The African Development Bank is investing $1.45 billion across 16 ongoing projects in Angola in support of the country's push to diversify beyond oil dependency, the Bank's new Executive Director for the country revealed during high-level meetings in Luanda this week.
Eugénio Maria Paulo, who recently assumed the role of Executive Director for Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, met with Planning Minister Victor Hugo Guilherme to review the Bank's strategic alignment with Angola's National Development Plan and Vision 2050 Strategy.
"The "African Development Bank has proven itself as more than a financial partner--it is a strategic ally in our nation's transformation," Guilherme said during the meeting.
Guilherme highlighted the alignment of the Bank's policies with national priorities, includingThe meeting also emphasised the importance of public-private partnerships as a key driver of economic development. the country's National Development Plan and the Angola 2050 Strategy. The meeting also emphasised the importance of public-private partnerships as a key driver of economic development.
During his visit, ED Paulo also held meetings with the Ministers of Higher Education and Agriculture, senior budget officials, and development partners.
While in Angola, Paulo attended the launch of the Crescer Project, a youth employment initiative that will work to create 37,000 direct jobs and 112,000 indirect positions, with at least half reserved for young women. The project will extend digital and skills training to 100,000 young individuals seeking to enter the agriculture and transportation sectors.
The project is also supporting the development of more than 10,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises with financing and market access and other growth opportunities, as well as strengthening 40 business support organisations.
He also toured the Science and Technology Park, an African Development Bank-supported project driving economic diversification through innovation.
A recent $120 million joint investment involving the African Development Bank, the Angolan Government and the European Union is already fostering entrepreneurship along the strategic Lobito Corridor, a key infrastructure project for regional trade.
The African Development Bank's Angola portfolio covers the following sectors: energy, water and sanitation, transportation, agriculture, finance, social programs, and transportation and environment.
Since commencing operations in Angola in 1980, the Bank has approved cumulative loan and grant commitments worth US$3.36 billion.
