The Portuguese-Angolan companies Cipritex – Confecções & Design and Quinta de Jugais Angola have been participating, since this Wednesday, in the Expo-Indústria – 5th Angolan Industry Exhibition – which was inaugurated by the President, João Lourenço.
The companies are among the approximately 230 that make up the industrial exhibition, which runs until Saturday in the Special Economic Zone (ZEE) – Luanda-Bengo, and hope to achieve good partnerships and business at the event.
For 16 years in the Angolan market, Cipritex, a company that produces and distributes uniforms, has 100 manufacturing units nationwide and considers that the Angolan textile market is "growing significantly".
With an annual production that varies between four and five million pieces, the chairman of the board of directors of the manufacturing unit, Félix Cipriano Barco, told Lusa that the company has seen growth in its annual turnover.
A turnover that varies between 2 million dollars and 4 million dollars, depending on the year of work, especially in the post-pandemic period, encourages the company to expand its business in the country, where the business environment "grows significantly".
"The business environment is growing significantly, we now have many more companies looking for services in Angola, we also have companies settling in the post-covid period in the Angolan market because the economy is growing", said Félix Cipriano Barco.
According to the Portuguese businessman, Angola is following a "path of economic and industrial stability", which is allowing the uniform supply sector "growth and challenges".
Speaking at the 'stand', where various types of uniforms are on display, from those linked to the cleaning sector to the oil sector, Cipriano Branco said that Cipritex expects to invest 3 million dollars over the next three years to expand the business.
"We have an investment projection this year of around 3 million dollars for the next three years with the aim of expanding our factory unit and increasing jobs", he assured.
"Unfortunately, the raw material is not all national, but we already have 60 percent of our raw material (produced in Angola), with 99 percent of Angolan employees and 220 jobs", he added, welcoming the Expo-Industry 2023.
Diverse pork-based charcuterie, from chorizo, mortadella and ham are part of the wide range of products that Quinta de Jugais Angola exhibits at the industrial fair, where it intends to do good business and expand partnerships.
"Once again we are here, as we have participated in other editions. The expectation is great, we intend to do better business here, find partners who can leverage our production", Fábio Garcia, the company's commercial manager, told Lusa.
Producing for the Angolan market since 2021, Fábio Garcia stressed that the business is profitable, despite importing part of the raw material for its production from Portugal and Spain, mainly monthly, with turnover between 600 million kwanzas and 800 million kwanzas.
Quinta de Jugais Angola produces 450 tons/month of products, which it intends to increase to 600 tons, to supply the national market and also the Mozambican and Congolese markets, where it has already carried out market studies.
The Minister of Industry and Commerce, Victor Fernandes, said at the opening of the event that the industry sector grew 6 percent in 2022 and that the exhibition that started at the ZEE is a sample of the country's industrial business fabric at this time.
"And it is also, surely, the first sample after the pandemic period and, then, there are two messages that we can take away, the first is that our entrepreneurs are resilient, the second that the country is in fact diversifying its economy", he stressed.
According to the minister, the country "is moving towards important production levels and pursuing the dream of food self-sufficiency", referring that there are actions underway to better value and transform the raw material in the country and boost the sector.
The President, João Lourenço, who inaugurated the industrial exhibition, also visited most of the exhibitions, receiving explanations from representatives of each 'stand'.
The textile industry, agricultural equipment, food processing and marketing, aesthetics and beauty, packaging, construction, furniture and others are represented at the 5th edition of Expo-Indústria Angola 2023.
