Angolan Opportunities Premium Chat Output

Little is known of Angola by Zimbabweans, the only contact we have with Angola is on the soccer field when our teams square up. Very little in terms of other spheres particularly business. Add the past civil war (1975-2002) and language barriers and Angola has practically been a no go area.

Angola Statistics

• Population: 30 million
• Currency: Kwanza
• GDP:$302 Billion
• Inflation: 15%
• Trade Stats: 2017 Figures (Exports $33 billion and Imports $19.5 billion)
• Exports: Crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum, coffee, sisal, fish, timber and cotton
• Imports: Machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spares, medicines, food, textiles and military goods
• Current account: -$1.2 Billion
• Unemployment: 6.77%
• Main industries: Petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, uranium, gold, fish processing, food processing, brewing, tobacco product, sugar textiles and others
• Foreign reserves: $17 Billion

So we held a weekend long ZBIN Premium Chat with Rui Matata and he shared great insights into opportunities in Angola,

Open for business: Like Zimbabwe, they had a new administration coming in 2017, in Angola President Joao Lorenco  took over from Dos Santos and he is pursuing radical economic policies of opening up the economy, diversification and ramping up production,

No Visa for Zimbabweans:  You do not need visas to visit Angola for 30 days,

Online Company Registration: You can open a company online within 30 days,

No need for local partnerships: The requirement to partner locals by foreign investors was waived meaning you can fully open and run your own business operations,

No minimum investment: You can invest from as low as $1000 or $5000, there is no limit to what you can invest in Angola,

In terms of opportunities Zimbabweans can pursue in Angola, the focus is on aligning to government priorities of local production and creating local opportunities such as employment and also earning export receipts. The country for long had relied on oil export receipts but due to unstable prices, they are diversifying the economy.

Textile Industry: A Zimbabwean investment group Baobab has made history by opening 3 large textile companies with the second one commissioned on Monday 15 March 2021. This shows the trust and confidence in Zimbabwean expertise. Multi million dollar investments which will shape the future of the textile industry in Angola. Opportunities for training locals in sewing and clothes making, carpet making and others.

Agriculture: Zimbabweans may need to study various Agricultural value chains and analyse opportunity gaps especially agro processing.

Fintech: Strive Masiyiwa recently posted about a data cable being constructed that connects Angola with the rest of the Central and East Africa region such as Congo, DRC, Rwanda and Kenya. The country previously had no bureau de changes facilitating forex changing and remittances of funds. Mr Rui Matata is working with a Zimbo IT expert to resolve the issue. With Zimtrade having urged Zimbabweans to export Fintech expertise, Angola should be a key investment destination.

Colleges: There is a push for the country to fully integrate into English Speaking communities for access to global opportunities with English being vigorously pushed as a language of choice. Therefore English being taught from primary school. So opportunities to set up English speaking colleges and even online platforms.

Mining: If you read our 2018 Business Opportunities for Zimbabweans book, then you should have noted one of the start investments on Angolan Diamond Mining Partnerships. Liberalisation of mining empowered local communities to own diamond deposits but some had access to mining equipment constraints. Of course there are a lot of other minerals that abound in the country.

Exports: Zimtrade website has a list of export opportunities to Angola that include a lot of farming produce. All the land in Angola is government owned with some available for lease.

Way forward for ZBIN

We have formed a steering committee which will register a separate ZBIN Angola Opportunities forum which will spearhead investment in Angola. It will carry out detailed researches and develop business plans. The committee will also arrange for a forum visit to Angola later during the year.