"Angola has the potential to be a locomotive for the development of Southern Africa in the future. The Angolan economy has the potential to generate a multiplier effect in neighboring countries through increased investment and trade", he stated, quoted in a statement sent to VerAngola.
On the occasion, he also pointed out that Angola has the strengths to be "the protagonist of an economic and social impulse in Southern Africa".
The official highlighted that Angola is currently "one of the most important countries in SADC, as in addition to having the second largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and being the country that recorded the highest GDP growth between 2000 and 2022 (+12 percent), is the second largest exporter, the fourth most populous and the third country that grew the most in terms of employment (plus 3.3 percent between 2000 and 2021)", the note reads.
Despite this, he said it was necessary to diversify the economy: "It is still very based on oil. Agriculture, for example, currently represents 8.6 percent of GDP. It is necessary to make a leap until 2050, a year in which it is expected to represent 14.1 percent of GDP. Industry currently represents 6.7 percent, and by 2050 it should reach 19.5 percent".
Miguel Farinha also drew attention to the fact that the country "practically does not export to surrounding countries", and there is a need to "change this reality".
At the conference, the person responsible's intervention had as its motto 'Angola's strategic role in SADC and its focus on infrastructure'. On the topic, Miguel Farinha pointed out "a lot that still needs to be done on the railway and road networks".
"The infrastructure plan that has been defined makes sense to work on it. But investment in railways, roads, or in agriculture needs to be done with private companies", he added, quoted in the note.
"The mobilization of investment, especially from the private sector, will be critical for the country's transformation. Without private investment and without creating the conditions for this investment to happen, the leap will not be made", he said, stating that it is necessary and It is important to "enhance and develop human capital. It is necessary to train, train and provide employment. There is fabulous talent in Angola, and we must provide it with the conditions."
The director of EY Angola, João Rueff Tavares, also participated in the conference, who addressed "financing and risk management in the Angolan economy".
"If we look at the various sectors, if there is a sector that has taken a lot of impact in recent years, it is banking. When we look at the banking sector and talk about risks, we typically talk about three main components: market risk, liquidity pillar and operational risk. We are witnessing a growing concern among banks to reinforce these dimensions", he pointed out, adding that there has also been a "great reinforcement in the protection of market risks", namely through "anticipation of potential disruption scenarios".
According to the director of EY Angola, "from an operational risk point of view", there has been a concern among banks "to increasingly optimize their processes, to better respond to the quality of data in their systems, as well as to increasingly accelerated reporting".
"We are also seeing the introduction of topics such as robotics and digitalization, Artificial Intelligence. All of this helps to make banking more robust," he added.
Quoted in the statement, he also spoke about the capital market in the country, indicating that it is "still very young", and that "the operations we have witnessed provide comfort for others that will appear".
"The entire program will place more entities on the stock exchange, from the banking sector and other sectors. It is a young but solid path. There are good prospects for those who follow. What is missing is to be complemented with what is called financial education in other words, start sending the message to young people, especially those who are more digital, about the benefits and security that the system provides", he concluded.
