs and encourage entrepreneurialism. Digitalization, therefore, figures highly on the agenda for both the government and the private sector. ✖

extending COVERAGE

The Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies, and Social Communication is working to expand and boost ICT access to ultimately help Angola diversify its economy.

Mário Augusto da Silva Oliveira MINISTER OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES, AND SOCIAL COMMUNICATION

What is your vision as Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies, and Social Communication?

Angola has invested significantly in the telecommunications sector over the past 25 years, with fiber optic networks, both terrestrial and submarine, microwave networks and now, lately, in the space segment. Telecommunications play a transversal role in a country’s economy, and the investments over the last 25 years has helped the country to maintain a certain stability and ensure the functioning of services during the pandemic. We are also working on projects such as the expansion of the national fiber optic broadband network and cybersecurity, and on the IT-driven modernization of health and education services. We are also set to pursue a complementary project of microwave networks, and Angola is due to join the Africa 2 submarine cable through a national operator, the largest submarine cable project currently underway.

Angosat 2 was launched into orbit in October 2022. How will it reduce the digital divide in Angola and the African continent?

Angosat 2 will provide services in the C, KU, and KA bands. All of those systems have successfully passed the test stage. We are now preparing the next stage, which will be the commercialization and provision of services. Angola is a country of 1.2 million sqkm, and in addition to that extensive area, its cities are dislocated. Bridging the digital divide is one of our major focuses. With Angosat 2, it will be easier for us to increase the national telemedicine network and also provide services to public schools. Subsequently, we will reduce the digital divide and boost digital literacy. We are also developing a project with the potential to control the

flow of our rivers and fuel spillage during oil exploration. With Angosat 2 and the earth observation project that we have underway, it will be possible for us to control the environment, including the migration of animals, wildfires, the control of road and rail development projects, urban planning, the urbanization of towns and cities, and migration. Therefore, both with Angosat 2 and the satellite earth observation project, we will be able to reach this entire social segment, which the country needs in order to develop. Urbanization is a key consideration, and with it comes the improvement of the social conditions of our citizens.

What opportunities make the sector appealing to investors keen to enter Angola’s ICT sector?

In terms of mobile telephony, today, Angola only covers about 51% of the country; therefore, we have significant margin for growth; however, mobile telephony does not grow without basic transmission networks, and there the playing field is vast. There is a technology that we have been encouraging operators to use, which involves virtual mobile operators that are added to a traditional mobile operator. They are technically called mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), and there is an open field for this type of service. In terms of IT, we have also been encouraging the creation of Angolan platforms. Our young Angolans are highly creative, but occasionally lack the necessary space to develop their creativity. We are encouraging the major operators, and the creators that may emerge from among young Angolans to create platforms that serve the national market, the national economy and national companies. This is a vast field that can bring these operators and

digital platform creators to Angola.

The government has given particular attention on expanding the ICT network across the country’s 18 provinces. Could you elaborate on this?

The media sub-sector is also developing rapidly in Angola because we have been modernizing the public television and radio networks, as well as the press. The leveraging of digital tools is of course fundamental to modernization. The media should not only inform, but also educate. We also provide information about technologies being implemented all over the world. From our perspective we are all working on social communication, not only in terms of delivering information, but also in the training of citizens in the most varied aspects of science, technology, and citizenship. This can only lead to a better, more advanced country. ✖

BIO

Mário Augusto da Silva Oliveira graduated in telecommunications engineering. He had a long career at Sonangol Group, having started at Sonair as a technician in 1991 and holding various positions at MSTelcom such as commercial director, director of operations, director of engineering, and member of the executive committee of the board of directors. His career in the government began in 2017 with his appointment as Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Information Technologies, and he currently serves as Minister for Telecommunications, Information Technologies, and Social Communication.

MAKING a difference

IMA is the specialized service in charge of designing and implementing policy measures to support Angola’s administrative modernization.

Meick Afonso GENERAL MANAGER, INSTITUTO DE MODERNIZAÇÃO ADMINISTRATIVA (IMA)

How are you facilitating the alignment between public governance and electronic governance?

We need to know our challenge, not regarding digitization but in terms of policy, and when we understand our needs, it is easier to address them. The government’s priorities determine the solutions used to integrate the ministries. That is why IMA is working with the presidency cabinet, to align with the government’s needs. We have a strategic plan until 2027 where we are already defining our strategic vision, which is our main action plan. So based on that, we are helping the government with the implementation of the digital national agenda 2027 for the digitization of public service.

NOSi and IMA-Angola intend to carry out concrete cooperative actions. How can this cooperation with Cape Verde create synergies to drive both countries to the culture of innovation?

We are conducting a reference study to comprehend existing needs. And then we study the experience and vision of other countries. One example is Cape Verde, a small country of limited resources. We study how it established electronic signature system there and how it implements ICT frameworks and tools to facilitate interaction between the government, businesses, and citizens.

What are the main needs of Angola’s technology and digitalization?

The need is to satisfy citizens and businesses, make outcomes smarter, and provide better public service. We are trying to adopt best practices and understand if all these practices are adaptable at the present or better introduced some time down the road. This will be the secret to our success in 2023. We cannot do everything at the same time, as this is wasteful of investment and potentially limits the impact of an investment. For example, for such tasks as citizen identification, social security, and visas, we need to provide

a data center to support them. In Angola, each data center costs around USD10 million, and after five years we have to perform upgrades, which means an investment of around USD50 million. It will take two years to build additional data centers from scratch. This is what we are trying to do, it is not easy, but it is a happy task because every day we pursue growth and liaise more closely with government ministers. The government needs to support our service in the interests of public service and to meet market needs. The Ministry of ICT today is tasked with developing the market, by promoting the type of companies that best complement its policies. That is also IMA’s field of activity.

The government is working to create infrastructure and train qualified people. How successful can such training be for the future of Angola?

For the past 10 years, the government has pursued a strategy that creates training centers, trying to train people to be closer and more adaptive of ICT. Enabling people to use ICT tools is both difficult and costly, and the government will not be able achieve this alone. I was Director General of an information society for students before coming here. It is not easy or cheap to create a training center. What we are doing now is creating a partnership with the market. Creating centers that the private initiative will be able to promote and use. Today, in Angola where the population faces greater challenges, I am more determined than ever to bring them closer to the advantages of ICT. Meanwhile, about 35% of the population is 15 years old and quite familiar with social media. Now, the government is taking advantage of this. Citizens will be able to use a cheap smartphone using a private or operator network to access public services. If the tools are intuitive, they can learn by themselves. We need to understand our users, how they will use the platform, and appreciate the benefits it offers. ✖

Implementing new and smart public services

National agenda for public service digitalization creates market opportunity to build investment environment

Set to start implementation of inter-property platform in 2023

BIO

Meick Afonso is currently the General Manager of IMA, a body under the President of the Republic of Angola charged with ensuring technological support for initiatives and projects to modernize public administration.

working TOGETHER

MSTelcom is a subsidiary of the Sonangol Group dedicated to the provision of telco services across the country.

Felisberta de Jesus CEO, MSTELCOM

MSTelcom was the first operator to implement the Cloud Azure Stack in sub-Saharan Africa. How will this solution help the development and operations management of Angolan companies?

The Angolan market is still taking baby steps, as cloud services is still new in the country. We are in the progress of convincing clients that there are advantages on locating their services here with MSTelcom. With the current infrastructure aging, IT budgets shrinking and country regulations (such as ANPD compliance, which requires hosting of data on the country), we see more requests for test cases on our cloud. It will be a gradual process, and as time goes by and companies see new and big clients on our cloud, they will gain confidence in using the services. With our solutions, customer can focus on revenue and profit, while having the flexibility of scaling services without having to invest in infrastructure or pay with foreign currency.

What are the main cybersecurity challenges in Angola, and how do you help companies face them?

There were not many companies offering locally cybersecurity services, and many private companies had to invest in such services themselves. Other companies are not aware of their need for such services. It is only when a cyber-attack occurs that they realize the importance of prevention and start looking for partners or operators that can offer such services. There is also a gradual awareness taking place among companies here. Furthermore, even when Angolan companies seek such services, they tend to look overseas when instead they could find operators like us in the country that already offer such services. MSTelcom also has to work on raising

more awareness in Angola on the services it provides so that companies know they have local solutions for such issues.

What initiatives are there to advance digital development in sub-Saharan Africa?

MSTelcom is currently working with government institutions on their own digitalization agendas, and we want to expand to all the other institutions of the government. We had a meeting with the Institute of Administrative Modernization of Angola (IMA), which was previously unaware of the work MSTelcom is doing. It was a productive meeting and is an example of how we can help the government on its digitalization agenda and work with not only some of the institutions, but all of them.

How do you see the future of the digitalization transition in Angola?

Digitalization is not just about technology and infrastructure; sometimes, we invest so much on the infrastructure and not on the people that will be using this infrastructure. We need to invest on leadership capability engaging leaders of all sectors to turn digitalization transition into a reality. A large percentage of people in Angola do not own a mobile digital phone or have access to a computer. The transition process is not only the responsibility of IMA, for example, but should be a government plan that involves all aspects.

What are the main investment opportunities in the Angolan telecoms sector right now? Even in the main cities, basic telecoms services are not yet available to everyone. Expanding the metro transmission infrastructure would be a great investment to make it available to everyone not only on main cities, but also in rural areas. The

coverage of basic transmission services is low in rural areas. There should also be more investment in having lower prices; I believe that with a new optical submarine cable coming, the prices of internet services should fall.

In what way is MSTelcom investing in its people?

For 15 years or so, 100% of the people in MSTelcom are Angolans. A high percentage of our employees are young people. We are extremely proud of both achievements. We also hold regular training; in 2022, one of our goals was to help new graduates. We cannot hire everyone, though we can offer them opportunities via training sessions. ✖

BIO

Felisberta de Jesus began her career as a fixed telephony networks engineer at Angola Telecom, later occupying a range of other roles before becoming implementer and member of project management teams projects at MSTelcom. She occupied a range of increasingly senior positions at the firm before assuming her current role.

Image: Bob van der Meer

DIGITAL service provider

Established by major telecoms players in the country, Angola Cables supports the digitalization of the economy by developing technology and building solutions internally while connecting South America and South Africa.

Connecting data between southern Africa and the Americas Data centers in Angola and Brazil

BIO

Ângelo Gama is the CEO of Angola Cables, a position he has held since 2020. He holds a degree in electrical and computer engineering from IST in Lisbon. He has more than 21 years of experience working in the telecommunications and information technology sectors. He was part of the launch of the first 3G mobile phone operator in Europe in his role at Three Mobile in the UK. He also participated in the merger between HP and Compaq and worked with Atos Origin in the Netherlands. As CTO and CCO for MSTelcom in Luanda, he was responsible for the implementation of the company’s over 4,000kmlong fiber-optic backbone. Immediately prior to joining Angola Cables he was the general manager of Net One, one of the largest wireless ISPs in Angola.

What was the rationale behind the decision of telecoms players to establish Angola Cables?

The major telecoms players in Angola came together 10 years ago for a huge investment of more than USD100 million in submarine cables. Angola Telecom was the biggest shareholder with 51%, followed by Unitel with 31%, MST with 9%, Movicel with 6%, and Startel with 3%. Later on, the decision was made to invest, build, or own cables from Rwanda all the way to Fortaleza in Brazil, the first South Atlantic cable connecting Africa to the Americas. Once we reached South America, we also decided it would be optimal to invest in cables and bring content produced in North America to Africa. This investment came with another consortium involving companies like Google. In Angola, today we are one of the three most international companies along with TAaG and Sonangol in terms of international visibility.

How did you cope with the increasing demand for online content during the pandemic?

In terms of capacity and upgrading our facilities, we almost doubled Angola Cables’ international capacity during the pandemic. We went from 800GB/s of data traffic to our current bandwidth of 1.5TB/s. We are now reaching almost 2TB in terms of traffic passing through our network. In terms of our social responsibility, we paired with the local government and doubled the capacity to all our customers in Angola for free during the pandemic. We did what we could to help companies to cope with heavy increase in demand at the time.

How is Angola Cables supporting the digitalization of the

Angolan economy, and what business lines are you developing for companies?

Angola Cables started in telecommunications, and now we are gradually moving toward becoming a digital service provider. We have new departments working on developing technology and building our own solutions internally so that we can succeed in this era of digitalization. We also want to address several segments of the population other than just the corporate market, such as young developers looking for affordable cloud options. We want to provide local options so young developers and entrepreneurs do not have to go overseas and pay for services in foreign currencies.

What does it mean for South America and South Africa to be connected through the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS)?

Florida International University (FIU) is conducting postgraduate research about SACS and studying the impact of the international telecommunication ecosystem that this new cable brought to the world. We managed to connect Angola and Brazil—two countries that speak the same language and are separated by a seven-hour flight— in 62 milliseconds. We did not just stop in Brazil but went all the way through the US since many countries still consume a large amount of American content. On top of this, we recently announced that we plan to expand our current data center in Brazil. Fortaleza is the best and biggest data center in the whole state of Ceará. We are proud to say that our initial data center is completely full, and we are already announcing the expansion and the build-up of the next data center close by. ✖

Ângelo Gama CEO, ANGOLA CABLES

LEARNING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE FROM PARENTS

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE involves managing your emotions and those of others to achieve successful outcomes. Many good parents understand the importance of emotional intelligence. Yet, sometimes, they respond poorly to a child who does not meet their expectations. On the extreme side, the frustrations of an abusive parent may degenerate into violence toward a child. Please note that love is at the heart of positive parenting. At home, loving parents may say to their kids, "I love you." Unfortunately, given the abuses in various workplaces, it is considered inappropriate to say those three words to a colleague. This verbal restriction does not imply that love cannot operate in the workplace. On the contrary, there are many ways we can show our genuine love and care for others in the workplace in a wholesome manner. How can you do this practically?

There is a great example of practical, healthy love from an unlikely source. It is a 1976 highlife song by Nigerian-Cameroonian musician, the late Prince Nico Mbarga, titled “Sweet Mother.” This song has become one of the most popular hits in

Africa and has sold thirteen million copies. Its original lyrics are in Pidgin (the pseudo-English spoken widely in West Africa). An abridged translation can be as follows:

Sweet mother I won’t forget you

For your suffering for me

When I cry my mother will carry me

She will say my child, please stop crying

When I want to sleep my mother will pet me

She will lay me down gently on the bed

She will cover me with a cloth and say sleep

Sleep, sleep my child

When I am hungry my mother will run around

She will find something for me to eat

When I am sick my mother will cry a lot

She will say instead of me let her be the one to die

She will plead with God, God help me, God help my child

If I don’t sleep, my mother won’t sleep

If I don’t eat, my mother won’t eat

She doesn’t get tired

Sweet mother I won’t forget your suffering for me

Sweet mother

This is emotional intelligence in action. Good mothers practice it even when they have not read it in books. What Prince Nico said of his mother is also true of many other caring mothers.

Amazingly, there’s no single occurrence of the word “love” anywhere in the song. Yet it paints a vivid picture of motherly love that leaders should emulate. Therefore, you do not need to go around and tell your coworkers, “I love you!” Instead, learn from a compassionate mother how to show love through your thoughtful actions that benefit people around you – especially when emotions are in the focus.

That is the key. We convey love best through our actions like a compassionate parent. That’s what emotional intelligence is all about! ✖

This is an Excerpt from an upcoming book, The Versatile Leader – The Confidence to Excel in Every Situation by Msuega Tese, Executive Director of Integrated Solutions Angola. The book is based on our 5-day hands-on leadership workshop. Please contact sales@isitnet.com for more information.

FACILITATING processes

Helping Angolan companies make the leap toward digitalization, OMNIdata is simultaneously investing in infrastructure, working on getting certified, and developing more collaborations with technology partners.

Pursuing digitalization across all segments of the market

Core partnerships with Cisco, VMware, and Oracle

OMNIdata has sought to obtain ISO 27001 certification and realize a project focused on human capital, concerning an internship package with your technology partners. How have these plans developed since last year’s interview? We are at the point of 70-80% implementation of this project, since the infrastructure that will house the project is in its final stage of introduction. We are evaluating the best moment to integrate this into company operations, possibly in the final part of the internship process. With our technological partners, all considerations are practically agreed upon; everyone has embraced the process. We are in a position to start the active part of the project in 2023. Regarding 27001 certification, we have also met about 80% of the requirements. First came the training of the team. We then started to integrate 27001 and the 9001 standards. Before embarking upon the certification process, it was recommended that we do a GAP analysis. The idea is to analyze whether all controls are properly implemented, and only go for certification.

OMNIdata is keen to help small businesses make the leap to digitalization. What are the first steps for companies to take in a secure digitalization process?

It all starts with human capacity building. Companies cannot begin a digitalization process without starting at the base, and the base is their human capital. First, they must define what kind of training they will transmit. This, then, allows the second phase, which is the creation of processes and procedures to match the actual digitalization objectives. These objectives usually include software implementation in several areas, such as documentation software, security, and communication.

What is the future of digitalization in Angola, and will it be a swift process?

Many start-ups are emerging in the market, and digitalization is not solely the preserve of the large enterprise. There are many start-ups working to facilitate the process for those with a limited budget. And then we have the medium-sized and large companies, which have greater available budgets and

Admar Safeca CEO, OMNIDATA

can opt for more robust solutions. In parallel, we also have data centers that will offer cloud services. Thus, there is a set of investments at the national level that will allow small, medium, and large companies to improve their performance. This is based on the successful pursuit of such trends by the CEO of each company, since digitalization comes to set certain standards that allow the company to be more agile.

What are the main investment opportunities in the nation’s IT sector?

We have two excellent areas to invest in here: the first is data centers, where we are committing serious investment. We are also following progress with submarine cables and satellite technology, among others. The second aspect is programming, where local content is a key consideration. We still require many programmers to make local products that meet the real needs of the Angolan people. We consume many products made in Portugal, Spain, and the US. The software then has to be adjusted and, often does not correspond to the country’s needs. Local programmers must understand those needs best and start producing software that reflects the country’s reality.

What are the company’s plans for next year?

Our company works to four-year strategic objectives that may be revised according to prevailing market conditions or new opportunities. The objectives, essentially are to maintain ISO certification, the renewal of which is every three years, with an annual maintenance audit. We aim to have 27001 certification in 2023; certifying the company is a core objective. We also have a goal related to our partners. Currently, the closest partnership is with Dell Technology, at Titanium level, allowing the company to assume certain positions within the Angolan and regional markets. By our analysis, only 22 companies across Africa have achieved this level of partnership. Meanwhile, in turnover terms, we have set two goals: web target revenue growth of 30-40% and profitability of 20%. ✖

CENTER OF POWER

WITH LEADING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY, initial resistance frequently hampers uptake. Inevitably though, Angolan firms that value their actionable data are turning to data centers for a plethora of services that extend far beyond storage. Local players are also vying for greater footprints.

SCENE-SETTING DATA

First the broad reality. Africa’s annual infrastructure financing gap is estimated at north of USD100 billion. The African Union Commission (AUC) and African Development Bank are determined to see a single pan-African digital market by 2030. And this financing gap is pressing governments to incentivize the private ICT sector to do its thing. At the corporate level, the race to digitalize is reflected in commercial momentum for data centers, the epicenter of digital adoption. According to Supply Demand Market Research the African data center market anticipated scaling USD6.6 billion by end-2027 with a CAGR of 11.5% in 2022-2027. This will come off a low base since internet penetration in Africa at 40% as of 2019, lags the global average of 64.2%. Note that a 10% rise in internet penetration sparks a 2.5% rise in GDP per capita for the continent.

WHAT DO THEY DO, EXACTLY?

In brief, a data center bears the strain of a company’s digital output and critical applications. Data integrity is provided to prevent loss from virtually any physical event. Aside from multi-cloud storage, a data center provides its clients automatic software updates and technical training. Data security is also key. And then there are the business advancement services, such as customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP). Technical flexibility matches specific customer activity, enabling scalability at strategic moments of, say, a company’s growth.

MUSCLE FLEXING

In May 2022, Angola’s wholesale connectivity provider, Angola Cables, penned a deal with US IT solutions stalwart Flexential Corp. to expand connectivity with African markets. Angelo Gama, the CEO of Angola Cables, established in 2009, recalls its origins. “The major telecoms players in Angola came together 10 years ago for a huge investment of more than USD100 million in submarine cables.” Angola Cables is 51% owned by Angola Telecom and 31% by state-owned telco Unitel, followed by MST with 9%, Movicel with 6%, and Startel with 3%. “In Angola, today…” he continues, “…we are one of the three most international companies along with TAaG and Sonangol in terms of international visibility.” Indeed, Angola Cables is ac-

knowledged as Africa’s most interconnected operator by the Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA). Meanwhile, Flexential Corp. delivers services ranging from data center colocation, connectivity, and data protection, to cloud, security, compliance, and implementation. The deal will deliver superlative colocation and interconnection services in Southern and West African markets. By leveraging Angola's MONET cable, customers will benefit from connectivity through the low-latency, high-capacity South Atlantic Cable System (SACS). Flexential boasts a wide network of data centers that will offer African firms exposure to potential business partners and suppliers stateside.

CARNIVAL TIME

As well as managing Angonix Angola, among the largest Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) on the continent, Angola Cables operates two data centers. AngoNAP Luanda in the domestic market, and AngoNAP Fortaleza Tier III located in Brazil. In fact, in September 2022 the company announced expansion plans for the latter facility; USD40 million is earmarked for phase one, which in under a year should ramp up the current storage capacity threefold to around 500 racks, raising total installed power capacity to 5MW.

LET’S KEEP IT LOCAL

The world over, ICT players have taken up the mantra of local data staying local. Angola is no exception. Felisberta de Jesus is the CEO of MSTelcom, a Sonangol Group subsidiary, and the first operator in sub-Saharan Africa to implement the Cloud Azure Stack. As he explains, “We are working with a partner to install a large, carrier-neutral data center in Luanda [in what will likely be] a joint venture with our partner to allocate services from Microsoft and Amazon […] for all sectors of the government. He alights on challenges that render the data center business a long game. “Unfortunately, the market still does not believe much in the cloud.” What’s more, “Even when Angolan companies seek such services, they tend to look overseas when instead they could find operators like us in the country that already offer such services.” Local IT solutions provider Multipla was established in 1995. “In 2023 CEO José Assis intends to, “…set up a new data center in Angola [arguing that] the majority of content should be local [and would] be more available if based in Angola.”

The technical and commercial merits of data center services are unquestionable. And as the market becomes more competitive, wider local uptake will be stimulated by the experience of early adopters. ✖

If data is the new currency, the data center is the new bank, and Angolan businesses are discovering the advantages.

TRANSFORMATIONAL offerings

Not merely a provider of IT services for companies in Angola, ISA also offers training services in various technical areas.

Highly trained and certified technical team

Training is a top priority

BIO

Msuega Tese is an African entrepreneur based in Luanda. He is the co-founder and Executive Director of ISA. Previously, Tese worked in several countries during his decade-long career in the oil and gas industry. He graduated with an honors degree in electrical engineering from the University of Port-Harcourt in Nigeria. He also took part in the Owner/President Management Program (OPM) at Harvard Business School. His book, The Versatile Leader, will be published in 2023.

ISA provides services for leading enterprise customers in Angola. What IT services do you offer to suit the different needs of your clients?

Our services include data storage, cybersecurity, virtualization, and fintech. Moreover, we offer training services in different technical areas as well as management and leadership. We take a hybrid approach to most of our trainings. We combine online and in-person sessions. We have invested heavily in providing the right environment for our technical training to be what you will find in a serious production environment. Participants also praise our leadership training as been in a class of its own. It takes into consideration a wide range of factors such as personal, community, technology, and work. It is integrated in such a way that participants can relate to so easily, yet it is transformational.

ISA has a strong partnership with NetApp. What have been the major factors behind this longstanding, successful partnership?

NetApp has excellent solutions that fit our environment. It is interesting to note that some of the appliances have been running for more than 10

Msuega Tese EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS ANGOLA (ISA)

years and are still in use until today. It is a robust technology that is trusted by customers in different sectors. For this reason, most of our clients store their critical data on the NetApp appliances.

COVID-19 forced the rapid acceleration of digitalization within companies. How did this affect your company in terms of its operations?

It is true that COVID-19 forced everyone to make changes in the way they operate. However, for us, in ISA, we have been on this path for a long time. We already had everything in place for us to work from anywhere. We have been using cloud services for a while. As there was a build up to the lockdowns, we got ourselves fully ready within a few days. Everyone became prepared to work remotely. So, when the government announced the first lockdown, we were more than ready. For many of our clients, they just wanted to keep their critical systems running. We were there providing them with the support that they needed. For those who had critical projects, we were also thee rendering our services. It was busy and quite fulfilling helping our clients in a very uncertain season.

setting THE STANDARD

Netspace is an Angolan company that focuses on innovation and technology underpinned by innovation, quality, reliability, and competitiveness.

What modern communications services does Netspace offer to suit each of its clients?

NetSpace was established in 2016 as a family startup business. In 2017, we acquired our telecoms multiservice license, and we gradually built up our network and its infrastructure to cater to and support this ambitious project, which has shown been growing rapidly since then. In terms of our communications solutions portfolio, we offer Direct Internet Access, VPNs, and MPLS services that are supported by several type of access infrastructure technologies such as fiber optic, microwave, and satellite delivered to the enterprise sector. Apart from that, we offer ICT solutions, especially for cybersecurity, and we have also deployed SD-WAN technology and finance applications. Prior to the pandemic, we also looked into entering the B2C segment. It was a wise and successful move to diversify into this market as well.

What services are currently most in demand by your clients?

At the moment, the biggest demand is purely for internet access and more cost-effective connectivity. That is the reason why we decided internally to focus in parallel on B2C services in addition to our enterprise business, and we are capitalizing on moving toward the residential business segment as a result of pandemic. It was an important wake-up call for many entrepreneurs all over world to learn and focus on diversifying their business. We found and explored new business opportunities in our field of expertise in the country.

Can you elaborate on your plans for micro and small businesses?

Nowadays, every business or organization requires communications as a key goal to survive and succeed in the market. This was our aim of the business when we started the company, as we just focused on larger customers (i.e., Visa and Mastercard). Now, we see opportunities beyond our line of sight, and this is where we find ourselves looking at developing products or packages to target small businesses

Jeriel Atienza CEO & CO-FOUNDER, NETSPACE

and/or for this specific niche of customers that we can support and help to upscale to digital and grow their businesses. That is our key goal, and we have developed small business products and packages on the NetSpace portfolio as an added value as well.

What innovations is Netspace bringing to the country?

Even though the communication sector is still underdeveloped in Angola, operators here are doing their best to bring in new technology. We already see competitors bringing in 5G into the country. The big difference or the differential is that Netspace brings technology that we can innovate, especially for cybersecurity, which is also needed by all these other players. All the technologies we bring or develop are innovative. For example, Netspace is the first company, if not even the pioneer, to implement a new solution for VPNs called SD-WAN in the Angolan market. We have invested heavily in highly qualified training and certifications of our personnel to implement that locally and by locals. We have one of the biggest banks in Angola running on this solution as well as the airport. Generally speaking, our aim is to ensure we are always innovative and that we deliver innovations to all enterprises.

What can be done to increase internet penetration rate in Angola?

The government must play a key role by investing in more infrastructure to sustain and enable the operators to grow and expand countrywide, as well as reinforce and create motivational factors to support the principle of the sharing infrastructure amongst the operators. Netspace is currently limited and is only able to provide and deliver services in Luanda due to financial constraints with high CAPEX required if it considers expanding its network infrastructure to other provinces due to the fact we need to build fibers, towers, and microwaves for the network backhauling as well as local infrastructure access. Building infrastructure should be the government’s responsibility, and it is a necessity to enable operators to expand and provide greater connectivity with high-quality services for everyone. ✖

BIO

Jeriel Atienza holds an associate degree in telecommunications engineering from Universidade Católica de Angola. He is one of Angolan’s leading technical consultants and the country’s first to be CCIE certified in routing and switching, CCIE voice, and CCIE service provider as well as the first to be certified in Cisco Design Program. He has over 15 years’ experience in providing the highest standard network, security, and multi-service solutions with a unique blend of project management skills. Prior to establishing Netspace, Atienza served as a CTO for Internet Technologies Angola, IT Manager for Mundo Startel, and solutions technology architect for Sonangol MSTelcom’s IT Services department.

Building capacity to offer ICT services to enterprise sector

Focused on increasing coverage and building up presence in provinces

FOSTERING change

Africell Group is a mobile technology company providing integrated telecoms services to over 15 million subscribers across Africa and 5 million in Angola.

Christopher Lundh CEO, AFRICELL

BIO

Christopher Lundh joined Africell Angola as CEO in April 2021. Previously, he was based in Kabul as MD of Afghan Wireless Communications Company. He has worked in the telecoms and internet sectors in Africa for over 20 years, holding various expatriate C-level appointments in Kenya, DRC, Rwanda, and South Africa.

Can you elaborate on the different services provided by Africell?

Our idea is to foster change and make a difference in Angola. To date, Angola, unlike most other countries in Africa, has had little in the way of choice as far as mobile network providers are concerned. Africell came in, and since launching services in April 2022 we have added slightly over 5 million subscribers in Luanda alone. We are looking to do a few things differently, one of which is to offer low-cost voice services to the mass market. In Angola, prices are high, so we have also brought in low-cost handsets. The other side is data, which is growing in demand in Angola. We have launched 4G data services across Luanda and are rolling out 5G as well in certain parts of the city. For example, Talatona is a highend residential area that should be well-serviced, and we are interested in providing 5G services there.

What other strategies have you implemented to improve internet services and create value for the clients in Angola?

The two most important aspects are low-cost calling and high-speed data. We have launched a full suite of corporate services targeted at customers in companies and the government. We are also launching a mobile money service called Afrimoney that we provide in other Africell locations.

What have been the challenges and opportunities in the telecommunications sector in the country over the last year?

Our services have only been in Luanda thus far. We have commitments to the government in terms of our license. We have agreed that we will expand in other locations over a certain period of time; however, based on our perception of the market and strong demand as experienced in Luanda, we are in fact moving much more quickly than originally expected. We have an office in Lobito right now and our first shipments, containers of towers, for

example, have arrived already. We are currently building a network in Lobito and Benguela that will be launched soon. We also plan to enter Lubango and Cabinda in 2023. Our idea is to expand quickly, based on demand, which is very strong. This is a good time to be here in Angola, particularly after the last few years, which have been challenging economically, and now the situation is improving. Africell is poised to take advantage of that and to contribute to the continuing growth in Angola.

What initiatives do you have to advance economic and social development in sub-Saharan Africa?

Right now, we are focused on providing employment. We now have over 200 direct staff and several hundreds more who are indirect. We also have contractors and third-party companies that we work with. For example, we had a meeting recently with sales agents and there were 1,000 people in that room. These are people going out into neighborhoods and selling and distributing Africell. Considering the employment situation in Angola, both in the formal and informal economies, our efforts are extremely important, and hopefully they will be beneficial to those workers and their families. We will look for other initiatives here though, as we are only now just starting, the most important thing right now is providing people with rewarding jobs.

What would you say to other international companies to come and invest in Angola?

Generally speaking, things work well here. Africell can serve as an example of a company that has come here and, in a short period of time, has been able to establish itself. We have been through a learning curve already, so we are much more understanding about how things work or, in some cases, do not work in Angola. We can transfer that knowledge to other companies that are interested in coming in. Africell is happy to serve as a reference in this regard. ✖

Team works hard to make Africell a success, creating thousands of jobs

Seeks to be differentiator to disrupt market

eye ON THE BALL

Francisco Quintino MANAGING DIRECTOR, ESPAÇOS

Espaços biggest goal for 2022 was to make a shift from static sites to digital experienced sites. What was the outcome of this goal in 2022?

We started our strategy to shift to digital, the plan is continuing in 2023, and the outcome is very interesting as the market has again picked up a little and the brands are very focused on the digital area and content advertising.

As a leader in the market where Espaços operates, what have been the main highlights in the past year?

As leaders, the biggest challenge is to maintain a strong and long-term relationship with clients. We are always seeking talent and human capital.

Espaços is present across Angola and currently has the largest out-of-home network in the country. What has been the strategy of Espaços since its establishment in 2009 to reach the stability and trust of its clients?

Our strategy is focused on building the best media product, looking at trends and adapting to the local market, and having the best team, with personalized service. For us, trust is our mindset and we always seek to maintain it for the long term.

How is the digitalization process progressing in Angola?

The market is getting the tools to enter the digitalization era. We have good examples of companies that are fostering their digital tools Unfortunately, we lack professionals that have digital expertise.

What are your goals for 2023?

The biggest goal is investing in human capital, having the best team and a top environment. We are also looking to worldwide trends and anticipating the best solution for the market. ✖

BIO

Francisco Quintino has a degree in marketing management from IPAM in Lisbon and a postgraduate degree in business creation and entrepreneurship from ISCTE, also in Lisbon. In 2012, he took over the commercial and client service departments at Espaços, the leading company in out-of-home media in Angola. He has also been steering the company’s expansion in other African markets such as São Tomé and Cape Verde. With a passion for new ideas and entrepreneurship, he also joined the Board of Acelera Angola, one of Angola’s most exciting incubators and accelerator of start-ups, micro, and small companies.

Espaços' strategy always allows for investment in human capital, which is currently one of the main challenges in Angola.

Espaços is making a bold digital transition and investing in the right people to make it a success.

“Our strategy is focused on building the best media product, looking at trends and adapting to the local market, and having the best team, with personalized service. For us, trust is our mindset and we always seek to maintain it for the long term.”

EVENTS of a lifetime

Grupo Arena has a hand in every major event that happens in Angola, and is proving its commitment to the country through its dedication to quality.

Bruno Ricardo Albernaz CEO, GRUPO ARENA

Grupo Arena is responsible for organizing the International Fair of Angola (FILDA), the country's largest business event

Grupo Arena was founded in 2002. Can you provide information about the company's history and its experience in the sector?

The history of Grupo Arena is one of great willpower, dedication, perseverance, resilience, dedication, a great love for Angola, and an enormous pride in being an Angolan company. This project created by two passionate and creative young people always had as its main objective to be a disruptive, pioneering, innovative company, with the best practices, close to the customer, and, above all, to have the result of its work compared to the result produced by other companies in more developed markets. Our vision for the company was to respond to the needs of the market, always knowing where we wanted to go and, above all, what we wanted to be in the future. Our vision was that the dream would be for everyone. Preferably, shared and with the participation of our employees, seeking to express a dream that is also desirable for them. We were born very small, initially creating a communication and advertising company. When we realized that we could organize events, we added this skill to advertising, and, in 2003, Eventos Arena was born, and we soon produced Angola's first sectorial fair, Constrói Angola, which had three halls—architecture, public works, and construction; technology and sciences; and telecommunications. It went very well. It was a success. Since then, just like now, we offer a turnkey product. Our clients do not have to worry about operational aspects. With great pride, we have the honor to say that in the last 20 years, the Arena Group has been part of the history of the Republic of Angola, participating in all the main events that take place, whether political, economic, social, entertainment, or otherss.

How do you predict the events industry in Angola will change over the next 5 to 10 years?

I see it as a very dynamic industry that will naturally grow a lot in the coming years. The Angolan government has played a very important role in Africa, with actions to promote peace among brotherly peoples in the region, among other actions that make us in-

creasingly the reference center where a series of very important events are being held. Economic diplomacy is also already bearing fruit and is also a driver for events to be increasingly larger and more representative. Angola is in vogue and the investments that will occur will bring positive results to the sector. Regardless of these actions, Angola is a country with a lot of joy and social activity, so it is important for entrepreneurs in this industry to have the ability to interpret these indicators in order to invest in the best solutions to meet all these needs.

Grupo Arena is a successful company in Angola with extensive experience in event organization. What is your strategy for achieving similar success in the country? Success requires a lot of hard work and dedication. The strategy is to always be at the forefront, persevering and investing constantly to produce the best for our clients. The proximity to customers and the market, the interpretation of needs, and the relentless pursuit of the best solutions generate the trust that makes the 20-year-old Arena Group a reality in building our experience to better serve.

The technology sector in Angola is still in its infancy. However, efforts are underway to modernize and increase access to technology in the country. What are the latest technological trends in event organization and how does the company approach them?

Although still in its evolutionary stage, the fact is that the last few years have demonstrated the significant progress that this sector has made. In the telecommunications sector, there have been significant advancements in the national coverage of voice and data services. We have signed agreements with partners to provide internet access at all fairs and events organized by us. In light of this dynamic, we have been very attentive and have made several investments, including a software for managing and controlling access to our fairs and events, and another for the integrated management of all events, CRM, commercial management, and planning. This way, we can be closer to our clients, optimizing our relationship and meeting their needs directly. ✖

BIO

Bruno Ricardo Albernaz graduated in political sciences from the Higher Institute of Social Sciences and Policies at the Technical University of Lisbon, and is CEO of Grupo Arena.

Carlos de Melo CEO, SISTEC

SISTEC was the first private IT company in Angola with real impact in the market. Then, over the years, we shifted to working not only in IT but also in small industries. We subsequently dropped those projects over the years, and now we are more focused on IT, telecoms, retail business, and energy. The energy business is actually renewable energy, so we are branding it as SISTEC Energy. There are three main focus areas: the corporate business; IT solutions and telecoms, among other services; and energy, which is a brand-new area for us. The corporate segment is extremely important. The corporate business has enhanced our position in the market, and this reflects immediately on retail as well. Within the corporate side, consultancy is a major one, which helps us understand what the client needs in terms of IT, telecoms, processes, and so on. We have been certified with ISO 9001 as well with all those processes. Our job is to guide our clients, and it takes time to mature, sometimes even years. We start with the consultancy, and then the project, and then after-sales support, for example. We have key partnerships in IT such as IBM, Finastra, Lenovo, Oracle, and YahSat. These are our key partners. As for expansion, we are analyzing the possibility of working abroad with these partnerships.

José Assis CEO, MULTIPLA

WE ARE LOOKING to upgrade and set up a new data center in Angola. The majority of content should be local, and the local content will be more available if it is based in Angola. Our goal is to establish a company in communications as well as a new data center. Our target for 2023 is to build a new data center in partnership with a large company, and that will include everything from the facility to internet access. It will be challenging because it will be a 24/7 job. We are in Angola to provide services such as a simple deployment of a cloud service and other services for clients around the clock. We work hard to ensure we have the technical ability to support all the equipment. We have found people in Angola to work on this specialty, because a data center has certain peculiarities. However, it is impossible to have this position be handled remotely. We are working hard to equip our Angolan staff to be prepared to work on this technology and data center that we will build in the next two years. Oil and gas will continue to be our main focus area in the coming years, because they have high demand for of communication and services such as clouds. We currently also work with the banking, insurance and corporate clients.

Cesar Assis CEO, MEDTECH TECNOLOGIA

MEDTECH was founded in 1991, and after some years we founded another company below the group. Today, MedTech is one of the companies in the group, and two other companies have joined us: ShopTech and Farmácia Qualidade. Medtech has two divisions, namely IT, which is focused on corporations and not end users, as well as B2B solutions, mainly in infrastructures. We have been in partnership with Schnider for more than 20 years, and it has several areas. One would be the ups for the IT area, though there are other sub-areas like electrical substation, energy building, intelligent building, and many other things for mines. It is a fairly diverse company. In the IT area, we have the energy side, and here Medtech plays an important part in Angola. Another important sub-area is computers, in which we have partnered with Dell computer. What is interesting is that we started with Dell back when it just started doing business in the US. For next year, we are focused on the service contract for technicians. We are offering our technical services to companies and corporations. Our focus is on offering our services to those corporations such that Medtech takes care of their entire infrastructure, and they only need to focus on their normal business activities.

With the digitalization of Angola becoming increasingly rapid, various companies are assisting in their own way, with solutions and technologies that help the country become more digital.

Wagner

LOBINET was founded in the province of Benguela and currently has over 200 employees. We provide solutions that support the management teams of our clients, in maximizing their new technological resources. We have a wide reach, especially in the southern region of the country and Luanda with four stores. We have several projects in the pipeline, including the concession of a local industry. We will import and promote various quality components in Angola in step with the nation’s ongoing drive for diversification beyond agriculture and fishing, the core growth sectors. Other sectors must follow this evolution, and, for example, we have a project to set up Angola’s first computers assembly plant. In 2022, we opened two new stores in Luanda in addition to our network of eight stores, in a total of 10, mainly engaged in the retail business. We are approaching the Luanda market head-on, because the capital is the major economic center of our country. We need to build a progressive organization that is a model of excellence and create wellbeing for our clients and employees. In 2022, we had a growth of 30%, and the expectations for 2023 are 25%. For this, we are counting on the economy to improve this year and fundamentally on the restructuring that we are carrying out in the company.

QUATENUS started to operate in Angola in 2010, in two areas of business. One concerns monitoring vehicles and machines in the field. And the second area is team management. We also have services and solutions for team management beyond full service, more in the area of tracking people working in the field. We register growth every year, and currently have over 30,000 devices tracked in Angola. One of the things that distinguishes is that we work nationwide, and not just in Luanda, from Cabinda to Kunene. That is also one of the reasons why major companies work with us. We are currently making a big effort toward the digital economy, and for 2023 will be pursuing a tax related project. In terms of IoT, we are also keen to work on the monitoring of smart equipment within warehouses and offices. One of our projects concerns data collection of all Angolans over the age of 18. When we gather the data, it becomes validated, ensuring legitimate voting with an ID card. We did biometric data gathering, which requires a photograph. We also had a project involving 15,000 users, operators on the street at voting points who could inform people where to vote.

Luis CEO, LOBINET

Alexandre Nobre CEO, QUATENUS

for the BENEFIT OF ANGOLA

Expansão is a leading newspaper focused on the economy, management, and business segment that is having a major impact on the population.

João Armando DIRECTOR, EXPANSÃO

What has been the main goal of Expansão since its foundation?

The main goal is to be self-sufficient and sustainable as a company so that the newspaper can continue to operate. Another objective is influence; we want to be an important newspaper in the market and have that credibility. I always tell our team that the first thing we need to think about before publishing something is whether it is good for the country. The second criterion is freedom; none of the journalists here will write an article that they do not agree with. The newspaper was born to be decisive, and it is now read by all classes and ages.

How do you deal with potential issues of misinformation in the media by other media outlets?

We do not have this problem in our newspaper; we do what we think is right, and information is fundamental. People need to read the story and understand what is reported—I always tell journalists this. We need to explain to people what an issue is about so that they can form their own opinions. In Angola, for example, when a message comes out from the ministry, everyone copies and shares the message without really understanding what it is about. We also have more technical work that involves analyzing numbers and data. We always in-

form ourselves rigorously, so that we can pass information onto readers in clear and simple terms. We have more experienced journalists who work together with newer hires on the more complicated assignments. In addition, my team is always asking questions and speaking to people from all walks of life and different sectors, which creates the right background for writing stories as well. Expansão has organized some events in support of Angola establishing a place for itself in the global economy. What has been the response to these events?

The events are fundamental. We hold them for various sectors such as banking, insurance, and telecommunications. We always seek to look ahead and determine the most important issues in these sectors, understand future developments, and bring together the main players in the national market together with the administration. We bring people together, discuss a matter, and find new possibilities for these sectors. During the pandemic, we had to do create our own platform because of the lockdown, and that had another impact. In our last event, we had people from Canada and South Africa participating. We now have two platforms: an online one that we created, and the in-person one that we used to hold before the pandemic. As Expansão has a strong image among ministers and

important companies, we generally have many participants in these events.

What influence has Expansão had on Angola? We have brought about change in Angola. Expansão also had a great deal of influence in explaining to the population what the IMF’s financial support was all about, we created a table outlining the interest rates for one and the other, and we explained transparently why having this line with the IMF would benefit Angola. In other words, we have had a significant impact with our journalism.

You have a distribution of about 20,000 that reaches provinces across Angola as well as Portugal. What are your expansion plans? We had to halt our expansion plans because of the pandemic, though we will soon resume this expansion. Our goal is to expand to those countries that are most closely linked to us: Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, and Mozambique. For that to occur, we need to get local partners. We make the PDF of our paper available for those countries where we have partners to print and distribute the newspaper. That is just one of our projects now, and we have managed to develop a market in these countries. We have digital subscriptions all over the world, so we definitely believe we can grow as a newspaper outside of Angola. ✖

ARTISTIC endeavors

Big Media is the leading Angolan outdoor advertising company that is working on bringing clients’ ideas to life, whether they require billboards or lightboxes.

Odair Peres CEO, BIG MEDIA

Can you elaborate on the services offered by Big Media?

Big Media is the only company in Angola engaged in the advertising, the renting of billboards and also the manufacture of the structures. From the outset, we never liked doing the same things. One of our advantages is being able to bring client ideas to life, no matter how challenging they might appear, which is what motivates us. We provide whatever solution the client wants whether billboards and lightboxes. We have done it all—marriage proposals, weddings, and so on. The first time was for a guy who wanted to propose to his girlfriend. That's what motivates us, as does art. We have outstanding painters and sculptors in Angola that unfortunately few are aware of. Therefore, we staged an open-air gallery; billboards for painters to display their finished work. People need to know they exist. Works like these are highly valued beyond Angola, but not in-country. Trying out different things is our specialty. Recently, we had an art event where for 24 hours, on International Art Day, all billboards were dedicated to artistic endeavors. And that's what makes us unique; the capability to execute such projects, with clients looking to us first to create something distinct. They know from experience that we are going to go above and beyond to achieve it.

What strategies have been implemented to improve your advertising services and create value for clients in Angola?

the ideas came from our staff. We helped the government with its COVID centers. Earlier during the pandemic, we took people who were homeless off the streets. We partnered with the government to create areas where they could live, spoke to all our clients, and they were exceptional in their support.

The company works with the most well-known companies in the country. How is Big Media helping them to expand and solidify their brand? We are the only company of our kind in all 18 provinces, and so it is easy to spread the advertising message across the wider country. Companies tend to reside in Luanda and Benguela, the big provinces where the market is. Being in this business for 18 years, with several mistakes made and lessons learned along the way, we've acquired much know-how. Down the years, we have shared the necessary information to educate clients on the best place to advertise. A decade ago, most marketing managers in Angolan companies were foreigners, with little knowledge about the country or provinces. What we did is take them to the province, and on arrival, they were surprised at how large the market was. And yes, we are aware of the challenges too. Less income and the challenge of transportation; however, we share vital information as it stands, and if the client is happy, they will come back.

What are the current trends and preferences regarding advertising?

BIO

Odair Peres moved Portugal to for university and, among other jobs, he was a bartender in a rock club, a waiter in a grill house, an entertainer for children teaching them the importance of natural resources, an assistant teacher of marketing and communication, and a copywriter for several years in agencies like Mccann-Erickson, Ogilvy&Mather, and TBWA in different countries of Europe and Africa. In 2007 he came back to the warmth of Angola, and since then has been engaged in some of the biggest but also the smallest projects in the country.

Many people in the company have been working here for an average of 10 years, and not many companies in Angola can say this. Some people have been with us for over 15 years; and in some cases, having started out in menial positions. We have helped promising individuals get a degree and do their internship with us. During the first week of the pandemic, when everyone was frantic, if it wasn't for our colleagues, we might not be having this conversation. They showed true resilience. We went from billboards to producing gel dispensers and showers, and all

Although the formal market is lucrative, Angola remains an informal country, and the informal markets generate more money. Subsequently, about five to six years ago, we started investing in diverse types of billboards. We became the first company to introduce non-static solutions into the market. Recently, we have seen other companies replicate the same thing six years later. In addition, we started providing a digital screen service to our clients. They submit the same image they had for static billboards and we create an animation for digital screens. ✖

Image: Mrgomez

HUB TIME?

Angola's plan is to become a logistics hub for the region in the next few years. The country is working hard to improve its transport sector and logistics system, which will be a catalyst for the development of the national economy. By becoming the first option for the entry and exit of goods in southern and central Africa, Angola hopes to solidify its geostrategic position.

Exports are already showing an interesting dynamic, with the main markets being the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cameroon. The leading exports are cement, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, and packaging. Diversifying the economy and boosting national products will result in an increase in exports, both regionally and internationally, as a strategy for positive economic growth and development.

To make this plan a reality, the government plans to invest over USD445.5 million in building

21 logistics centers by 2038. To address the challenges of goods transport, it is essential to first solve the infrastructure issue.

Imports make up a large percentage of the country's economy, as Angola has until now relied on imports to meet its needs for certain materials and products. The plan is now to become a strong exporter both regionally and internationally and serve as the gateway for transporting goods to other countries in the SADC. The Port of Lobito, served by a railway line that connects the port to bordering countries, is the jewel in the crown of the Lobito corridor. As the CEO of Port of Lobito, Celso Rosas, said, "The Port of Lobito will be a reference point for the future."

Finally, airlines are increasing the frequency of international flights and adding new routes to boost tourism and passenger flow within the country, which should help support the country's development long term. ✖

CONTAINERS PASSING

PART OF the puzzle

Porto do Lobito is a key cog in the intermodal freight transport solutions in the Lobito corridor, which will not only benefit Angola’s economy, but also that of neighboring landlocked countries.

BIO

Celso Rodrigues de Lemos Rosas holds a degree in international relations from the Higher Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow, a postgraduate in human resources management from the Catholic University of Lisbon, a postgraduate in higher studies on transport from the Higher Institute of Management of Lisbon, and a postgraduate in business management from the Catholic University of Lisbon. He was previously managing director & president of Enditrade/ Endiama, director of the 4 de Fevereiro International Airport, administrator of ENANA for airport management, deputy director of INAVIC, president of the Railway of Luanda, and president of UNICARGAS before becoming CEO of Porto do Lobito in 2020.

What are the main activities of Porto do Lobito in Angola?

Porto de Lobito is a deep-water port in Angola, with infrastructure dedicated to accommodating large vessels. It has six terminals with depths ranging from 5m to 15.30m and 17m to 34m in the access channel. This provides safety in the docking and undocking of vessels and the operation of diverse cargo types. Nowadays, our port is the link for the logistical intermodality of the Lobito corridor; its terminals are equipped with infrastructure and are served by a railway line that connects the port to bordering countries. That railway is considered the fastest and most accessible means of transportation for diverse products to and from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Botswana. Ours is an operator port, and the most sought-after services are ship support services (docking, entrance to the anchor, mooring) and cargo services, among other port services.

How does Porto de Lobito contribute to regional and national development?

Our port brings huge advantages for our country as a link between maritime, rail, and road transport systems. Porto de Lobito is added to other infrastructure that make up the Lobito Corridor. The intermodal freight transport solution allowed the connection of the east route, which contributes to the economic development not only of Angola, but also of the landlocked countries. Our terminals are equipped with infrastructures, served by the railway line, and it is the fastest and most accessible route for the transportation of products. It has terminals of depth, and an access channel to operate large ships. At the same time, it also allows the movement of different types of loads. We think that the relevance of our port lies in the fact that it is well positioned. For example, the DRC today boasts the largest natural reserves in the world, and the Lobito corridor, where our port is located, is the easiest, safest, and more economical route for the transport of resources.

How are you working to improve the performance of the port?

We have built an “offensive” in the commercial domain, in which we are not only close to the interior of our country, but also looking abroad as well. Currently, we are closest to Angolan entrepreneurs. We are signing agreements and contracts that will allow our port to start registering a considerable volume of exports. We are an operator port, and as such, we have to have a good performance that goes through capacities. Our company is working to improve the state and performance of our equipment and resources, though we recognize they are not the best yet. Such improvements require high investments. Our board of directors, aiming to create an environment conducive and favorable to functionality, has determined that we prioritize our workers. We are investing heavily in training, and are in the process of transformation into a “school company.” We also give a basic basket to our workers every month, which has risen from AOA30,000 to AOA50,000. We are also investing in medical care through our clinic, Clínica do Porto. We will continue to do everything in our power so that our social responsibility is expressive and recognizable.

What are the goals and plans for the upcoming years?

We want our port and its evolution to bring us value. We want to continue to work so that we can manage and make the most of all our assets within the scope of our administrative plan. We want to optimize all the resources of our poles, and have several assets to help us do that. One goal is to improve all areas of jurisdiction of the port of Lobito. To achieve this, we will continue to work with the provincial government and the administration of the country to make the most of our resources in harmony. Another key plan we continue to work on involves the digitization of our company to increase performance, efficiency, and effectiveness. ✖

Celso Rodrigues de Lemos Rosas CEO, PORTO DO LOBITO

Angolan companies are recognizing the importance of the port, and concomitantly its use

Port of Lobito is a catalyst of development for the national economy

Porto do Lobito parte integrante da infraestrutura que liga o Lobito à RDC e a Zâmbia ao Caminho de Ferro de Benguela até ao Luau com capacidade de para operar e armazenar varias tipologias de carga carga nomeadamente: graneis líquido e sólidos, carga geral, carga contentirizada sendo contentores seco(dry) e frigoríficos, carga ro-ro e cargas fora do formato, em regime de importação, exportação, trânsito internacional e cabotagem. Possui seis Terminais especializados.

Avenida da Independência, Lobito +244 925 227 690 comercial.geral@portodolobito.co.ao

Bairro Cruzeiro, rua da Índia, N. 78 - Luanda +244 222 delegacao.luanda@portodolobito.co.ao dplobito.luanda@hotmail.com

THE ECONOMY’S PRECIOUS CARGO

Angola’s race for economic diversification and increased local content is indexed to its logistical prowess, and its ports are taking the load.

ANGOLA HAS EMERGED SUCCESSFULLY from close to three decades of civil war that destroyed much of its infrastructure. Today, the government intends for its economic renaissance to be more equitable than the oil boom that barely registered with the average citizen. As we have seen throughout this book, the state’s adopted path is one of economic diversity, contingent upon increased localized content in production, both agricultural and industrial. What’s more, aside from OPEC, Angola is also a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mandated to champion socio-economic relations among member states. Unsurprisingly then, Angola’s National Development Plan, underlines infrastructure development, notably through the revamping of its seaports. The importance of this has of course come into sharp relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As in any country, connectivity is fundamental to attracting foreign investment and the know-how it brings to develop the industrial matrix. Western Angola boasts a 1,600km coastline on the South Atlantic, and its port network, comprising five major facilities, will allow the country to best exploit its wealth of exotic earth minerals that the developed economies crave. This in addition to flourishing agricultural and fishery initiatives. A modern, digitalized logistic infrastructure promises to secure Angola’s essential goods requirements. Small wonder then that the largest port facility, the port of Luanda has received investment of USD600 million for revitalization. Notable among international interest is the UAE, which has committed to developing the Barra de Donde region of Luanda to feature a stockyard for oil, gas, and lubricants.

THE PORT NETWORK

Angola’s Atlantic coast features the ports of Luanda, Lobito, Cabinda, Soyo and Namibe, and space here permits but a brief glance at their sheer, overall significance. The Port of Luanda is among the nation’s largest deep-water seaports, serving the principle commercial center. The port—accounting for 70% of imports and 80% of non-petroleum foreign trade—predominantly handles automobile components, beverages, and cash crops including coffee, cotton, and oilseed, readily accommodating bulk container vessels. Its administrator is stateowned Empresa Portuária de Luanda, while international giant DP World holds a 20-year operations concession having sunk USD190 million into turning the terminal into a regional maritime hub.

The Port of Lobito in the Benguela province is the second largest in

the country, handling an annual 2 million tons of cargo. It is the largest deep-water seaport of Central Angola. With development funded heavily by Chinese investment, Lobito port is strategically linked to the Benguela railway network enabling mineral transportation from the neighboring countries of Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. TBY spoke with Porto of Lobito CEO Celso Rosas. “That railway is considered the fastest and most accessible means of transportation for diverse products to and from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Botswana,” he notes. The line is earmarked for extension into neighboring Zambia for mineral shipments as a gateway to southern Africa. As a catalyst of national development, Rosa adds, “Our port brings huge advantages for our country as a link between maritime, rail, and road transport systems [forming part of] the Lobito Corridor.” In brief, “Port of Lobito will of necessity be a reference point for the future.” Local content is a key consideration, too, whereby, “Our board of directors […] determined that we prioritize the “human factor,” in other words, prioritize our workers. We are investing heavily in training, and are in the process of transformation into a “school company.”

The Port of Namibe, located close to Namibia, caters to Angola’s southern economic zone and serves as a transit port to supply goods inland to the far southeast of Angola. By cargo movement it ranks as the nation’s third-largest port, benefiting from connection to southern Angola through the Moçâmedes railway line. Cabinda Port in northwest Angola essentially caters to the oil and gas sector that has overwhelming significance in the province. The 2018-2022 National Development Plan foretold additional ports, including the deep-water port of Caio in Cabinda, a container terminal, Barra do Dande in Bengo, envisaged taking the strain of the Port of Luanda, long since at operating at saturation—where daily discharge rates reach 7,000 metric tons directly from and to the trucks—and the port in Porto Amboim, leveraging public-private partnerships. With a price tag of USD1.5 billion, and using the PPP model in partnerships with Angola’s national oil company, Sonangol, Barro do Dande features 29 storage tanks, terminals for solid and liquid bulk materials, and a container terminal, multi-use terminal, and petroleum support zone. To those may be added an 18.25km quay wall, a 10.5sqkm embarkment area and 4.68sqkm logistics support zone.

Given the challenges facing the government’s mammoth modernization and diversification plans, where logistics are concerned it’s a case of all ports in a storm. ✖

PORTS OF ANGOLA

Angola’s ports play a key role in the development of the country and are a driving force behind its economy.

PORT OF LUANDA

• First used in 1576

• Handles 70% of imports and 80% of non-petroleum foreign trade

• Administrated by Empresa Portuária de Luanda

• DP World holds a 20-year operations concession

• DP World has invested USD190 milllion in the port

• Recently attracted a further USD600 million of invesment

• Prodominantly handles: Automobile components, beverages, cash crops, bulk container vessels

PORT OF LOBITO

• Second largest deep-water seaport in Central Angola

• Handles 2 million tons of cargo annually

• The port strategically links the Benguela rail network with the DRC

• A key link in mineral transportation

PORT OF NAMIBE

• A hub for the southern economic zone

• Third largest port in Angola by cargo movement

• Links southern Angola via the Moçâmedes railway

A NEW vision

Bolloré Africa Logistics Angola plans to continue to provide its quality services and tailor-made logistics solutions to meet the needs of its clients along the entire value chain.

Jean Yves MANAGING DIRECTOR, BOLLORÉ AFRICA LOGISTICS ANGOLA

Bolloré Africa Logistics Angola is one of the top 10 transport and logistics companies with the largest integrated logistics network in Africa. What has been its mission since its establishment?

Our company has one of the major integrated logistics networks in Africa that includes the main activities, ports, and railway concessions, logistics, shipping, and freight. Our mission remains to provide the best services to our client, with our skilled employees. Now focusing on Angola, our history starts with AMI then SDV, which became Bolloré Africa Logistics. We operate two major logistics bases in Lobito and Luanda with more than 40,000sqm, including yard, offices, and warehousing facilities. We also have agencies in Soyo and Cabinda.

What have been the key moments of the past year?

We are just emerging from COVID-19, and most companies have been facing difficulties over the past two years. We have not seen the degree of development we had hoped for, though we were able to maintain our structure and facilities. Now, with business re-starting since the start of 2022, we can see real growth in terms of activity, mainly in the oil and gas business, our main area of operation, and where we are seeing steady growth. The market is rebounding, and we are confident on market perspective in Angola. We expect good figures for 2022 and 2023.

MSC acquired Bolloré Africa Logistics Unit for EUR5.6 billion. How will the Angolan operations be affected?

meet the needs of its clients along the entire value chain. Bolloré Africa Logistics will be renamed and rebranded in 2023. The Angola market will clearly benefit from this, and we expect to provide new integrated solutions to our clients.

Are you implementing new technologies in any of your processes locally?

To provide a concrete example, internally, in our daily business, we have a company that is present in four or five different sites in Angola. To receive accreditation, we need to improve the digitalization process to make sure that we can contact our branches directly and validate on site without sending documentation. We are currently in this process. Even invoices are being sent digitally. For the clients, we have a tracking process, like most transit companies, that helps the client track while ensuring transparent communication. It also means greater efficiency, and we are glad that the government is actively endorsing related developments. It is important for us because we work closely with customs and ports and need safer access with secure payments.

How does the company contribute to Angolan economic development?

BIO

Jean Yves graduated from BSB Management & Business School in France with a master’s in finance. He has worked for different companies since 2002, including AFD, Saipem, Bouygues, and, since 2011, Bolloré Africa Logistics. Most of his career has been outside of France, in Gabon, Jamaica, Mozambique, and mainly Angola in different periods since 2004. In August 2022 he was appinted as the new Mannaging Director of Bolloré Africa Logistics in Angola, now officially part of MSC group since the end of 2022.

MSC is a family-owned group that has a long-term vision and puts its employees at the heart of its business strategy. MSC has acquired 100% of Bolloré Africa Logistics and has expressed its interest in all assets and people working at Bolloré Africa Logistics. As an industrial operator and long-term investor, MSC will spur Bolloré Africa Logistics to continue to develop its capabilities. Bolloré Africa Logistics will be in a position to work with MSC to develop tailor-made logistics solutions to

We are an international company, so the standards are high. We have all the conditions for our staff and help to support them attain those higher standards. We are not here only for a project that will last few years; we are here on a long-term basis and will continue to invest in facilities, equipment, and people. Our contribution could be resume as follow, we have an history in Angola, and we continue to build our future in Angola

What are your plans for the coming years?

We plan to maintain our facilities and equipment in proper conditions by investing. We will also enhance our staff through local content process and improving training. With our new shareholder MSC, more services will be provided to our clients. We will increase our efficiency with high quality levels. ✖

Raja Kurban DIRECTOR, BUDGET

PART OF THE landscape

Budget Car Rental was established in Angola to provide short- and long-term car rental services at international quality standards and has since created thousands of jobs and career opportunities.

Can you elaborate on the services provided by your brands Budget and UGO?

offer, and our services for companies are particularly important at the moment.

BIO

After obtaining a master’s degree in private law from Paris-Panthéon-Assas University, Raja Kurban moved to Lebanon to contribute to the country’s economic rebirth. He took over the management of AVIS Rent a car in 1997 and increased its fleet from 60 cars to 1,800 cars in 2015. In 1999, he established Allo Taxi, creating a unique mobility transportation solution in Lebanon. Allo Taxi was later established in Angola in 2015, with plans to expand into other African countries. Kurban also expanded the car and leasing business into Africa, representing Budget RAC in Angola.

We took the representation for Budget in Angola on February 1, starting with a branch at the Luanda Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport. Our aim today remains bringing to Angola an international quality of service. We have since won numerous customer service awards for excellence. Today, we offer car rental and long-term car rental or leasing, as well as staff transportation for companies. We also seek to develop weekend packages, wedding packages, and other competitive offers for the local market. Our broader aim is to penetrate the local market to democratize car rental amongst the local population. Many people who cannot afford to buy a car might be able to rent one for a special event. This is also an important market to develop locally. UGO started as Allo Taxi, which today is famous in other countries. We brought Allo Taxi to Angola because we have unique expertise that no other competitor has in all of Africa, namely expertise in building mobility in an unregulated environment. Allo Taxi was the first company to introduce in Angola a centralized call center and the mobility technology by introducing an app in 2015. Our model has since been copied and replicated by other local companies and newly introduced foreign players. We are proud to have helped the Angolan public transportation sector to expand its offer and improve its quality by consistently raising the level specially with our new arrival of 500 brand new Toyota Avanzas.

What is your vision for the future of the industry in Angola?

We are here because we are extremely excited about Angola and are investing substantially to tap into its tremendous potential. Besides the business itself, there is also huge potential in terms of tourism. This is something that we see coming, having witnessed the same in countries similar in nature to Angola after the country starts to open up. Angola has much to

What is your take on the tourism sector in Angola?

There is still much to do. Many people would love to come, but Angola remains a virgin market and not a mass tourist destination. I occasionally ask people whether they would be prepared to pay USD120 for a visa to visit for a few days’ holiday. These issues must be worked on to make the prospect of visiting appealing to travelers. This will take time for all the elements, including the airlines, to fall into place. Many things could develop tourism. The potential is huge in Angola in terms of culture, beaches, landscape, and nature in general.

How do both brands add value to the transport sector in Angola?

We create many jobs and career opportunities in the market specially for a population segment where unemployment level is very high. We created at least 500 steady jobs since our launch and plan to create another 500 in the coming year, with the increase of our fleet and reach. We also increase significantly the income of our team members compared to any other job opportunity they might have. Our network and services contribute massively to the public transportation sector and helps a big portion of citizens to commute when they cannot use a private vehicle. We have also made a key contribution to the Angolan art and culture. We commissioned an art project in collaboration with Espaco Luanda Arte by transforming one of our taxis in a piece of art by a street art painter. This car still operates as a taxi and will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to charity. We also created a contest with the launch of UGO to create “our” song. Hundreds of singer-songwriters participated in that contest, and the winner won a substantial prize. This song is now our local affection and represents our brand with pride. ✖

expansion PLANS

With a strong presence in the SADC region, Rangel has strategically positioned itself as a gateway to provide greater coverage in logistics for its customers.

Rodolfo Santos COUNTRY MANAGER, RANGEL ANGOLA

How has the logistics sector evolved over the last year?

Angola has enormous potential due to its strategic location and natural resources. With the various investments from the Angolan government planned in the area of logistics and transport, such as the more than USD445 million for the construction of 21 logistics centers or even the completion of the new airport in Luanda, the country will significantly increase its competitiveness at an international level.

Angola wants to transform the port of Lobito into the gateway to this region. How will this plan affect Rangel’s operations in the country and region?

Angola, after the concession of the railway, wants to revolutionize and transform the port of Lobito into the gateway to the whole of southern Africa; therefore, the province of Benguela will become one of the main epicenters of trade and development in this African region. The Lobito corridor, which is formed by the city’s port and the Benguela railway line, with more than 1,300km, represents the fastest export route for copper, cobalt, and other ores to countries such as Zambia or DRC. In logistical terms, we will be more able and available to carry out frequent operations, making this movement of products more efficient.

Rangel is present in Africa in Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, South Africa, and Zambia. How is Rangel Logistics Solutions Angola important for business expansion?

Angola was the start of Rangel’s internationalization strategy and has been a great success for the company. It started by offering customs services, followed later by offering air and sea transport services. Shortly afterwards, in express transport Rangel gained the representation of Fedex Express in Angola as a global service participant (GSP), and, today, in addition to storage services and logistical outsourcing, it offers road transport, cross-border to countries such as South Africa, Namibia, DRC, Zambia, between others. It has become an integrated logistics operator with a wide range of services whose main objective is to support the entire Angolan business fabric in the export and import of its products, whether by land, air or sea. With a strong focus on the African continent, Rangel has been strategically positioning itself in the main gateways in the SADC region, thus ensuring greater coverage in the reception and dispatch of goods to its customers, wherever they are on the globe. Therefore, the strategy involves ensuring a presence in the main ports of this region, such as the port of Luanda and Lobito (Angola), Maputo and Beira (Mozambique), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Cape Town and Durban (South Africa), and Walvis Bay (Namibia).

What does Rangel intend with the “logistic triangle” between America, Africa, and Europe? Rangel’s internationalization began in 2007, with the opening of a branch in Angola, followed by Mozambique in 2011, Brazil in 2013, Cape Verde in 2015, in 2020 in Mexico and South Africa, 2021

in Zambia and, more recently, Tanzania. Thus, with a direct presence in Europe, America and Africa, Rangel intends to create a logistical triangle that can connect the three continents, offering effective solutions adapted to the needs of our customers. Our main objective is to be the first Portuguese multinational in the logistics sector, and we want to be the logistical support arm for exports, transporting goods around the world.

What are the company’s future plans in the country and in the region?

Globally, we will continue to pay attention to the market, new challenges and new opportunities, given that we are currently in a growth phase in Angola. We are investing in the renovation of facilities, namely in offices and warehouses next to Luanda Airport, we have scheduled the opening of a unit specialized in pharmaceutical products, and we are still studying the expansion of other operations in the country, with the opening of facilities in Namibia and bordering the DRC. This plan will also lead to reinforcement and specialization in the mining and oil and gas sectors of the local team, which currently employs around 200 employees. ✖

Rodolfo Santos’ professional experience started in shipping. Beginning his career in Portugal, he later moved to Africa and has 10 years of experience in the Angolan oil and gas sector. He later moved into perishables and has been at Rangel for three years.

BIO

TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS

With the Angolan automotive and transport industry becoming increasingly competitive, companies across the sector are applying different strategies to provide the most efficient and best solutions for their customers.

JETOUR has been in Angola for several years now. The brand is growing rapidly and is known for its dynamic and high quality. Before, we mainly supplied basic cars for families and personal use, though we currently focus on the luxury market, with cars for high-level executives and an emphasis on the comfort and safety of our customers. We strike a good balance between price and quality, which includes both safer technology and aftersales service. Several other brands been present in Angola for over a decade. The prices of other marques were reduced once Jetour arrived. This spells healthy competition. Over the past several years, Angola’s economy has continued to improve, and I expect to see an increase in the auto market in the coming years. All car brands in Angola are ultimately seeking to supply well-priced and good-quality cars. Our strategy before was to be an economic brand, but now, we are focused on comfort, safety, economy, and quality. A good team is fundamentally important. Our sales team features young and creative individuals, and we create our after-sales technology team by offering the highest salary level in the market as a brand. So, every Jetour employee earns well and can expect a good livelihood.

IN THE AUTO sector in Angola, we see a strong increase in the trucks and the trucks division, both in the sales of new trucks as well as the aftersales division. Since 2014, investments in new trucks have been at a low. Therefore, with the potential that came in the last two years, the main players of the sector have started to re-invest in new trucks. In sequence, we have configurated our management in order of target this potential of the market, resulting in the handover of new trucks, with the latest Volvo technology. Growth in new trucks and new Volvo trucks in the market is at least four or five times more from 2021-2022 compared to previous years. At the end of 2021, we released a new range of Volvo trucks. This is a new product, with a new cabin, and safety features for the driver, and is more economical on fuel. This new generation of Volvo Trucks, besides its reliability, has also the particularity of have been developed with the driver in the center of the product developments, showing the relevance of this professional for the success of any operation. In Angola, Auto Sueco drives this new chapter of the brand.

MACON continues along its process of modernization and growth. We are currently in Angola, Namibia and Congo, at the end of the year we would like to enter Zambia. In addition, we will enter the Lubumbashi Market in Congo. In 2022, we also acquired 102 buses, a consubstantiated investment in the renewal of our fleet, we also have another business segment in the transport of goods. We also insure all the passengers and goods that are transported by our buses. All our buses and passenger cars must be insured before they leave our facilities and hit the road. It’s not just the buses, all employees also have work accident insurance in accordance with our country’s legislation. In the interprovincial, we started with the creation of infrastructure with bases, points of sale and others, we had another challenge in defining prices in the interprovincial, in the urban segment passengers pay USD0.12, which is subsidized, since the government also gives more 50%. The cost of a ticket is USD0.23. We don’t invest in public transport and invest in interprovincial transport, because the market is open because it can set its price and people decide which bus service to use.

Paladin Yao GENERAL MANAGER, JETOUR

João Vaz CEO, AUTO SUECO ANGOLA

Luís Máquina CEO, MACON

AJS was formally established in 1992. At that time, we worked hard during the ceasefire on the United Nations Program and distributed food wherever possible. Then, we grew, reaching other sectors in addition to transport. We also started transporting hydrocarbons derivatives and now, more recently, we started on our geographical growth across Lobito, Lubango, Cuando Cubango, and Cabinda. After about eight years, we also opened a company in South Africa. Then, about five years ago, we opened a transport company in Namibia. Right now, we are working on growth in southern Africa, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, and most likely DRC. Right now, we are in various sectors of the economy including mining exploration and gas. We also have a partnership with a company that does drilling offshore in Angola. These are all attempts to diversify the business, since we are well established in transport and logistics and are now looking at other sectors. There is still a great deal of opportunity to grow in Angola though that necessitates the improvement of roads. Even if Angola starts manufacturing a large number of goods, if there is no road to transport goods from the interior to the main cities, then there is no point then.

SALVADOR CAETANO started to invest in Angola in 1991 via the acquisition of Robert Hudson, a company that was Ford’s second-oldest official importer outside of the US. The company had branches in Huambo, Malanje, and Namibe. The main activity of our company has always been selling and buying automobiles, as well as fixing them. Our entire investment is directed at these activities. The group’s vision has always been to improve and evolve, while also getting its people to evolve together. In 2007, we acquired an area of 40,000sqm in Viana’s industrial zone. At first, where we intended to assemble vehicles. However, we were unable to continue with the project. Now, we have just inaugurated there our new truck facilities. In these last 30 years, we invested over USD10.6 million in Angola, and we are planning significantly more investments in future to come. Salvador Caetano is around for almost 80 years, which is what differentiates us: we are consistent as a group. We also train many people, so that they can work in our industries and workshops. We currently own a brand which is present in Angola for almost 100 years, so we have a long history alongside with the country.

Luis Silva CEO, ANTÓNIO J SILVA LDA, TRANSPORTES E LOGÍSTICA (AJS)

Fernando Leite CEO, GRUPO SALVADOR CAETANO

PLANS to grow

A group with a large and long tradition in Africa of over 100 years, CFAO Motors Angola is optimistic about its expansion and growth plans in the country in the coming years.

Nuno Borges CHAIRMAN, CFAO MOTORS ANGOLA

Toyota has already rebranded as CFAO Motors in certain countries. What was the purpose of the rebranding and what is the new business model?

BIO

Nuno Borges is Chairman of the Board of Directors for CFAO Motors Angola and Accumulative CFAO Head Office Country Delegate. He is also advisor to the president on the Social and Economic Council (CES) and deputy coordinator for Business Technical Group (GTE) in support of the senior government. In March 2020, he received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, from the government of Japan.

The fundamental objective is to align the structure and identity with other African countries where CFAO is present. CFAO is a group with a large and long tradition in Africa, of over 100 years, mainly in French-speaking countries. That later expanded whereby today it is present in almost all African countries. CFAO is part of the Toyota Tsusho Corporation group, which it acquired about 10 years ago. And, therefore, the automobile activity of Toyota Tsusho Corporation in Africa was transferred to CFAO. Of course, the objective is to match this alignment with the culture, identity, and experience that CFAO has in Africa. The products and sales culture remain the same. CFAO is also a multi-brand group that also carries Suzuki, Ford, Isuzu, BWV, among other brands, as well as other products related to the healthcare, consumer and technology sectors. In certain countries we have distribution partnerships, where for example, Carrefour belongs to the CFAO group. In addition, in the area of medicines, we have a large group with CFAO called Europharma, operating in Angola as wholesaler company Laborex. And at a general level, CFAO intends to cover other business areas in Angola in future. We have a large project for the rehabilitation and expansion of the commercial and mining Port of Namibe.

What were the company's key moments in recent years?

In the post-COVID-19 period, one can see

commercial progress, and there are many projects underway in the country. Our sales have also slightly improved. We had growth of around 40% in 2022 compared to 2021. In 2023, we see a growth of 17% to 20%. Unfortunately, in 2021 most of the importers were unofficial, other than brand distributors. We are working for this market to be better regulated according to current law. And on the other hand, we are working to persuade the government to buy locally instead of importing directly. We know how important this is and urgently need to regulate this market. For example, that company that is not representing a brand, should no longer be importer, according to current Presidential Decree 155/20.

Toyota opened an academy in February. What investment has been made so far?

This is a project carried out by the Angolan government and Toyota, wherein we offered some training equipment, professional training team, and management, with support of Brazil’s SENAI, one of the world’s foremost companies in professional training, with which we are training mechanic trainees. We are satisfied and hope in a year and a half to have advanced to a higher level.

What is your vision for the company in three to five years?

CFAO Motors Angola has some investments in plan so that expands its activity either in sales facilities or aftersales services. TTC and CFAO groups have also the intention to expand businesses in different fields according to the opportunities and following the country growth trend. ✖

spreading ITS WINGS

TAAG is one of the largest airlines in Africa and a leading company in the modernization of aerial transportation.

Eduardo Fairen Soria CEO, TAAG

What are TAAG’s plans for 2022 and the overall business environment?

We are emerging from big challenges, namely the pandemic, the current economic downturn, and high inflation rate, especially for oil, which is mainly affecting the transport business. That is heavily affecting the performance, not only of this company, but the overall aviation sector, which is why we call our strategy “Back to normal,” because we need to return back to normal.

How resilient has the company been in terms of transforming these challenges into new opportunities?

TAAG has made an internal transformation that is affecting its strategy for the next years to come. This change comes from the fact that TAAG was a state-owned airline that was linked to the public budget, and that ended on January 1, 2022. Then we are still in the public domain. We are under the control of public companies, but we are trying to address the fact that probably in the next 24 months this company will become private. We do not know exactly with whom and where and when, but that is where we are headed. Now, TAAG should become an international airline. We must have partnerships and alliances and need to explore some of the niches of the market that we have never explored before.

The new partnership between Iberia and TAAG defines a new era. What are the expectations from the agreement in the long term? Our partnership with Iberia also opens the door for TAAG to become an airline that is able to link 143 international destinations through the Iberian network. We will have here, at the end of 2023, the newest termi-

nal in the entire south African region. This is the new Luanda International Airport. Angola needs to establish a presence in this part of the world, and we need to use its network to reach mainly Europe, North America and part of Asia.

How do you make your leads on finding which markets you want to enter?

We need to recover a presence in Africa, especially in the region that has been heavily hit by this event. We are not seeing a strong recovery on the regional sector; we see recovery on the southern side of Africa, maybe South Africa, Mozambique, and Namibia. Domestically, we are having record numbers in Angola, because we changed the operational model and have introduced a new fleet that we bought new during the pandemic. Those aircrafts are assigned to operate short and intensive routes in order to bring more frequencies, and this is something that Angolans like. We want to increase the numbers because the domestic market is reacting pretty well. Most probably, we will reopen another three destinations in Asia, only for cargo. That is where we are going. We are looking for more aircraft.

How do you promote the measures of environmental awareness within the company?

We just recently introduced policies about fuel management. We are trying to review the impact through the fuel policies that we are applying before the tankering policy. We have introduced some other internal policies. For example, since October, we no longer buy any paper or ink. Everything is online.

What are your priorities for the long term?

The aim is to position this airline as a connecting airline centered in Luanda and

being the airline most chosen by the travelers to connect, because we are able to deliver and international standard product with a value for money and with the right quality. This is work, money, good ideas and little bit of luck. Not all of the variables are under your control. The situation is different, for example, in the cargo market. There is great interest in expanding the cargo market in Angola and from Angola to Africa, with Angola being the shortest route between China and South America, then we probably have something to do here. ✖

BIO

Eduardo Fairen Soria graduated in engineering from the Spanish Air Force Academy and holds an MBA from the Complutense University of Madrid. He has been CEO of TAAG since 2021. He was previously CEO of Viva Air Peru (2017-2019) and COO & Senior VP Maintenance at Viva Air Colombia (2014-2017), with 40 years of experience in the world of aviation, including being co-founder of Vueling Airlines in 2004. He has over 17,000 hours as a pilot and instructor, flying and working in different senior positions on four continents for companies like Iberia, Lufthansa, DHL, Air Arabia, and Camair-Co. Fairen Soria was assistant professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) for aeronautical management and the international master of aeronautical management (2006-2009).

GROSS

Image: Fabian Plock

Construction & Real Estate EVER UPWARD?

After the civil war, Angola made significant efforts to rebuild its infrastructure, which was severely damaged. The post-war period saw significant investment in transportation, housing projects, and energy, all aimed at rebuilding the country.

The construction of new roads, bridges, and airports has modernized the infrastructure, but there is still a long way to go. In major cities, the roads are well maintained, though in rural areas, much work is needed to bring the roads up to international standards. The Ministry of Public Works, Urban Planning, and Housing is open to new investments in road maintenance and has attracted private investment through public-private partnerships and concession contracts.

The construction sector faces challenges such as a shortage of skilled labor and access to financing, though the government is working to improve the business environment and encourage companies to secure funding for their proj-

ects. One of the opportunities in the sector is the development of affordable housing, for which the government has implemented initiatives and strategies for public-private partnerships.

The real estate sector in Angola is growing due to the country’s infrastructure development and constant growth.

In recent years, there has been an increased demand for residential properties, but the sector still faces challenges, such as a lack of affordable housing and access to financing. The government is implementing reforms and attracting foreign investment from countries such as Spain, Portugal, South Africa, the UK, Brazil, Germany, and China, which provide funding for public investment and the construction of roads, bridges, and social housing.

The real estate market in Angola has great potential and is poised to play a major role in the country's development, continuing to attract foreign investment. ✖

ORGANIZED growth

Angola’s Ministry of Public Works, Urbanism and Housing is focused on formulating policies and executing projects to improve the overall infrastructure in the country.

How does the Ministry of Public Works, Urbanism and Housing contribute to the development of Angola?

Carlos Alberto da Silva Gregório dos Santos MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS, URBAN PLANNING, AND HOUSING

Carlos Alberto da Silva

Gregório dos Santos is an assistant professor at the Catholic University of Angola (UCAN) and Private University of Angola (UPRA). He holds a degree in economic sciences a master’s in management, and a specialization in public works contracts, and is currently working on his PhD in economics. He was Secretary of State for Public Works from 2019-2022, having also held the position of National Director in several ministerial departments.

The Ministry of Public Works, Urban Planning, and Housing is primarily responsible for providing infrastructure. Roads, bridges, and social housing all contribute to our country's development. For example, it has recently been possible to asphalt 14,000km of roads. In addition, we were able to build around 4,500 bridges. This is important, not only because the roads and bridges contributed to a safer circulation of people and goods, but also because it allowed a much smoother flow of production from source to consumer. It also allows other sectors, such as tourism, energy, water, and health, to develop due to ease of access. Another important area for our sector is housing. The goal of this plan is, above all, that the state provides infrastructure, so that the private sector can find opportunities to build and conduct business. Another important sector that I would mention is municipal master plans. Cities must be ordered and organized, and for that, the responsibility of our sector is to provide the organization of the national territory. We try to make sure that our activity is completely organized concerning the delimitation of cities. We separate the areas into agricultural, industrial, and residential areas. Here, we could mention the urbanism domain, where we have already drawn up 28 municipal master plans in recent years, with more to come. The country has 164 municipalities total, and so catering to all of them remains a challenge for the coming years. The final aspect is the generation of

employment. In recent years, we have generated around 40,000 jobs. We give young people many opportunities, as our youth must be prioritized. So, with these 40,000 jobs created in recent years, the construction sector can make its contribution to reducing the high unemployment rate that prevails in Angola.

How does the ministry pursue cooperation with other countries in the sphere of infrastructure?

The construction sector must open up to the world. In bilateral terms, we have major cooperation with certain countries, like China, Spain, Germany, Portugal, South Africa, U.K., Brasil. For example, Germany supports Angola by providing funding for public investment. This investment aims to revitalize roads and bridges, especially in southern Angola. Chinese investment has served to build roads, bridges, and social housing. In the multilateral domain, we have protocols signed with the United Nations agency for housing, UN-Habitat, which is also responsible for providing technical assistance and reinforcement programs. UN-Habitat is an agency of the UN, and we need to provide the lines and strategies that Angola can follow, meeting the challenge in both urbanization and housing construction. We also have a contract signed with the African Development Bank, which in essence is a global banking agency. We have signed protocols that allow us to intervene more in the area of urban planning and land use planning, financing the missing master plans.

BIO

What would you advise to a foreign investor keen to enter the Angolan market?

The safety of our financial system is impressive because we have credibility with the World Bank and the IMF, which approves the reforms that Angola has introduced to ensure the stability of public finances. Angola also offers much better conditions for investors. For a long period, Angola has worked with public investments. In the field of roads, we sent a big message to foreign investors interested in the maintenance of our roads through concession contracts. We also opened the field in the area of public-private partnerships, and have businesses in the construction sector to attract private investors. We have open investments for various materials used in the construction of our roads, and this galvanizes our market. However, we face a huge challenge of building Angola’s first motorway, which will connect southern and northern Angola. It is estimated to be around 1,400km in length. Angola, in the public works sector, is welcoming of mutually advantageous contracts where the investor and Angola both win.

After the August elections, the Ministry of Public Works and Land Planning became the Ministry of Public Works, Urbanism, and Housing. What are the differences, since it has changed, and what projects will we see over the coming years?

Our focus with the new mandate is to give greater attention to urbanism. This is an important matter, and we have to change the nature of our cities,

towns, provinces, and our country for the better. So, the first message is to pay greater attention to issues of urbanism and land use planning. The second message is about housing. Not only will we continue building social housing, completing the works already in progress, but we are going to launch a specific project called “directed self-construction.” Another important action is a program of road circulars that will be installed in all provinces of our country. We are also working on a toll and weighing program. Overall, to better maintain our roads, public investment is not enough, as the private sector, too, can contribute to the task. That’s why we are keen on the public-private partnership model. The best way for Angola to develop its infrastructure, particularly in the construction sector, is through a consistent commitment to public-private partnerships (PPPs). With this, we aim to build new roads, bridges, crushing and emulsion plants, and road maintenance through concession to a private company. Over the next five years, we intend to asphalt around 5,000km of roads. On average, we stand to asphalt 1,000km a year. As for the bridges, we intend to build a total length of about 2,500 meters. Regarding housing, we intend to build 50,000 housing units with contribution of private Sector. Regarding the continuous generation of employment, we intend to contribute with more than 30,000 jobs over the coming five years. All this will deliver a single message, namely the sheer scale of the construction sector's contribution to GDP, and to the development and growth of our economy. ✖

In recent years, the Ministry of Public works, Urban Planning and Housing has built

12.5k social houses

MARK of success

The largest cement production company in Angola, Nova Cimangola has also made a name for itself for being Angola’s largest exporter of clinker.

Pedro Pinto

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, NOVA CIMANGOLA

Higher sales and better results this year

2022 marks start of Cimangola’s successful commercial strategy and the 2nd phase of its strategy: diversification

BIO

Pedro Mariano Campos

Pinto has had a professional career as a manager in multinational companies in the automotive industry (Autoeuropa and Continental), in the pharmaceutical and cement industries, being responsible for defining the strategic lines of action of the manufacturing units and for the annual execution of budgetary and operational objectives. He has extensive experience in organizing and managing strategic projects for the rationalization of productive resources, implemented through the coordination and direction of multidisciplinary work groups, always in a highly competitive and multicultural environment. He has been responsible for financial management, information technology, purchasing and storage and security at Nova Cimangola for about eight years.

To what does Nova Cimangola attribute its success of being one of the largest exporters?

It is an interesting recognition because it was awarded by the Angolan state. We adopted a strategy that placed us at the top of the market and a large exporter. We are pleased to be in a stronger position, though this year we are even stronger. Our sales in 2022 have grown 100% in comparison to in 2021. We will now diversify our markets, energy, products, and revenue sources. We will start working in the mining sector, and we will deepen our presence in the cement market and other markets of products similar to cement, such as concrete. We will also enter the alternative fuel market, which are fuels prepared from residues. There will be new challenges within the cement sector in Angola, because when fuel prices go up, costs will increase sharply. The cost of producing cement in the country will be the same as importing it, resulting in international competition, which we do not have right now. This is why we had to think ahead and position the company in areas where there will be competition and prepare the company to become even more competitive.

Who are your main clients currently, and have you opened any new markets this year?

For our main clients, Cimangola has evolved from being a cement company to a solutions company in construction. We are the preferred cement company by construction companies. For the new Caculo Cabaça Dam and the main construction activities taking place right now, all the cement may be supplied by Cimangola, because we are able to mix complex cement with products that only Cimangola has. We have also diversified into cement products for people with lower means. We created products that will tap into different financial realities. Two-thirds of our customers are low-income national citizens, and the remainder are large construction companies. Most of our competitive advantages are consolidated, while the competition

does not know how to protect themselves. We have structural advantages, including the localization of the company and a port where we can export and import, which no one else can do. We have access to all the advantages that exist in Europe for cement companies.

How did the global logistics crisis affect the exports operation flow of the company?

As our international markets are our neighbouring countries, Cameroon and Ghana, we have become more competitive over the years. Our main competitors in this space are Turkish companies, which have to incur higher costs on transport, and commodities are also more expensive. At this stage, we see many advantages, and sales in 2022 have already grown 100% compared to 2021. Our results are also five times larger than last year. These are specific advantages of the market we are in right now. When the government devalued the currency, the dollar became much more expensive, and exports were tough. Soon, we have to start importing the inflation from other countries. Fuel and transport will therefore become more expensive.

What measures has Cimangola taken to tap into a more sustainable world?

We have two large projects for 2023. One is a positive evolution in the cement sector, which is the beginning of the production of a new type of cement, called LC³, limestone and calcined clay cement. This is a type of cement made 100% from clay that is then calcined at 850 degrees Celsius. What we produce now is a product called clinker, which is a mixture of 80% limestone and 20% clay, calcined at 1,450 degrees. We are now moving toward to a cement made of 50% clinker and 30% of calcined clay, the latter of which consumes much less fuel. LC³ is more environmentally friendly and could be described as green cement. The second project priority is to gradually make a thermal substitution from heavy fuel oil to refuse derived fuel. ✖

high IMPACT

As one of the top construction companies in Angola, Tecnovia has made a name for itself for providing full-scale construction solutions to infrastructural challenges.

Tecnovia commenced activity in the construction and public works industry in 1962. What are your main business operations?

We initiated our activity in Angola with the construction of roads, bridges, tunnels, water supply systems, and other infrastructure like airports and maritime ports, which is still our core business; however, we are also active in the construction of social housing and other residential buildings at the same time that we are entering into new fields of activity, such as the oil and gas and mining sectors, where we are able to provide a wide range of services due to the installed capacity within the country.

What have been the company’s recent milestones? We have done important projects, significant for their location and impact on the population. Our latest project in Luanda was the famous Nó Rodoviário da Samba/Av. Pedro de Castro Van-Dúnem Loy. The design and construction methods were quite different and includes the construction of tunnels, which are not that common in Angola or even in Africa. This specific project was developed through an engineering, procurement, construction, and financing project, where we presented a complete solution to solve an existing problem. Such an approach fully demonstrates that, more than a construction company, Tecnovia is a solutions provider for its customers and communities. Among our other milestones is our strategic transition four years ago away from a company exclusively serving the public sector to one also attuned to the private-sector requirements. This especially relates to the oil and gas sector and our provision of infrastructure and construction projects, this, in addition to other private sector entities. It took a great deal of effort from our team to adapt to a totally new mindset because it required consider-

Ricardo Marfim dos Santos CEO, TECNOVIA

able technology to diversify the range of services we could provide. That being said, we still predominantly work for the public sector.

How did COVID-19 affect the company, and how did you adapt to the new normal?

Fortunately, we coped well, relocating to our current office one month before COVID-19 measures came into force. And then like everyone else, we did not know quite what to expect. We turned our meeting room into a crisis room and assembled our directors and executive board to formulate a plan of action in a daily basis. It is still difficult to predict what will come next in the new normal. However, we decided that it was a key moment for the company, which is why I would also call it a milestone. We had to adapt and behave differently than before, attuning ourselves to any changes in market demand, and not only institutionally, but personally. That is a difficult thing given the different generations of people working at our company. Starting from March 2020, we saw wholesale change. The government canceled all work activities, and the bulk of government works came to a halt. This prompted us to revise our approach to daily business.

What are your expansion plans for the coming years? Currently, we are focused on the Angolan market, but always checking other possible markets. For example, Tecnovia Group is planning to start operations in Uganda in 2022/2023. Usually, when Tecnovia Group enter into a new market, the intention is to remain there for the long term, rather than on a project basis, reason why we tend to be selective when looking for opportunities in other markets. However, if the market conditions enable us to think differently, we may expand to other regions. At this stage, we prefer to expand internally. ✖

30 years in the Angolan market

BIO Ricardo Marfim dos Santos is the CEO for Tecnovia Angola and serves as President of the Board of Directors. He graduated in civil engineering with a postgraduation certificate in management and business consulting. He has more than 20 years of experience on the construction sector and joined Tecnovia group in 2002. Prior to his appointment as CEO of Tecnovia Angola, dos Santos worked in Portugal as project manager and in East Timor as country manager.

bridging THE COUNTRY

Tech Africa is specialized in building digital marketplaces with a portfolio that includes Angola’s leading property and automotive portals: Angocasa.com and Angocarro.com.

Kenneth Hogrefe CEO & FOUNDER, TECH AFRICA

Tech Africa is an international tech company with expertise in digital marketplaces. How did the company begin in Angola?

In 2012, I created the first digital marketplaces in the country to bridge the gap between offline and online automotive and real estate business. I wanted to create an easier and more secure way for buyers to connect with trusted sellers. Tech Africa was founded in 2015 and became Angola’s first venture capital-backed tech company. The funds were channeled toward developing new marketing strategies, products and services that positioned AngoCasa and AngoCarro as the preferred automotive and property portals in Angola. In 2017, AngoCasa completed the acquisition of Jumia House Angola, consolidating its position as the leading portal in Angola. In 2022, it was awarded Top Property Portals of Africa by Property Portal Watch. Today, Tech Africa is the leading marketplace operator in Angola, and our portfolio also includes Welcome to Angola (tourism), Quitanda (classified), and Boa Estadia (short rental). Our digital marketplace business model is highly scalable and creates a positive impact in Angola by bridging the gap between the formal and informal economy. How can digital marketplaces contribute to the digital revolution in Africa?

Digital marketplace platforms that match trusted buyers and sellers can raise incomes and boost inclusive economic growth with minimal disruption to existing businesses and workforce norms. According to a report, growth in online marketplaces will merely cannibalize the sales of brick-and-mortar retailers are misplaced in the case of Africa. There are only 15 stores per one million inhabitants in Africa, compared with 568 per million in

Europe and 930 in the US. This extremely low penetration suggests that there is minimal risk that e-commerce will displace existing retailers and that much of the population is underserved. Online marketplaces are a good illustration of how the digital revolution can create economic opportunity and improve social welfare in Africa. The public sector and online marketplace communities should engage in discussions to achieve a common understanding of the opportunities for job creation, skill development, and inclusive growth. Both sides also must clearly understand each other’s concerns and needs—as well as the impact that can be achieved by addressing them. Online marketplaces could share aggregated, anonymous data that is beneficial for urban development, for example. Considerable work must be done at many levels to ensure that these platforms fulfill their potential to become an important source of new jobs. Instead of being seen as forces of chaotic disruption, online marketplaces should be allowed to develop in an environment that is designed from the outset to bring economic and social benefits to all.

What are the current investment opportunities in the sectors you operate?

AngoCasa recently launched the Angola Property Report 2023 that provides international investors an insight into the real estate investment opportunities and the improving economic climate in Angola. In 2017, Angola’s capital Luanda ranked as the world’s most expensive city for expats, ahead of cities like Tokyo, Zurich, Singapore, and the capital’s real estate prices ranked highest in Africa and among the top worldwide. Meanwhile, in recent

years property prices have plummeted and now offers immense real estate investments opportunities. Luanda is on track to becoming Africa’s next megacity with more than 10 million people. For the most part, FDI inflows to Africa have generally been attributed to five factors: regulations (ease of doing business), the general investment climate, broader economic reforms, information communication and technology development, and infrastructure improvements. Angola is making improvements on all these fronts and sees a high level of interest as an investment destination from investors from across the globe. Interest in Angola has also widened, with all 18 provinces being considered for investment and a wider range of industries being targeted in the country. ✖

Kenneth Hogrefe is a Danish-born entrepreneur living in Angola. He became a pioneer in Angola’s start-up ecosystem and founded Tech Africa, the country’s first venture capital-backed start-up in 2015. His professional career started in the property business, working for EDC in Denmark and on international property projects in Greece and Portugal. His academic background includes an international business degree and an IBA in financial management studies in Denmark.

BIO

LOOKING BEYOND THE CENTER

Angola’s nationwide need for infrastructure and local content has presaged initiatives to extend economic progress to its provinces.

ANGOLA, LIKE MANY OTHER EMERGING MARKETS, is chasing an ideal. The ideal of more equitable and nationwide development as its economy diversifies. To date, the massive oil and gas sector has largely floated the economy, whereby the capital Luanda the commercial center has seen the lion’s share of urban development, leaving much of the country severely underdeveloped. In fact, in many cases existing production in the regions goes to Luanda for nationwide distribution. The government now aims for individual regions to become more independently dynamic by developing the sectors most suitable to each, be it textiles enabled by cotton production, services, or tourism. This should progressively spur local content and a consequent decline in import dependency. Yet, with basic amenities such as potable water still in short order, development is a lengthy process requiring both state backing and economic tailwinds. This merits a brief glance at…

…SOME NUMBERS

Angola’s five-year recession finally caught a glimpse of blue sky in 2021 as GDP inched up 0.8 %. Growth is forecast at a steady 3% for the coming few years. One factor behind the rise was the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, and the non-oil sector, notably agriculture and services, compensated for oil sector contraction. The following year the government aimed spending at sectors such as education, housing, agriculture, and communication. Yet, the challenges run deep as roughly one third of Angola’s rising population lives in poverty, while braving unemployment and inflation. November inflation printed at 15.2%, albeit down from October’s 16.7%. Encouragingly, November’s number was the lowest since January 2016.

TESTBED BENGUELA

Walter Campos is the CEO of Benguela-based Vertical Construção, primarily engaged in construction and engineering. An exporter of the materials used in their projects, he notes that “much of the nation’s industrial matrix still needs to be created.” Once the parameters are consolidated, he continues, “it will be easier for companies to be able to acquire key raw materials, such as iron and plastic.” Other parameters for regional development include local content, including a qualified workforce. Campos notes that the firm is “building a university that promises to bring considerable value [that] will have a student body 2,500 [and] we want to complete the project in 2023.”

LIQUID SOLUTIONS

Infrastructure investment is fundamental to Angola’s economic progress. The government certainly appreciates the benefits of a small fish used to catch a larger one. In Benguela province, the main

investment rival to Luanda, the government has bet on water and housing infrastructure. Managing the Catumbela River is essential to regional plans for farming and fishing to feed the growth of downstream local manufacturing. To that goal may be added tourism, and ultimately the rise of a service sector as living conditions improve.

Brazilian engineering conglomerate Odebrecht has been active in the region for close to 20 years, having constructed the initial stage of the Emergency Stage of the Waters of Benguela Program. That was a clean water initiative for the cities of Benguela, Baía Farta, Catumbela, and Lobito benefiting 1.6 million Angolans. Another project involving containment dikes regulates the flow of the Catumbela, Coporolo, and Cavaco rivers, mitigating the flash floods that regularly damage property and occurs between November and April. A longer-term proposition is to realize the river tourism potential of Benguela. Given its investment potential, officials view Benguela as an exemplar of social development for other regions, such as the coastal province of Cuanza Sul, also known as Kwanza Sul, which is primarily agricultural, and mostly known for coffee, cotton, fruit, rice, and tobacco production.

ON THE RIGHT ROAD

In December 2022, Standard Chartered bank revealed financing for Angola amounting to EUR238 million dedicated to improving agricultural and transport infrastructure. Supported by the Export Credit Agency (ECA) the financing spans two projects signed with the Angolan Ministry of Finance.

ANIMAL MAGIC

The first project, worth EUR142 million, involves the construction of a new bio-veterinary center for the production and development of animal vaccines. It will be situated in Angola’s third-largest city of Huambo. This bio-veterinary vaccination center, a project of the Angolan Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries, will underpin another geared at boosting agricultural productivity and reducing import dependency for bio-vaccines. The facility will develop vaccines to tackle pathogens specific to Africa.

ECONOMIC DRIVER

Meanwhile, EUR96 million is destined to renovate a section of the EN140 national road spanning Mussende and Cangandala. The 98-km road exemplifies government determination to extend socio-economic development to the provincial capitals, in this case, those of Malange and Sumbe. And while the citizen of the Kwanza-Sul province will enjoy improved access to healthcare, education, and other social services, efficient logistics should grease the wheels of commerce. ✖

EXPANDING FRONTIERS

IN 2022, PRODESI recognized Nova Cimangola as the largest exporter in the non-oil sector and the largest cement producer in the country. The company exports clinker and cement to several African countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Namibia, and Zambia. This export activity helps consolidate the company's leadership position in this highly competitive and seasonal market. Nova Cimangola also operates in the domestic market, with a 50% share, being the only company covering the entire territory of Angola. Following the objectives of the country, the company has hired 500 people in the last three years, leading to the company achieving the highest sales and revenue in its 70 years of existence in 2022. The company now aspires to be an important partner in the exploration and export of bulk materials, making a contribution to the Angolan State's commitment to maximizing the exploration and export of minerals in the country.

“We adopted a strategy that placed us at the top of the market and made us a large exporter. We are pleased to be in a stronger position, and this year, we are even stronger. Our sales in 2022 have grown 100% compared to last year,” said Pedro Pinto, Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Nova Cimangola has the capacity to load ships of 50,000 tons every two weeks from its jetty and intends to export more than 1 million tons of ore and clinker in 2023. Angola is a country that produces a significant amount of cement and clinker, both of which are important export products for the country. In 2020, Nova Cimangola announced that it had exported 20,000 tons of clinker to the Democratic Republic of Con-

go. Clinker is also an important export product for the company and for Angola.

WHY IS EXPORTING SO IMPORTANT FOR THE ANGOLAN ECONOMY?

Angola is heavily dependent on its extractive industries, which have volatile prices and market conditions. The country is aiming to diversify its economy and ensure growth in other sectors. Angola is now focused on increasing its exports, and it is important for the country to reduce its dependence on oil and natural resources.

Angola’s dependence on oil exports makes its economy susceptible, and if the country increases its exports, it could become less dependent on the price of oil and other commodities, making the economy

more resilient to shocks in the international market. Increasing exports would bring more foreign currency to the country, helping to stabilize the balance of payments and reduce the country’s external vulnerability.

Exporting can also create job opportunities for Angolan people, another main issue affecting the country at this moment. It would also bring business attention to innovation and investment to meet the standards of international markets, creating a competitive environment that calls for businesses to adopt new technologies. Increasing exports can help Angola to immerse itself in the global economy. The country is still a developing country and could build new trading relationships with different countries. ✖

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Nova Cimangola

REBUILDING ANGOLA

In the coming years, Angola offers great possibilities in the various area of civil construction, especially outside of Luanda.

THE MAJOR LINES of operation of Imovias are civil construction, facilities management, and maintenance; however, we never discount other interesting opportunities that might arise in other sectors of activity. When it comes to civil construction, we have completed many different projects. For example, we have extensive expertise in terms of social work projects such as schools, clinics, health offices, water distribution systems and structuring projects mostly developed by the government. We have also done some roads—although that is not our major activity—and other civil industrial works. In the oil and gas industry, we did a great deal of civil construction works that ranged from simple facility maintenance and repair works to building a new industrial base in Cabinda for the oil and gas industry. For other private clients, we have been involved in differentiated projects like offices, warehouses, houses, showrooms and other types of buildings or infrastructures. We have been here since 2007, and we always operate the company by thinking about the long term.

CONSTRUCTION as our primary business, to which we add engineering and architecture. We also have an international company from which we import some of our building materials. We are particularly strong in the real estate sector, where we develop customized projects for restaurants, residences, and hotels, as well as our products that we usually use in the projects we build. 2022 was positive, and we are building a university that promises to bring considerable value. It will have a student body 2,500, we want to complete the project in 2023. We also have other projects in the residential construction area and are developing a building in the city of Benguela and a further three in Luanda. We are a consolidated company, and have been active in the market for over 15 years, and the professional pedigree of our employees makes us a reliable partner for our clients. Moving forward, we need to develop a diverse industrial base be it for iron, plastic, or small tools, and we must also develop the construction in tandem.

MSTR WAS ESTABLISHED at a particularly busy time for Angola, and we secured many projects. As time went by, we also wanted to improve our type of construction, that is, the way we build, and to open up our range of construction. Today, we engage in everything from earth moving to total road construction, and concrete and bituminous construction, which also helps us build roads. We have a unit dedicated to prefabricated concrete materials. We also have a carpentry shop and aggregates production. The latter, besides helping in our construction, we also sell to the public from our quarry. In other words, anyone can come to our quarry and buy our construction materials. All the companies that require construction work in Bié end up becoming our clients. We can provide support as a subcontractor, as we often do, and we also supply the materials for the projects. We always seek to improve our quality processes. To this end, we have our own laboratory for quality control of our materials, completely certified in all equipment.

WE ARE FOCUSED on pursuing a large volume of work regarding metallic structures for industry. We are currently working on metal bridges with a Portuguese partner in Angola, which is assisting us with security, calculations, and other studies. Fortunately, we have many partners in Angola. Our first client here was retail company Casa dos Frescos. Later, we worked with Refriango, Viana Park, and Sicasa, among many others. We have spent the last few years investing locally in infrastructure, hiring people, and expanding our facilities. Afriperfil’s approach differs from other companies. When crises have struck, while our competitors and other companies left, we did the opposite. We invested in our facilities, and purchased equipment and substantial stock. We also invested in advancing our people. Our business is operated by Angolans who were trained right here at Afriperfil.

Fernando Ferreirinho CEO, AFRIPERFIL

Rafaela Pinto CEO, MSTR

Walter Campos CEO, VERTICAL CONSTRUÇÃO

Joaquim Alves CEO, IMOVIAS

VALUE ADDED BY AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY, AND FISHING TO GDP

EXPORT VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS BY PRODUCT, 2020 (USD MLN)

A farmer at work in Cabinda Province

Image: Andre Silva Pinto

NATURAL RICHES

Angola was once a significant producer and exporter of agricultural products such as coffee, sisal, sugarcane, bananas, and cotton. Despite losing ground in recent years, agriculture still accounts for around 11% of the country’s GDP. The sector has been hindered by a lack of access to modern technologies, insufficient investment, and a shortage of skilled labor. The civil war also impacted agriculture by disrupting agricultural activities. Today, 80-90% of farms in the country are small to medium-sized and used for communal and subsistence farming. In 2022, the World Bank approved a USD300million Smallholder Agricultural Transformation Project to develop climate-resilient farming and address vulnerable subsistence farming.

Jorge do Amaral, CEO of Alcaal Angola, sees growth potential in Angola’s agriculture, citing the country’s vast arable land and abundant water resources. The government is taking steps to promote development and investment in the

sector through tax incentives, agribusiness investment funds, and other benefits for investors. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has also established strategies to capitalize on the country’s natural advantages in soil, water, and climate. The agriculture market is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 5.8% from 2022-2027.

Despite the challenges, the country continues to struggle with food needs, as much of the sector relies on imports. To address this, the government created the Production Support, Export Diversification, and Import Substitution Program (PRODESI) to generate export value and reduce dependence on imports in the food and agro-industry sector.

Agriculture has the potential to play a major role in the country’s growth and development with proper policies and investment. It could become a crucial sector, creating new jobs and reducing poverty. ✖

SETTING an example

Focused on producing sugar locally to replace imports, Biocom is the first Angolan company to also produce and commercialize sugar, ethanol, and electricity from biomass.

Produces

250,000

tons of sugar per year

Only sugar producer in Angola

Angola needs to invest more in local production of basic needs

Biocom’s project was created to replace gradually imports, to the national production, focused in self-sufficient, of an important basic food, which is the sugar. Biocom participates in the entire sugarcane production chain, from planting and treating sugarcane, to harvesting and transporting to industrial facilities, where we process them for our three main products: sugar, ethanol, and electricity. The latter is generated from the burning of sugarcane bagasse, or biomass, in our high-pressure boilers. The beginning of this story was in 2007, when we started a research process to bring sugarcane varieties to Angola. This is a greenfield project, and we started it from scratch. We started to plant these more adaptable varieties and determine those that evolved well and were more resistant to pests and the elements. In 2014, Biocom had its very-first harvest. In 2022, we produced around 120,000130,000 tons of sugar of a total production capacity of 250,000 tons. Biocom is a still a new project, with around 30,000ha of sugarcane planted, and to reach our full capacity we need about 40,000ha. We are also working to improve the quality and productivity of the soil, adding fertilizers, plaster, and limestone. Further to that, we have scheduled investments in an irrigation project for 5,000ha. We have a huge challenge in our hands, though we have a great team that is prepared and motivated. In addition, we receive support from our shareholders. In about five years’ time, we will have reached that sweet spot, and we will reach our full capacity.

and only repack it in Angola. We have been working to increase the marketing and reinforce the name of Kapanda, which is the brand of sugar we produce, in addition to always remembering this is the only 100% Angolan sugar. Over the years, our customers, ranging from housewives to industries that use our products as raw materials, have already noticed the quality of Kapanda and also of the ethanol we produce, and this is undoubtedly a factor that helps to distinguish us from other companies. We have also started the process to join the Made in Angola seal, which will strengthen national producers.

How can you establish a strong national market?

It is not easy fight against imports. In sugar, for example, other countries such as Brazil and India, which are the two largest producers, have an entire basic industry to meet the demands of parts, fertilizers, and other inputs, while Angola still has to import almost 100% of its needs. Biocom’s project addresses the need for the country to replace its imports and locally produce the most basic foods. In the other hand, it is essential to consolidate policies to protect and encourage national production, which are common in other countries, and to continue investing in the construction of the necessary infrastructure for the industrialization and diversification of the country’s economy. Investments in the training of professionals more and more qualified with greater technical knowledge are also essential for Angola to become more competitive.

What are the investment opportunities in renewable energies and agriculture in Angola?

Uirá Ribeiro graduated in civil engineering at the Federal University of Bahia in Brazil. He came to Angola in 2011, and for over 10 years was in charge of different projects, including infrastructure projects in addition to the management of the first mall in the country. In 2021, he joined Biocom as CEO.

Biocom supplied the national market with 120,000 tons of sugar in 2021. What has been your strategy to distinguish yourselves from other companies in the sector?

In fact, Biocom is the only producer of sugar and ethanol in the country. To fill the gap between Angola’s demand, which is around 350,000 tons per year, and our production, the other companies import the product from other producing countries

Biocom can be used as a showcase for new investors, whether in the area of energy generation or agriculture. The country’s electricity sector can be considered the primary sector for investments. The emphasis should be on the generation of clean energy, generated not only from hydroelectric plants, which is country’s main focus today, but also solar energy and biomass, as in Biocom’s case. ✖

How has Biocom evolved since its establishment?

Uirá Ribeiro GENERAL DIRECTOR, BIOCOM

ALWAYS FOOD ON THE TABLE

Self-sufficiency in a batch of high-priority crops is hoped to bring about an agricultural renaissance in Angola.

WITH OVER 35 MILLION HA OF ARABLE LAND suitable to the cultivation of tropical crops, Angola is well-placed to become a major exporter of agricultural products in Africa; however, since the end of hostilities in 2002, the country has been importing roughly half of its demand for foodstuffs. “Prior to the 1975-2002 civil war, Angola was a major exporter of coffee, sisal, sugarcane, banana, and cotton, and it was self-sufficient in all basic food crops except wheat,” notes a 2021 report by the US Department of Commerce.

Despite enjoying fertile farmlands and a favorable environment, industrial agriculture has not widely practiced in Angola so far. The nation’s farmlands are instead mainly used for subsistence agriculture. As of 2023, the share of industrial agriculture and fisheries remains at around 9% of the economy. Although the figure has grown by 50% since a decade ago (6% in 2012), it has not changed significantly over the last couple of years.

Many smallholders, who are currently engaged in subsistence agriculture, can transition into commercially viable farms with the right kind of finance and training. It is estimated that up to 88% percent of arable lands currently cultivated using traditional methods have the potential to turn into high-yield small and medium-sized commercial farms in the short-term.

Some international help will be available. In 2022, the World Bank announced USD300 million for the implementation of the its Smallholder Agriculture Transformation Project in Angola. This is in addition to an earlier USD230-million joint project by the World Bank and the French Agency for Development, which intended to increase productivity by raising the number of commercial farms.

From an economic perspective, some crops seem to be more promising than others. Coffee, for instance, is considered a high-priority crop. Coffee used to be Angola’s top agricultural export in the 1970s, though its production and export declined considerably during the civil war. Over 2,500 industrial farms and roasting companies devoted to coffee production were divided and disbanded during the hostilities.

In recent years, however, coffee is reclaiming its status as a cash crop with the rehabilitation of many plantations in places such as Uige, Bengo, Kwanza Norte, and Kwanza Sul. Coffee production— mainly of the robusta variety—grew to 9,000 metric tons in 2019. To unite smallholder farmers, a Luanda-based company called Café Cazengo has brought 500 coffee growers together, collective controlling

around 10% of the nation’s coffee trade.

“The promotion of coffee exports is expected to increase available foreign exchange (FOREX), and reduce Angola’s reliance on imports,” according to a 2021 attaché report published by the US Foreign Agriculture Service. Euro News, meanwhile, optimistically noted in 2022 that “Angola’s commercial coffee bean production was up by 34% in 2019-2020,” adding that the “country’s new agricultural technologies and a conquering flavor are bringing Angolan coffee back for good.”

Banana is yet another high-priority crop for the country. Achieving self-sufficiency in banana production, Angola exported over 10 metric tons of cavendish bananas in 2016. This marked the first year with a notable surplus in production in nearly forty years. Although only a third of all lands appropriate for bananas plants are currently under cultivation, Angola still remains Africa’s number-one exporter of the fruit, having exported over 9.5 million tons of banana in 2022.

Some have gone so far as to look at bananas as Angola’s best crop and its key to achieving economic diversification. “Stamped ‘From Angola, with love,’ the fruit is shipped to consumers 6,000km away—[as] part of Luanda’s drive to diversify its economy and wean itself from its dependence on oil,” commented Chinese news outlet Shanghai Daily in 2018.

Incidentally, China has shown some interest to invest in Angola’s fruit industry. In 2021, an MoU was signed between Angola and the Beijing-backed China-Africa Industrial Park for technology transfer and investment in the African nation. “This agreement will help attract Chinese investors and import competitive Chinese products to Angola, as well as export Angolan products such as manioc and bananas to one of the world’s largest consumer markets,” said Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Angola (CCIA) Chairman Vicente Soares.

It remains to be seen if China will replace Portugal as the biggest importer of Angolan banana. In the meantime, Angola is expanding the cultivation of another set of crops, maize, potato, pineapple, and sugarcane, all of which have traditionally been cultivated in Angola, and their annual production exceeds 1 million ton. There is yet another batch of crops which are only cultivated experimentally, but are well-suited to the climate of Angola, including palm oil and peanuts. As the large-scale production of this latter category requires technology and some investment, Angola will likely welcome interested foreign investors, which can be a win-win deal for both sides. ✖

Image: Andre Silva Pinto

CULTIVATION

With the right certifications and investment, Angolan producers have the potential to not only supply the national and regional markets, but even go global.

João Amaral CEO, FAZENDA GIRASSOL

TODAY, THE MAIN PRODUCE is bananas, and the trend in the Angolan market is heading toward a widening of the fruits and vegetables market again. In Angola, our main clients are all the supermarkets. We supply to every supermarket, without exception, and they are by far our biggest clients. We are not looking for new clients because we already do not have the capacity to supply our current clients. We have had many contacts for exports but do not have the production capacity to export at the moment. Currently, we have to grow our production so that we can export. We have opted to focus on the local market for the time being and supplying Angolan supermarkets, which at times we have also not been able to. There is great potential for growth. Our expectations are always to keep working, increase production, and supply the local market so that we can have excess capacity to export. Products from Angola are sought after because all supermarket chains like to have novelties, because that is part of supermarkets’ value. Angola could be one of those possibilities in which everyone will be interested in, and that is why we have an opportunity.

Nuno Moínhos COUNTRY MANAGER, ANGONABEIRO

WE STARTED roasting Angolan coffee in 2001 under the brand Ginga, and we are now pursing an expansion. We have started to finalize the installation of our capsule machinery, the first one in the market. We have a team from Portugal here with us, putting everything together, so we can start and then expand our coffee business. Our origin is coffee, but we have expanded in recent years, and today have several brands in the group, including olive oil and wines from our wine cellar in Alentejo, Adega Mayor. The wines are selling well in Angola, and during the pandemic, we also expanded our business to other categories, not only from brands of the group, but also representing internationally known names. We expanded first to distributing brands in the food segment and later in non-food categories. We are always looking for opportunities within brands that make sense, and that have scalability. We are looking at a new line of coffee-based products in 2023. We aim with Angolan operation not only to export Angolan coffee to Africa, but the wider world. Angolan coffee is well known for its particular qualities, and we want to further boost local coffee production.

José Macedo CEO, NOVAGROLIDER

FROM 2021 TO DATE, exports have increased significantly and continue to grow. There are new markets coming up, and we expect to see a major increase in the next few years. We work with Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, and Russia. We will also start business with Dubai and Saudi Arabia. In Africa, we already export to South Africa, Namibia, and the Republic of Congo. Our company produces more than 60 kinds of products. Our export products are mainly tropical fruits, and the window of opportunity that we see is for a large export volume. In fact, our objective is to increase the production of tropical products. Our main product is the banana, and in 2022 we expect to reach close to 20.000 tons of exportation. The second product is papaya followed by passionfruit and pineapple. We also have other projects in test with fig, persimmon, grape, and coffee as well. We have already sent our first batch of coffee—roasted and packed—to Portugal. Novagrolider aims to reach 1,000ha of coffee plantations within two or three years and are plant new coffee fields every month. We are also producing cocoa and planted around 20,000 cocoa plants in 2022.

Health & Education

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Health and education are both essential sectors for the development of a nation. It must be said that both have faced numerous challenges in Angola that have affected the wellbeing of its population, especially after the worldwide pandemic. In the education sector, this situation led the population to adapt to a new way of teaching. “The school campus was temporarily closed in March 2020 due to escalating concerns about COVID-19. Delivering online and face-to-face learning brought a whole new dimension of challenges to navigate, with demands on staff significantly higher. However, we did it while making health and safety our number-one priority,” said Dylan Hughes, Director at Luanda International School.

In the public sector, the government has made education a priority due to the country’s low literacy rate, which is one of the lowest in the world. One of its major initiatives is the construction of new schools and the renovation of existing ones. The government has also increased funding for the education sector, allocating more resources to teacher training, educational materials, and infrastructure development. It is also improving the nation’s accessibility to free education, and as a result, primary school enrollment has

increased from 49% in 2007 to 80% in 2017. To improve the quality of education, Angola suffers from a shortage of qualified teachers, but the country’s education sector roadmap leads to an improvement of STEM subjects such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and an increase in the availability of educational materials.

The health sector, likewise, is suffering from a shortage of trained healthcare professionals, infrastructure, and resources, which has affected and limited the way healthcare providers deliver effective care. Despite these challenges, the government has taken responsibility for providing better tools and improving the sector in order to attract and retain healthcare professionals in the country. These initiatives include incentives for doctors and nurses in remote and rural areas, as well as increased investment in other important areas such as training and education. Like the education sector, the health sector is also providing funds to support healthcare facilities in the country.

To improve the sector’s development and accelerate primary health coverage, Angola has strengthened its partnerships with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO). ✖

A NEW era

To help Angola cultivate a fully developed educational system, ISPTEC is focusing more on R&D and international partnerships to boost its offerings.

Marcílio Manuel dos Santos FORMER GENERAL MANAGER, POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCES (ISPTEC)

More than 400 graduates in 10 years

94 startups created by ISPTEC graduates

BIO

Marcílio Manuel dos Santos holds an MEng degree in mechanical engineering with control from the University of Aberdeen, where he also did his PhD in quantum physics. Today, he is the Managing General Director of ISPTEC, a professor, and a researcher in that institution. In 2017, he was the director of a conglomerate of 34 laboratories from ISPTEC, and from 2015-2016 he was working at Academia Sonangol where he helped with the creation of CPD, R&D Scientific Center from Sonangol. During that time, he was also teaching operational research and topics from petroleum engineering and also worked on several projects within Sonangol. He is the author and co-author of several publications in physics and renewable energy. He is attending a postgraduate course at MIT in economics, data science, and policy development.

What has been the evolution of ISPTEC since its founding in 2012?

ISPTEC opened 10 years ago as an initiative developed by Sonangol to create a university of quality in its academic, pedagogical, and administrative processes that includes administrative buildings, laboratories, and a sports complex. In the first year, we had 90 students, and to date we have graduated more than 400. We offer our undergraduates high-quality education in a range of expertise. We aim to develop future professionals and leaders for both the business environment and society as whole, focusing on practical knowledge to be applied in their professional futures. Since, we are a polytechnic university, students learn how to establish a start-up or design a new technology. Most of them have ideas that have a direct impact on society. From 2015-2019, ISPTEC graduates have established 94 start-ups. In terms of research, we maintain interactions with national and international companies that have a presence in the country, mainly within the oil and gas sector. For example, we have scholarships from companies like TotalEnergy, Sonangol, and the Army. Many international companies now target our students, especially those whose expertise are related to IT, where they receive job offers even before having completing their degrees. Finally, we want to strengthen contact with institutions abroad, we are currently collaborating with Brazil, the UK, and US.

The program of studies at ISPTEC is wide and diverse. What are your expansion plans in terms of study programs?

Currently, we have a department of engineering and technology, with courses such as civil, mechanical, IT, chemical, and electrotechnical, industrial production engineering. We also have a department of applied science where we can find courses such as accounting, economy, and business administration. Finally, we have the department of geoscience with courses such as geophysics and petroleum engineering. It is our newest department, and it will

see its first graduate students in 2022. We plan to incorporate geology and sustainability engineering, although the course has not been approved yet. We also have a master’s degree in chemical engineering that will be approved soon, as well as oil and gas as well. We have postgraduate courses in industrial maintenance and project management, and renewable energies. All of it is funded by Sonangol, as it is shifting its focus from being an oil and gas company to an energy company. Finally, we are focusing on foreign languages and have created a language center. We are entering the third cycle, and at the end of it, part of the lectures will be in English.

What are the main challenges facing the higher education sector?

We lack more support from the state in order to accelerate our projects. We need to invest in research, given the development and technical research being carried out in other parts of the world. One of the greatest challenges is the lack of financing. We need funding for our faculty members to travel and interact with other experts in their fields. We also fall short of mobility programs especially tailored for local students. We keep telling our professors to make best use of the resources they currently have. Science cannot be developed if you do not have financing, as well as the right mindset and attention. The creation of the National Research Foundation was an important boost for the educational system in Angola. It mainly focuses on addressing the aforementioned challenges of higher education. ISPTEC is currently doing a great job on content and knowledge transfer, but we lack research and development. Our target next year is to have at least 15-20 published SCOPUS type papers regarding high-impact factors. In the next five to six years, we aim to publish 1,000 papers to enter Times Higher Education (THE) World Rankings. We are working on improving many simultaneous areas that will allow us to accomplish the greater goal of having a fully developed educational system in Angola. ✖

shaping OUR FUTURE

Luanda International School is focused on providing education in a childcentered and relationship-orientated environment while focusing on the emotional, social, and cognitive wellbeing and development of children.

Luanda International School is dedicated to learning in its broadest sense. What have been your major milestones?

We reopened the school’s physical campus in January 2021. Around 60% of our students came to classes on campus, while 40% remained online. The school campus was temporarily closed in March 2020 due to escalating concerns about COVID-19. Delivering online and face-to-face learning brought a whole new dimension of challenges to navigate. Demands on staff were significantly higher. However, we did it whilst making health and safety our number-one priority. Despite the continued escalation of COVID cases, the LIS team managed to operate successfully for 18 months. The good news is that enrollment has trended upward. In comparison to stories from other international schools, this is a remarkable achievement for LIS.

How important is the relationship between parents and teachers in Luanda International School?

Effective schools build strong partnerships with their school community. I believe the relationships we form at LIS with students and parents are a point of difference from many other schools— it is something one can feel the moment they enter the campus. As a diverse community of learners, we welcome families from 42 different nationalities. With over 30% of our study body comprising

Dylan Hughes DIRECTOR, LUANDA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

national Angolan families, we have a great foundation to welcome expatriate families into the rich tapestry of Luanda. This is where they come to form their first friendships and relationships and build a community away from their homes, and so the school serves as a vital hub for developing a sense of belonging.

What is the vision of LIS when it comes to sustainability in Angola?

Angola provides our students and staff with authentic opportunities to engage with a wide range of challenges and issues. A great deal of our work is connected to the environment, children, and education. It is not only about going out in the community; it is also about bringing in the community. Students have reached out to other organizations, including NGOs and ministries, to form partnerships. This combination of external expertise and student passion has helped create the basis for sustainable project-based learning that aligns with our school mission and values. To date, we have initiated mangrove projects, worked with orphanages and schools, gone out into the provinces to support various local initiatives, raised funds, and directed collections for clothing and medicine. Thanks to the environmental passion and commitment of a year 13 student, LIS operates one of the biggest solar-powered schools in Angola. ✖

BIO

Dylan Hughes currently serves as Director of Luanda International School, with 2022/2023 marking his eighth year working with a vibrant community of national and expatriate students and staff from 40-plus nationalities. He has lived and worked internationally for almost 25 years in countries including Brunei, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, and Angola. He attended Auckland University in New Zealand, where he received a bachelor of education and completed post-graduate studies, including a diploma in teaching, a postgraduate certificate in education, a postgraduate diploma in education, and a master’s in educational leadership.

65% expatriate and 35% national Angolan families from 42 nationalities

MODEL education

Universidade Lusíada de Angola is one of the first private higher education institutions in Angola, promoting rigor and quality in education and research.

Paulo Múrias CEO, UNIVERSIDADE LUSÍADA DE ANGOLA

BIO

Paulo Múrias has been living in Luanda for more than 60 years. For over 30 years, he was a trained medical orthopedic doctor, specializing in sports injuries. He also spent 25 of those years as director of the National Center of Sport Medicine in Luanda as well as medic of the national basketball team. As an entrepreneur, his professional path began with the promotion of the first private medical clinic in Luanda and being the project leader of the first medical evacuation company in Angola. 20 years ago, together with a partner, Múrias opened the first private university in Angola. He also became the first quality wine producer in Angola in the region of Namibe.

The education system was set for changes in the last few years. What initiatives are you seeing in the new era of higher education?

One initiative is online education through a digital platform, but there are several impediments from the ministry in terms of the required authorizations. We had a proposal for distance education, as per records from 2010 and 2011, and to date the government has neither approved nor rejected the proposal. Online education in Angola is extremely important because the majority of the population lives in coastal areas, and there is a lack of interiorization in the country. Distance learning allows us to reach remote areas. For Angolan education in general, it is important to take knowledge to those who otherwise would not have an opportunity. Even during the pandemic, we found it hard to legalize distance learning courses. Another milestone was the establishment of CIVESTEC, a digital platform that provides the data of the economic research center. This platform provides us notable visibility and is becoming an important product for economic analysis. We release an annual report, a compilation of that year’s quarterly reports, and in 2021 during its release, it was widely received, including among government employees. We want to expand the same idea to other areas, including law, statistics, and so forth. In terms of new courses, we are spread across the country and are receiving numerous proposals, including a few courses that would our Lobito location extremely well. We are not aiming to become a huge university with an endless list of courses. Our goal is becoming what Brazilians call a “boutique university,” which means a university that is hard to enter, whether in terms of the educational level of students or financial means. In short, we want to bet on quality and not quantity.

Around 1% of Angolan youth are enrolled at the university. How is it accommodating the population’s needs?

Our idea is that the state has to have a participation and must subsidizes higher education. There are many students who wish to enter university, but

who lack the financial means. The state also lacks the capacity to absorb every student. However, as is the practice in many countries, the state must subsidize students. We are not talking necessarily of a complete subsidization of every student, but a partial subsidy, for example, 50-70% of the tuition. We are also focused on accommodating master’s degrees, whether in law, economics, or international relations.

In addition to your partnership with Brazilian Anhanguera University, what other international partnerships do you have, and how do they help you achieve international standards?

We have also established a partnership with USP, which is considered the best Portuguese-speaking university. This has yet to come to fruition due to the costs involved, especially during the crisis. Another university we have signed an agreement with is Universidade Lusíada de Portugal. We have an excellent cooperation agreement with it, and it has supported us in the master’s degree space by offering scholarships. Today, many of our master’s degree courses are connected with Universidade Lusíada de Portugal, and its professors are also lecturing on our master’s degree courses, which is greatly welcomed.

What is the future for the university?

First, we must ensure the financial capacity of the university. In the future, we also talk about the dismemberment of different institutes. Within the university, the project of a new building was to showcase the idea of a boutique university, a model that has met certain success. Our reality also points in this direction. We want to complete the new building, perhaps add a few additional courses, invest more in master’s degree courses and research centers, and also start publishing material. Many of our professors are contributing to a magazine in the law space, a collaborative publication with such institutions as the Universidade Clássica de Lisboa. Many of our professors travel there for master’s degree courses. ✖

Aims to remain a “Boutique University

CIVESTEC digital platform provides results of economic research

THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL

The fight against illiteracy continues in Angola, as the state, NGOs, volunteers, and women’s rights groups all weigh in.

YOU MAY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF the International Literacy Day, celebrated on September 8 every year, because basic literacy skills— that is reading, writing, and rudimentary mathematics—are taken for granted by many these days. However, we should remember that 15-20% of children worldwide are still deprived of the chance to receive even a primary education, which drastically limits their potential economic and social growth in the future. The developing African nation of Angola, as such, takes advantage of the opportunity every year on September 8 to raise awareness about literacy.

Angola’s former Minister of Education, Pinda Simão, delivered speech a few years ago on this day’s occasion, discussing the achievements of the ministry’s strategic plan for raising the rate of literacy among adults. The plan provided free basic reading and writing classes to over 430,000 adult citizens between 2012 and 2015, with 92% of the participants achieving satisfactory results at the end of the course.

The national strategic plan was developed in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to rehabilitate the country’s war-stricken education system and spread literacy. The strategy capitalized on “mobilizing the efforts of various local, national and international NGOs, nonprofits and volunteer organizations to act as a single united front aimed at improving education and literacy in Angola,” according to a blog post by the Borgen Project—a charity watchdog.

Similar programs are still in progress in 2023. Indeed, the fight against illiteracy in Angola is an old and ongoing struggle. Since independence in 1975, there have been campaigns on-and-off to reduce illiteracy. And the illiteracy rate which was once around 85% has dropped to around 25% of the adult population. However, the country is still far from the standard expected by UNESCO: universal basic education for everyone.

NGOs have played a major part in the implementation of literacy initiatives since the early 2000s. Given the widespread influence of religion—and in particular Christianity—in Angola, many of the NGOs active in the field are in linked to churches of one denomination or another. The Rosto Solidário training center located in an underprivileged suburb of Luanda, for instance is working in cooperation with the Salesian Sisters—a Christian women’s NGO. The center offers more than basic literacy, offering vocational training to locals, especially women. The center is hoping to enable its students to acquire the kinds of skills which are likely to help them land a job in the context of Angola’s job market.

The Lutheran World Foundation (LWF), another Christian NGO, takes pride in being the first foreign NGO that came to Angola, in the 1980s. Focusing on the eastern parts of the country, the NGO summarizes its mission as “helping the most vulnerable realize their most basic rights,” which obviously also include reading and writing skills.

Secular NGOs and individuals are of course also active in the country. A combination of local and international volunteers, especially from fellow Portuguese-speaking countries such as Brazil and Portugal, are handling the largest part of workload. Go Volunteer Africa—a volunteer mobilization group—cites “teaching and education” as one of the areas that volunteers coming to Angola are most interested in.

The strong emphasis on women is well-placed, as not everyone is affected equally by the problem of illiteracy. Research conducted by the ISCTE Institute at the University of Lisbon in 2020 discovered that the women living in rural areas are more likely to not have received any education. According to some estimates, as much as 60% of women in the rural areas of eastern Angola lack any reading or writing skills. The shortage of classrooms, teachers, and—most importantly—motivation are known as the main barriers ahead of education campaigns targeting illiterate adult women.

Women’s literacy in Angola is inevitably tied to the empowerment of women in the country, which has been championed by the government in recent years. The government has called for the empowerment of women, enforcing two new landmark pieces of legislative, including the Labor Code and the Family Code. Both laws are “designed specifically to end the disparities in employment, land ownership, health and basic human rights between genders,” according to the Borgen Project. These laws paved the way for the participation of women in all social arenas in the 2010s. We, as a result, are now seeing a surge in the early 2020s in women’s enrollment in adult education programs.

Even if eradicating illiteracy is impossible in this generation, there is a good chance that a nearly perfect literacy rate is achievable for the next one. As Angola’s population is predominantly young, investment in the education and literacy of the future generation will be the best course of action. The country has seen a rise in the percentage of school-age children attending school, with enrollment experiencing a threefold growth between 2002 and 2013 and consequently growing to over 90% over the decade which has passed since then. This is surely a heartwarming development, though the continuation of local and international help will be critical in the coming years. ✖

HEALTHCARE

Ensuring quality and training personnel continue to be top priorities in the local healthcare sector, with institutions looking at success for the long term.

Jean-Yves Richard GENERAL MANAGER, LABOREX

AS A SUBSIDIARY of Eurapharma, Laborex has no different mission or values than any other Laborex entities in the world. Our strategy is the same as well, namely to offer as many products as possible according to the market needs with the best quality and pricing. There are different ranges of products in terms of pricing, and you can find the best quality while offering the best value for money for consumers. Our strategy is to offer the best quality and value for money at every stage of the value chain. Our business is not that complex and can be broken down into: importing, warehousing, and distributing products to authorized retailers. The complexity lies in ensuring the best quality at origin and maintaining it until the end of the chain while serving customers as best possible. Our strategy is to ensure we offer the best quality and service to all the stakeholders for the benefit of end users and the health of the Angolan people. Our positioning is to bring quality for money and offer the best choice of products. No matter the price range of a stakeholder, we can find the best available product for them.

Mário Conde da Silva PRESIDENT OF EXECUTIVE COMMISSION, CLÍNICA GIRASSOL

THE PRIMARY MISSION of Clínica Girassol is to promote health with special attention to medical emergencies, providing service of the highest quality. Our main services are surgical, diagnostic, and therapeutic. Within medicine services, we highlight the performance in several specialties such as internal medicine, cardiology, stomatology, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, physiotherapy, and hemotherapy, in addition to infectiology, nuclear medicine, and psychiatry. In the surgical area, the specialties of cardiovascular surgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, vascular surgery, general surgery, laparoscopic surgery, thoracic surgery, gynecology, and otorhinolaryngology stand out. In terms of diagnostic exams, we offer computed axial tomography, mammography, conventional radiography, nuclear magnetic resonance, and pathological anatomy. We also have a cardiology unit and a sleep lab. We invest in the continuous and specialized training of our professionals, with work and performance protocols. Four of our services are also certified by the Portuguese Certification Association (APCER): clinical analysis laboratory, hemotherapy, imaging, and pathological anatomy. Our next steps are to register an improvement in laboratory diagnosis and imaging services and also add hip and knee replacement surgery as well as advanced spinal surgery. We also plan to set up an ophthalmology surgical unit with retinal surgery.

Sergio Luciano CEO, AUSTRALPHARMA

OUR MAIN PURPOSE is to bring healthcare closer to people. We operate in three major business areas: pharmaceutical distribution, healthcare consumable material, and diagnostics. We have also made significant investments in past years, with global investments of around to EUR9 million since then, including numerous investments in IT systems, logistic infrastructure, and distribution networks. For example, we have refrigerated transport to guarantee the quality of products during distribution. Because of their sensitivity, our warehouses are regulated in terms of temperatures and are constantly monitored in other to adhere to pharmaceutical storage and distribution regulations. One important aspect is cultivating local talent, and one of the criteria for our expats is the transference of knowledge. Local talents are the future of the company, which has led to an essential process of people development and training. Our group has been ranked first among pharma companies in Portugal, and in 2021 we included our companies outside Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea Bissau. It was remarkable to see the company’s top ranking in Angola, and we believe that the investment in people’s capacity and relation to company projects is fundamental for the sustainability of the company.

CALLING ALL DOCTORS

The expansion of medical education is Angola’s answer to the shortage of physicians and healthcare professionals in the country.

ANGOLA HAS HAD A NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE since the late 1970s, which provides primary healthcare to the citizens free of charge, though its operations are not free of problems. The Angolan healthcare system has been struggling to catch up with the population’s growing needs since the return of peace in 2002. While the COVID-19 pandemic exhausted the sector considerably, it was also a wake-up call, raising awareness about the health service’s critical importance.

In addition to the limited clinical infrastructure and para-clinical technology, lack of healthcare professionals is a major bottleneck. Healthcare differs from most other sectors in that its human resources cannot be trained overnight or even in a couple of years. Training nurses, clinical technicians, and especially doctors is famously lengthy and requires long-term planning.

Public hospitals, which are the access point of the majority of Angolans to healthcare services, are notably understaffed. “Public hospitals cater to almost 60% of the Angolan population, and access is free-of-charge but the quality of care is not perceived by the general public to be particularly good,” commented a 2021 report on the state of the sector by the US International Trade Administration.

Much of the problem arises from the absence of enough specialists in state hospitals. While Angola’s population is approaching 35 million, there are under 6,000 registered physicians and 50,000 nurses in the country, mainly concentrated in the capital city, Luanda. It is not uncommon for internists and infectiologists to visit over 100 patients in a single ward round, which reduces the quality of care provided to each patient. Specialists dealing with more acute conditions such as neurosurgeons, cardiovascular surgeons, and oncologists are even fewer, forcing some patients to seek treatment abroad.

The Ministry of Health has tried to address the shortage of practitioners. The National Plan for Health Development (2012-2025) cites the expansion of medical training as one of its top three priorities. In the first step, 2,000-3,000 practitioners will be added to the workforce. At the same time, many current personnel must be re-educated, as WHO as well as local institutions has cast doubt on the sufficient training of some professionals working in healthcare.

The shortage of medical personnel in Angola is not due to lack of interest in medical education. Quite on the contrary, the nation’s younger generation is very eager to pursue a medical career, partly as it guarantees a stable income. The problem arises from the fact that not many doctors were trained in Angola until the end of the civil war in 2002. Completing medical school, a mandatory internship, and a residency to qualify as a specialist takes up to 12 years in some cases, while more years are needed to gather experience.

Seeing that medical education is not an early-yield enterprise, the Ministry of Health is determined to ramp up enrollment of the country’s medical schools and nursing programs. “In the past decade, the Angolan government has invested in the expansion of faculties of medicine in the country,” according to a 2021 scholarly article by Fronteira and Freitas published in the journal BMC Medical Education.

Angola currently has 19 faculties of medicine spread across seven provinces, the oldest famous of which is Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Agostinho Neto. Most of the newer medical schools have been launched after the turn of the century, including five faculties in 2008-2009 and another two in 2016. This expansion will hopefully bear fruit circa 2023, giving a new generation of doctors to the health service, as obtaining a medical degree takes six to seven

years in Angola.

Another notable trend is observed in medical faculties, which can have a significant impact on the sector. While in the past medical students were predominantly from upper social classes, recent statistics are indicative of the democratization of medical education, partly thanks to competitive admission. Over 70% of all medical students and 60% of those enrolled in Luanda-based medical schools come from provincial and rural backgrounds. These future doctors are more likely to work outside Luanda, where the shortage of physicians is most pressing.

A well-planed healthcare system needs more than doctors. The country’s medical schools are also offering two- and four-year courses to train hygienists, epidemiologists, and community health counselors. Adding such programs to faculties will surely prove effective, as health and hygiene counselors can contribute to the prevention of diseases across the country, thus reducing the workload

of the clinical staff in the coming years.

There are also short-term on-the-job training programs that impart specialized skills to nurses in a particular area, such as midwifery. Carolina Manuel Sousa, a midwifery nurse in Namibe Province, told the UN’s Relief Web program that “training was beneficial because there are things I didn’t do before, such as calculating the gestational age and tracking sexually transmitted diseases. I’m implementing what I learned. With the knowledge I acquired, I have trained my colleagues and today, there is more demand for our services.”

Investing in medical education has of course been a necessary measure. However, there are more options that the Ministry of Health can focus on: expanding private healthcare, preventing the immigration of the existing personnel, and sending Angolan practitioners abroad for complementary training, especially in other Portuguese-speaking nations. ✖

Image: Tiago Romero Baptista

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH?

Tourism remains an underdeveloped sector in Angola due mainly to a turbulent past, including a bloody war of independence with Portugal, followed closely by an almost 30-year civil war that concluded in the early 2000s. But with the greater stability that the country now enjoys, the government is keen to attract more tourists as part of wider plans to diversify the economy away from a stubborn reliance on hydrocarbons.

Government plans in this regard are wide ranging, and indeed the sector formed a key part of the National Development Plan 2018-2022, although even the best laid plans couldn’t have predicted the disruption COVID-19 would cause over this period. Prior to 2018, Angola received some 200,000-300,000 tourists a year.

In the nitty gritty, the government is seeking to boost artists, music, theater, and fashion, with an eye on developing “Brand Angola.” Training is also being set up for tourism employees. On a grander scale, the country is in dire need of basic infrastructure, such as land, road, and sea links to better facilitate the movement of people. There are also calls to designate special tourism areas that can act as “pilot experiences” in a country that has little-to-no experience developing tourism infrastructure.

There is also a niche market to be explored in

domestic tourism. According to some estimates, four in 10 Angolan holidaymakers prefer “staycations.” To boost the sector, the government is running television sports in an effort to encourage Angolans to explore their own country before heading across borders.

Efforts are also being made to streamline visa processes for foreign visitors, an easy win for any aspiring tourist destination. “There are a lot of natural resources. Also, Angola has absolutely undeveloped tourism potential that is immense,” said Eduardo Fairén, CEO of TAAG, one of the biggest airlines in Africa, during an interview with TBY. He went on to characterize the country as “full of treasures but still a virgin country, with loads of opportunities for investment in infrastructure and, of course, enabling tourist areas and exploring new zones in the interior of the country.”

First and foremost in the minds of the authorities going forward will be the need for Angola’s diversification drive to be a success. Tourism, unlike other major job creators like agriculture, has the added benefit of being a potential source of foreign currency and one of the most effective ways to boost a national brand, opening doors in a range of sectors. But, so the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Angola has a long way to go until it can rival regional tourism hotspots such as South Africa. ✖

Filipe Silvino de Pina Zau MINISTER OF CULTURE, TOURISM, AND ENVIRONMENT

What are your priorities as Minister of Culture and Tourism in Angola?

NATURAL assets

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is working to define the policy for the development of culture and tourism in Angola with a view to contribute to the economic, social, and sustainable development of the country.

BIO

Filipe Silvino de Pina Zau was head of the Supervision Department of the National Directorate for Training of Teaching Staff of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Angola, and later served as cultural attaché at the Angolan embassy in Portugal. He has also worked at the Community of Portuguese Speaking and was a UNDP consultant for the preparation of the Angola Report in 2010. Between 2010 and 2021, he was vicerector and rector of the Independent University of Angola (UNIA), guest professor at the faculty of social sciences of the Agostinho Neto University (UAN), president of the Association of Angolan Private Higher Education Institutions (AIESPA), and vice-president of the Angolan Academy of Letters (AAL). He became Minister of Culture and Tourism in October 2021.

I took over government functions a little over a year ago and found a ministerial structure, which brought together three areas: culture, tourism, and the environment. This sectoral triad had the main challenge is the construction of an institutional identity, which, from a strategy, establish an interconnection between the three sectors, in a logic of complementarity. In this way, we have been working along the lines of a circular economy, aimed at processing waste such as plastic for the production of electricity, as well as the desalination process for the production of drinking water. Operationalizing this strategy would help solve part of the basic sanitation along beaches with a reduction in electricity costs, as well as access to potable water in tourist ventures, especially those installed along the waterfront. The culture component would be present through the involvement of the participation of surrounding communities in their interaction with tourists (for example selling honey or handcrafted pieces), as well as the realization of shows by visual artists, musicals, theater and fashion in catering spaces. In this new legislature, we pay special attention to professional and technical-professional training, both for artists and museum employees, including the tourism sector, including the hotel industry. We are also working to reinforce the mechanisms for valuing artists, through the creation of the Palace of Music and Theater and the Cultural Center of Huambo, as well as through the recovery of inoperable concert halls, as well as social support for artists, through of the creation of the Casa do Artista. Finally, with the growth of cultural and creative industries as a whole, we are sure that they started to contribute in a more significant way for the country’s GDP. In addition, we also provide special attention to ecotourism; in this postCOVID-19 period, such tourist activities dominate international demand trends.

Angola seeks to gradually diversify its economy, choosing tourism as one of the main prior-

ities for structuring economic policy. What are some of the projects carried out this year to boost tourism in Angola?

In 2022, in addition to the desalination pilot project developed, we were able to continue to the implementation of the Technical Assistance Agreement to the Ministry by the Organization World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), with a view to develop policy instruments and plan for the structuring and organization of the sector. We want to highlight the achievement of Miradouro da Lua, with the creation of infrastructure conditions that make investment viable on-site and hence a greater attraction for tourists. We hope the experience can be replicated across the country with the intervention of provincial governments and private empress. We continue to promote the main tourist resources in Angola in all its dimensions. We started a project that aims to develop of game tourism focusing on the Okavango region, through the viability of the private investment in the region, with an initial focus on restoring access roads. It could bring multiple benefits to companies, the state, and the local communities.

What are the opportunities for investors who would like to enter in Angola right now?

Angola is made up of 18 provinces, and more than 60% of the accommodation units are concentrated in two coastal provinces. This means that some of the provinces with greatest tourist potential in the country, such as Malanje, Zaire (Mbanza Congo), Namibe, and Huíla, are not sufficiently equipped with developments to accommodate tourists. This deficit constitutes an opportunity for investors to participate in promoting tourism in these and other provinces, with positive effects on Angolan economy. From the fiscal point of view, Law No. 8/22 approves the Code of Tax Benefits, under which it is possible for an investor to obtain tax benefits depending on the territorial space where they intend to locate their investment, the job creation, the social character of the undertaking, and its position in relation to the environment, among other criteria. ✖

a wider AUDIENCE

INFOTUR is focused on improving the local business environment and fostering growth in tourism, with a focus on domestic inland tourism and investment opportunities in tourist centers.

INFOTUR is working to create a better business environment to foster sector growth. What progress has been made over the past year?

There has been considerable progress, and we have already established a solid partnership with the Agency for Private Investment and Promotion of Exports of Angola (AIPEX). We have also created a technical committee within the partnership that is evaluating incentives for the tourism sector. We will likely soon have incentives in place for the tourism sector to facilitate the necessary investments.

What are your expectations of the partnership with AIPEX?

It is a solid arrangement given that AIPEX is mandated with promoting the country internationally. So, regarding such events as tourist fairs, AIPEX will also be present with us. We have a fair in Spain that we are already working with AIPEX on. The fairs are important, because that is where we can sell what the country has, although the internal structure of the country must match the message. In terms of the tourism industry, you cannot sell the country overall, but must focus on areas that are already more structured. I am specifically referring to the provinces of Benguela, Huíla, Namibe, Malanje, and Luanda. Hence, we go through phases with provinces that still need to better organize catering and accommodation services.

In Angola, there is a niche to be explored, which is domestic inland tourism. Do you have plans for that specific niche?

Yes, domestic tourism is an extremely important segment for us. Because in any country, to attract international tourists, it is necessary that the locals themselves engage in the activity. This is something we are already working to develop. If you follow our national televisions, specifically TPA, you will see promotional videos that indicate the tourism regions. This aims to show the Angolan, what the country has, in different provinces, such as Mbanza Kongo, which is a heritage of humanity itself. In fact, domestic tourism is already happening in Angola,

Afonso Vita DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR TOURISTIC PROMOTION OF ANGOLA (INFOTUR)

and whenever we have a long holiday, the provinces are full of people, Angolans and foreigners who live here. We need to improve our roads to improve tourism, and we need to increase investment to combat high prices, all of this to improve domestic tourism.

What are the investment opportunities in the tourism sector?

There are several possibilities, and the country’s tourist centers are reserved for these investments. Soon, we want to release a video about the poles and the conditions of access to these places. Therefore, I ask everyone interested in investing in our tourist centers to contact us. The state is already making its internal investments, but there are regions where investment can already start, as in the case of Malanje, which already has energy and road connection. In Malanje, we not only have the Kalandula waterfall, but also the Pungo Andongo rocks, the stunning Kwanza rapids, Caboledo, Namibe desert, Okavango, and Miradouro da Lua.

What training facilities are you developing?

INFOTUR had five hotels that were initially to be turned into teaching hotels, three of which have now been privatized. We only have two hotel schools now. We project that the school will open in January or February, and the hotel is already operational. We have partnerships with training institutions to facilitate this work, considering the urgency of training professional staff. In Luanda we have a professional hospitality school with 36 classrooms, less than a kilometer from the Kilamba hotel. We have an agreement with Turismo de Portugal, and this is an experience that we must take advantage of as much as possible. Under this agreement, we will send 23 Angolan students to Portugal for two years, but with the possibility of continuing on to higher education. We are also working with the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO) in Brazil. Brazil is the gateway for millions of Africans in the Americas. ✖

Goal for Angola to be among main tourist destinations in SADC Tourism as a vehicle for economic diversification

Adds value to the country’s resources

MORE to offer

The InterContinental Luanda Miramar has become the spot to host key events in Angola, helping to showcase a vibrant image of sub-Saharan Africa and Angola as a true international hospitality provider.

Nuno Neves GENERAL MANAGER, INTERCONTINENTAL LUANDA MIRAMAR

BIO

Nuno Neves has extensive experience in business hotels, leisure hotels, and all-inclusive resorts, operations, food and beverage, sales, and marketing in locations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He holds a Swiss hotel management degree from Alpina Hotel Management School and PDP hotel management from Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration in the US.

The InterContinental Luanda Miramar’s goals for 2022 was to bring all your services online as you become recognized as a top sub-Saharan Africa business hotel. How did those plans evolve?

We opened our doors in November 2021 and during 2022, we have been advancing certain services. We opened with 40 rooms and now already have 150 open for the public. We opened without restaurants and bars, and we now have five fantastic dining options. On the first floor we offer an all-day dining, the Curadoria. Next to that, we have a traditional tapas bar. On our first floor you can find our conferencing center that can cater to up to 800 people whether for socials or corporate events alike. We have also opened our pool bar, Peri-Peri serving light snacks to our pool patrons. On the 24th floor, we have the Sky Lounge, the current venue for the city’s hottest brunch with sweeping views of the bay of Luanda.

What is the essence of the hotel?

We are working with external interior design companies to, in the coming months, bring to life an even more elevated product that reflects the true InterContinental spirit with the local flair of Angola. Stay tuned for more as we bring this final project to the light of day.

What are the challenges of merging the international standards with the Angolan ones?

This hotel will in due course be a showcase of true international hospitality representing Angola in the world stage as a key landmark. Our primary objective is to showcase a vibrant image of sub-Saharan Africa and Angola. Being the first luxury hotel brand has its own its challenges; however, we are keen and hopeful to continue taking this project forward.

InterContinental Luanda Miramar has become the spot to host key events. What is the strategy when it comes to approaching this specific client profile?

We have many events in the pipeline, including key summits and conferences both national and international. These range from government level

to the oil and gas sector, finance, and consulting. But basically, we have been organizing international summits promoted by President João Lourenço, including international summits related to the oil and gas business with related ministers, OPEC and African oil and gas producers. We are becoming known as the key hotel in town. The plan for 2023 is to build from this and continue achieving more landmarks such as the Global Hotel Luxury Awards, Haute Grandeur Award and many more.

What is the future of tourism in Angola?

Angola is seeing a positive trend in tourist arrivals from a year ago with fewer restrictions due to COVID-19, a more streamlined e-visa process and more business travel into the country. In the coming months and years, we look at Angola in an extremely positive manner as more public spending is geared toward the improvement of infrastructure and services. Angola has an enormous tourism potential in the tourism sector with its natural beauties and welcoming people.

Are there investment opportunities for people willing to build projects in Angola catering to tourism?

Yes, there is huge potential nationwide for investment in such as safaris, an endless coastline, Africa’s second largest waterfalls, great weather, amazing geographical scenery and much more. Angola will soon be in the map as an undiscovered gem.

What is the future of InterContinental Luanda Miramar in Angola?

Intercontinental Luanda Miramar will remain the symbol of hospitality in Luanda. Because we are the first international luxury chain in the country bringing to life ways of working never seen here before. We are open-minded and provide an open horizon to all our guests and employees. We want people to visit the InterContinental Luanda Miramar to celebrate those special moments. I am proud of what my team and I have achieved so far with the opening of this hotel and we look forward to the coming years. ✖

By mid-2023, InterContinental Luanda Miramar aims to have all of its

rooms available

The "adopt a garden project" is transforming Luanda City

*O projecto adopte um jardim está a transformar a cidade de Luanda.

For more details:

www.expogarden.co.ao

geral@expogarden.co.ao

Projecto

Adopte um Jardim

TOURISM OFFERINGS

Focusing on providing more than just the standard offerings, these businesses also worked on gaining their customers’ loyalty with greater engagement and a variety of initiatives.

What is your strategy to make EPIC SANA Luanda Hotel the preferred residence for business people in Angola?

MIGUEL AFONSO DOS SANTOS EPIC SANA

Luanda opened in 2011, but it was inaugurated in 2012. The hotel was developed with a range of services, that please anyone who visits us from business to leisure guests. We have restaurants of different cuisines including Vitrúvio Italian, Origami Portuguese, and Kimera Asian Fusion, a 2,500-sqm conference space with technology, a fantastic spa and gym, comfortable rooms and apartments, and a Supper Club Switch. However, all these only work if we have a committed team, well trained and with high level of professionalism. We are always trying to go beyond guest expectations and adapt on a daily basis and innovate our product offerings. In these last 10 years, EPIC SANA Luanda has welcomed most of the heads of states that visited Angola, CEOs from international corporations, diplomats, and businesspeople, and we always provide the highest standards possible. In 2022, we were awarded with Super Brand recognition, as well as the World Travel Awards 2020: Africa Leading Business Hotel and Angola Leading Hotel

World Luxury Hotel Awards 2020: Luxury City Hotel, Luxury Diplomatic Hotel e Luxury Hotel World MICE Awards 2020: Angola’s Best MICE Hotel.

Talatona Shopping offers many new international brands in the country. What is your strategy to ensure the trust and loyalty of local and international clients?

RADUAN ALEXANDRE SALEME It all started when we saw a deficit in the commercial area in the Talatona region. It is a residential area with not many shopping options, which is how the idea of doing such a project came about. We sought to develop a place where families, friends, or individuals can come, and everything can be found in one place. That year, we made new investments focused on the entertainment area. We plan to attract all national and international visitors, because it is a public spot. Everyone is welcome. We have some international brands that is well-loved by expats and locals alike, as well as other brands that we also intend to push in the future. We have a Japanese restaurant, which is not traditionally found in a shopping center here and is a truly refined dining expe-

rience, as well as a pizzeria based on an Italian style. In addition, we continue to offer options that appeal to the public as well.

How do you inspire customer loyalty among your guests?

MADS Its critical to have a strong and solid team, well trained and motivated, so is important to develop talent and reward. At SANA Hotels, we have SANA Academy that trains our team on a regular basis, both online and locally, in room and on the job, from behavioral to more technical aspects. It is extremely important to train people, so we can have genuine connection with guests; if we understand their needs and we then can go beyond, we can be assured of loyal guests. We have also developed social events to engage with guests and the community and boost creativity. We have developed Art Can Be EPIC, a platform to showcase local artists and promote culture and Angolan talent. We also developed EPIC Talks, whereby we participate on a radio show in partnership with LAC and the oldest radio program in Angola, Bom Dia. We have also created EPIC Networks, where we invite corporate people to mingle, network, and connect at EPIC SANA Luanda, the place to be, where people meet.

The shopping mall has become the hub for different events and activities. What was the intent behind this initiative?

RAS The idea came about in 2021, when the situation was still bleak, and the country’s economy was still affected. We started to draw up our plan for 2022. We have a gym, the only gym inside a shopping center in Angola today. I had the idea to hold other sporting events, such as ESPN, Jiu Jitsu, and boxing for children. We also have an art gallery focused on art, because to us culture is important, and we want to also boost and help Angolan artists. In addition to using it as a gallery for art, we can also rent it out for events. The entire space has a great atmosphere, so we came up with the idea of using it for events, meetings, and business gatherings. In fact, the Talatona administration has already asked to hold a meeting at the gallery and gather all the administrators of residential areas. ✖

Miguel Afonso dos Santos GENERAL MANAGER, EPIC SANA LUANDA HOTEL

Raduan Alexandre Saleme GENERAL MANAGER, TALATONA SHOPPING

HIGH guarantees

Providing competitive prices, quality services, and excellent practices in accordance with international standards, Hotel Diamante Luanda is firm in its commitment to the country.

After COVID-19, Hotel Diamante’s strategy was to attract tourists and hold events at competitive prices, as well as to develop the hotel’s digital marketing. How has this situation evolved in the last year?

Despite the bumps and headwinds along the way, I can say that the situation evolved positively, as the scheduled events were successfully held, a broad marketing and publicity project was launched, the prices charged continued to be competitive and were instrumental in attracting demand.

Taking into account the various projects that the government has for the tourism sector in Angola, how does Hotel Diamante align with the country’s plans to attract more tourism? Hotel Diamante, like other companies, aligns itself as a true partner determined to give its support for the realization of projects that the government has for the tourism sector. We are a hotel development with 174 accommodation units of different types and have a total of 150 workers, mostly young people. We practice competitive prices, provide quality services within good management practices and in accordance with internationally accepted standards. And this is part of the government’s projects, which consist of guaranteeing the functionality of companies, guaranteeing employability, and the provision of quality services at affordable prices.

What is your strategy for expanding your presence in the country?

In order to expand the presence of the business in the country, we are investing in the training of existing human resources with the aim of increasingly improving the provision of services, adopting a more assertive marketing and advertising policy and investing in qual-

ity. This will make the business more attractive and probably more profitable, which will certainly awaken the desire to expand it to some provinces in the country, creating jobs and improving the diet of some families.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) is committed to continue supporting projects of private initiative investment, aiming at the recovery and expansion of the hotel network and reconstruction of infrastructures, what to do differently so that the country’s potential be fully exploited?

In order for tourism potential to be fully exploited, I believe it is necessary and important to invest in training young people for the tourism sector.

What are your perspectives for 2023?

Taking into account the forecast growth in air travel, we expect a gradual increase in the occupancy rate. I believe that with the return of previously repressed demand for business travel, it will begin to recover and this will help to stabilize occupancy levels. Expanding the business, creating jobs and becoming a wellknown company in the tourism sector are targets that form part of our perspectives for 2023. ✖

“Hotel Diamante, like other companies, aligns itself as a true partner determined to give its support for the realization of projects that the government has for the tourism sector”

António Simão GENERAL MANAGER, HOTEL DIAMANTE LUANDA

SPIRITS

With a local and regional market that offers great opportunities, local spirits producers are excited to develop successful brands and market them globally.

Can you elaborate on the company and its trajectory in Angola?

FILIPE BARROS Angola Wines and Spirits Company is a Distell Group company, one of the biggest beverage producers in South Africa and it is present in many countries in Africa. In Angola, we produce some Distell brands, mainly ciders. The Savanna, Hunter’s and Mustang, as well as the famous Esprit that is a RTD. We also import and distribute beverages produced by Distell in South Africa, such as JC Le Roux, Amarula, and the Nederburg wines. Amarula is the second-best selling cream liqueur in the world after Baileys. Also, our Nederburg wines are a wellknown range of wines from South Africa.

RICARDO GUERRA I started importing wines and then started selling beer from local importers. There was a lot of beer being imported at that time; however, I saw an opportunity in the local production of low-cost spirits, high-volume market.

Caxaramba is the first Angolan rum is the consequence of that experience giving the

natural step of working spirits with quality. You have natural varieties in the country such as the Gabela, Huambo, and Quibala varieties Dombe. We ferment, distill, and age our rum in French and American oak. Unfortunately, we lack production volume and need further growth.

What are the current investment opportunities in Angola?

FB Angola is one of the easiest countries to be in as long as a company is committed and is a responsible producer. There is a belief that for a company to be present in Angola, they need to have a local partner. This was not the case for us, so I believe anyone can do it. We made a foreign investment with the Agency for Private Investment and Promotion of Exports (AIPEX). We initially thought to make an investment of USD6 million, and we have since invested about USD25 million in total. The team from AIPEX treated us extremely well and was extremely helpful. It has been absolutely fantastic, and we have forged a solid relationship with

it. We had investments approved in three or four days, which is absolutely fantastic.

What challenges did you encounter when entering the Angolan market and how did you overcome them?

RG The appearance of Biocom was highly welcomed by the drinks business in Angola, because they produce the sugar and molasses and a good quality of ethanol. And we use it too, when in need for other types of drinks. That completely changed the nature of the business because we stopped importing raw materials. That said, our business is a little different, as we are not solely engaged with spirits, but also ferment our and distill our products. This gives us the quality and the evolution of the drink that drinkers seek. The main achievement that I seek is to champion the small farmer and extend them the knowledge that they need to establish a local culture.

What are your most strategic priorities for 2023?

FB Our priorities are to continue to diversify and focus on developing solid relationships with clients and associates. To us, our clients are not just our clients, but our partners. We want to continue to gain more partners. We are present in all the 18 provinces of Angola, though we want to be stronger in some of them. In some aspects, we are extremely comfortable with our position, though we need to improve in others. Another aim for 2023 is to be more visible, more available, and more accessible across the entire country.

The company will export for the first time, starting with over 600 crates of rum Caxaramba and the same number of Gin 77, to Portugal and Italy. What are your expectations for this?

RG I believe this achievement is going to be important not just in terms of sales, but of strengthening the international image of Angola. We want to be recognized as a brand of quality, and one with a history. Rum is hugely popular, and I believe that the big players of the world are always looking for something new. They are set to consider African rum accordingly. ✖

Filipe Barros CEO, ANGOLA WINES & SPIRITS COMPANY, LDA.

Ricardo Guerra FOUNDER, OLW

HIDDEN GEMS

Capitalizing on its flora and fauna, natural wonders, and cultural heritage, Angola is claiming its place in African tourism.

ANGOLA HAS A RELATIVELY UNTOUCHED tourism sector, though this is not due to a lack of attractions. With stability returning to the country, many travelers on the lookout for unspoiled tourism attractions are considering Angola. At the same time, the tourism sector’s foundations are being laid in the country with the revision of visa laws, construction of more hotel rooms, and launching of new flight routes to and from Luanda.

Angola’s natural splendors are currently its number one attraction for visitors. The country has a wealth of national parks with unique flora and fauna. The ecosystem varies from thick forests to thinner savanna grasslands and even steppes and deserts, which are home to a diverse mix of fauna: quintessentially African mammals such as lions, hyenas, rhinos, and elephants. This makes safaris and similar sightseeing adventures an exciting activity. Visitors can observe elephants and giraffes, among other beasts, at the Kissama National Park—better known as the Quiçama National Park.

The country’s flora is equally interesting. While the mostly lush country is home to unique wetland vegetation around the Okavango Delta, Angola also borders the Namib Desert to the south, which is not only an impressive feat of nature but also home to several local tribes. Many of these tribes are happy to interact with visitors and provide them with a glimpse into their nomadic way of life.

The cultures and people of Angola form yet another major attraction for visitors. The native culture of Bantu still continues to influence the identity of many Angolas, though many elements of the Western way of life as well as Christianity have also been incorporated into the popular culture. Other native cultures such as Ovimbundu, Ambundu, Bakongo, Chokwe, and Mbundu are also alive, each with their own interesting customs and traditions. In the

southern third of the country, a few hunter-gatherer groups continue to practice their ancient nomadic way of life, which is highly appreciated by anthropologists.

Historical monuments and landmarks are not few in Angola, many of them dating back to the colonial era. A statue of Christ, known as Christ the King, overlooks Luanda. Though the statue is a relatively recent addition to the city (built in the 1950s), it has become an iconic landmark popular with the tourists. Those who wish to go back further in history can pay a visit to the Museum of Agostinho Neto (modern Angola’s founding father), the Iron Palace (Palácio de Ferro), and the National Museum of Slavery—though this latter place is replete with bitter reminders of the darker realities of Angola’s colonial past.

Despite so many attractions, the country’s immigration laws and regulations have create a bottleneck for the growth of tourism. The country has a rather strict visa policy, which differs from most countries in the region. While many African tourism hotspots grant visas on arrival to most nationalities, an Angolan visa is notoriously difficult to obtain. Many stakeholders across the country’s tourism sector have proposed a review in the nation’s visa policy.

Thankfully, since March 2018, visa issuance has been considerably simplified for some nationalities. Almost all Europeans, North Americans, and citizens of wealthier Asian and South American countries can now secure a provisional visa online, which will automatically turn into a 30-day visa upon their arrival. This scheme is adding to the number of annual arrivals in the country. And “arrival” is indeed a keyword here. Angola is diversifying the ways in which visitors can come to the country. A luxury train route called the “Trail of Two Oceans,” which runs from Dar es Salaam in Tan-

zania to Lobito, Angola, is under construction. Upon its completion in 2030, the railway will connect the Indian Ocean in the east of the continent to Angola’s Atlantic coastline. The planned 4,000km railway will create a corridor for commerce and tourism along its tracks which pass through Angola, Zambia, and Tanzania.

As for the people who are likely to pay a visit to Angola, the country is at an advantage. The African nation is capitalizing on something called diaspora tourism: “It’s aimed at the descendants of Angolans who Portuguese colonizers sold as slaves,” as EuroNews puts it. There is a sizable population of people of Angolan origin liv-

ing in Brazil, Portugal, and even the US who enjoy a relatively high spending power and will appreciate a visit to their ancestral land.

Such people are likely to also appreciate the cultural heritage of Angola, and they can be relied upon to spread the word about the attractions of Angola upon returning to their country of residence. Others, meanwhile, will surely come in larger numbers as the nation’s transportation infrastructure expands. In addition to the Trail of Two Oceans, Luanda’s new international airport is set to be completed possibly in 2023, which will pave the way for still more arrivals. ✖