African Development Bank Vice-President Solomon Quaynor has concluded a two-day mission to Angola for meetings with government and private sector stakeholders and to affirm the Bank’s support for existing and new investment initiatives.
The Bank Group’s Country Manager for Angola and São Tomé, Pietro Toigo, and other Bank staff joined Quaynor on the visit, which took place from March 4 - 6, 2025.
The delegation held meetings with the country’s Minister of Planning, Victor Hugo Guilherme, the Minister of Transport Ricardo de Abreu and representatives of the Agency for Private Investment and Promotion of Exports of Angola (AIPEX), as well as with business leaders and the media.
With Vice president Quaynor, Guilherme discussed cooperation to develop financing mechanisms to boost investments by Angolan and foreign private entrepreneurs.
The discussions included a working session on the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Angola (FSDEA). The session highlighted that while the country’s fiscal space remains tight, the Fund has a key role to play in leveraging financing for economic diversification, including through co-investments with the African Development Bank in strategic sectors including agribusiness; pharma and healthcare; fertilizer; and infrastructure asset recycling.
Also on the agenda was investment in power transmission lines to supply renewable energy to the Southern African Power Pool, tapping into Angola’s estimated 3GW of clean power potential. Additionally, Guilherme and Quaynor agreed to expedite the $90 million CRESCER program, a joint initiative to support youth entrepreneurship and skills building.
Quaynor commended the Angolan government for making progress in diversifying from oil and gas, and for taking bold steps to manage its debt. He also praised the private sector, saying “During my visit I could appreciate the progress made by the Angolan private sector along the agro-business value chain, from Grupo Carrinho’s relatively large agro-processing and logistics, to FoodCare, a small company that is primarily exploring [exports of] African processed foods to the US and Europe."
The Bank Group Vice President lauded the implementation of the country’s 2019 transportation masterplan - which includes urban mobility, regional corridors, ports and airports, railways, border posts, and industrial parks. He also affirmed the African Development Bank’s commitment to supporting the development of the Lobito Corridor as a driver of economic growth, through a $200 million investment to boost agricultural value chains in the eastern part of the corridor.
The African Development Bank has a portfolio of 16 ongoing operations in Angola, with a total commitment of $1.45 billion, covering energy (36.47%); water and sanitation (17.08 percent); transport
(0.17 percent) agriculture (14.19 percent), finance (20.15 percent), social (11.63 percent) and environment (0.3 percent).
Since the beginning of its operations in the country in 1980, the Bank has approved cumulative loan and grant commitments worth $3.36 billion.