This article has been translated and republished with permission from Forbes Africa Lusofona. This article first appeared <a href="https://www.forbesafricalusofona.com/nigeriano-access-bank-adquire-finibanco-angola-a-montepio-holding/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>. “Our vision remains as clear as ever, as does our determination to seize opportunities inside and outside Nigeria.&nbsp;Angola represents an opportunity for our shareholders to participate in what we believe will generate stronger value as Africa emerges.&nbsp;We remain committed to making these disciplined and well-structured investments to create a strong and holistic platform that will be competitive, diverse and attractive for years to come”, says Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Access Holding Pics, exclusively for Forbes África Lusófona, regarding the binding agreement with Montepio Holding SGPS SA to acquire a 51% majority stake in Finibanco Angola SA



The acquisition, signed after the signing of several agreements (pictured), is subject to regulatory approvals in Nigeria and Angola, and is expected to close in the first half of 2023, after fulfilling the conditions precedent, Forbes has learned.&nbsp;At the same time and in a statement, Banco Montepio adds that “the sale value will refer to the proportion attributable to the Banco Montepio Group in the equity of Finibanco Angola SA, which totals 70 million euros with reference to June 30, 2022, and the adjustments that may be determined within the scope of an audit scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2023”.



“For MH and for the broader Banco Montepio group, this is an important step in its strategy of concentrating its activity on the domestic market and, at the same time, opening new paths for the future of Finibanco Angola, which it helped to develop during more than a decade under its ownership”, says the document.



For Access Bank, “the transaction furthers the Bank’s strategy of being Africa’s payment gateway to the world, while working with other continent-focused multilaterals to provide robust and efficient payment platforms and ecosystems.”



It should be noted that Access Bank has a network of more than 700 branches and service points on three continents, with 45 million customers.&nbsp;and 28,000 workers in Nigeria, as well as subsidiaries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom, in addition to a subsidiary in Dubai and representative offices in China, Lebanon and India.



Finibanco Angola SA is a commercial bank with more than 20 branches and around US$300 million in total assets that has been operating in Angola since 2008.

accessbank

Exclusive: “Angola represents an opportunity for our shareholders”, says CEO of Access Bank

The daughter of Angola’s longtime former president accumulated riches through embezzlement and money laundering, an Angolan court claims. To recover what was looted, the government froze her assets. Then Portuguese authorities followed suit. 



Eight years ago, Forbes declared Isabel dos Santos the richest woman in Africa, worth an estimated $3.5 billion. The daughter of Angola’s longtime former president grew immensely wealthy in a textbook case of how to loot a country. Now, with her father out of office, her empire is a shadow of what it once was, with corruption charges levied against her by her country, assets frozen by courts in three different nations and a lawsuit claiming hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid debt in a fourth country. Forbes assumes she has no access and likely little chance to gain back control of the frozen assets—together worth about $1.6 billion if not frozen—so we give her no value for them and by our calculations she is no longer a billionaire. As a result, Forbes has dropped Dos Santos, who was worth an estimated $2.2 billion in January 2020, from our <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2021/01/22/the-forbes-billionaires-list-africas-richest-people-2021/?sh=136591dd48f5">newly released 2021 list of Africa’s richest people. </a>



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-914549978-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49808" width="502" height="334" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-914549978-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-914549978-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-914549978-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-914549978-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-914549978-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-914549978-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 502px) 100vw, 502px" /><figcaption>(Photographer: Daniel Rodgrigues/Bloomberg via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



The onetime African “princess” is by no means a pauper. She’s reported to have a home on a private island in Dubai, another residence in London and a <a href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/luanda-leaks/how-africas-richest-woman-exploited-family-ties-shell-companies-and-inside-deals-to-build-an-empire/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$35 million yacht</a>. She likely has bank accounts and assets that Forbes and legal authorities have yet to track. She is said to be splitting her time between Dubai—where her husband, Sindika Dokolo, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2020/11/01/husband-of-isabel-dos-santos-africas-richest-woman-dies-at-age-48/?sh=27419fb43143">died</a> in a diving accident in October—and London, where Dokolo’s funeral was held in November at Westminster Cathedral. Through a spokesperson Dos Santos declined to comment.  



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-959554140-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49811" width="495" height="328" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-959554140-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-959554140-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-959554140-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-959554140-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-959554140-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-959554140-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 495px) 100vw, 495px" /><figcaption> Isabel dos Santos (L) and Sindika Dokolo arrive at the amfAR Gala Cannes 2018 at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on May 17, 2018 in Cap d&#8217;Antibes, France. (Photo by Dave Benett/amfAR/Dave Benett/WireImage for amfAR)</figcaption></figure></div>



<h4 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-the-road-to-riches">The Road To Riches</h4>



As&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;spelled out in an August&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2013/08/14/how-isabel-dos-santos-took-the-short-route-to-become-africas-richest-woman/?sh=76a680a445f5">2013 article</a>&nbsp;(co-written and reported by Angolan journalist Rafael Marques de Morais), Isabel dos Santos is the eldest daughter of former Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country from 1979 to 2017. While he ran the poverty-stricken but oil-rich country, she garnered significant stakes in Angola’s strategic industries—banking, cement, diamonds and telecom—making her the most influential businessperson in her homeland. More than half of her assets were stakes in Portuguese companies, adding international credibility. (Angola, a former Portuguese colony, achieved independence in 1975.) When&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;outed her as a billionaire in January 2013, the government disseminated the news as a matter of national pride, living proof that the country had arrived.



As best we could trace, every major Angolan investment held by Dos Santos stemmed either from taking a chunk of a company that wanted to do business in the country or from a stroke of the president&#8217;s pen that cut her into the action. Her story was a rare window into the tragic kleptocratic narrative that grips resource-rich countries around the world.



In Portugal, the companies Dos Santos invested in—several banks, a cable TV company and an engineering firm—turned a blind eye to the questionable source of her investment funds, says Ana Gomes, a former member of the European Parliament and a member of Portugal’s Socialist Party (and currently a candidate for president in Portugal). “When she bought stakes in banks in Portugal . . . I kept saying, ‘What is the origin of the money? Why are you allowing her to launder money through our system?’” laments Gomes, who filed details of the alleged money laundering with Portuguese judicial authorities starting in 2016. No action was taken in response.



In early 2020 Dos Santos sued Gomes for defamation in a Portuguese court. She took issue with Gomes tweeting and going on TV saying that Dos Santos’ bank was a money-laundering machine for her. Dos Santos lost the case, but her lawyers have appealed the ruling.



<h4 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-the-empire-begins-to-crumble">The Empire Begins To Crumble</h4>



Dos Santos’ empire began to unravel under the leadership of Angola’s new president, João Lourenço, who took office in September 2017 after Dos Santos’ father retired. Lourenço vowed to attack the corruption for which Angola had become well-known. (Transparency International ranked the country as one of the most corrupt in the world.) Two months into his tenure he dismissed Dos Santos as the head of state oil firm Sonangol, a position to which her father’s government had named her in June 2016



But the bigger move came in December 2019. As part of a corruption investigation, an Angolan court froze assets in the country that belonged to Dos Santos and her husband—including a stake in mobile telecom firm Unitel and in several banks. The court order stated that Exem Energy BV, an entity owned by Dos Santos and Dokolo, had promised to repay at least $75 million it owes to Sonangol, but had failed to do so. The court also claimed that the couple and one of their business associates had caused the Angolan government to lose at least $1.1 billion. In January 2020 Angola’s attorney general <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2020/01/23/as-angola-accuses-billionaire-isabel-dos-santos-of-fraud-her-empire-begins-to-unravel/?sh=2702d14449da">charged Dos Santos and Dokolo</a> with embezzlement and money laundering. At the time, Dos Santos issued a statement saying that the allegations against her were “extremely misleading and untrue” and that she had been a “private businesswoman” who had “always operated within the law.” 



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-rounded"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="647" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1134625795-1024x647.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49812" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1134625795-1024x647.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1134625795-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1134625795-768x485.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1134625795-1536x970.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1134625795-2048x1294.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1134625795-600x379.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Angola&#8217;s President Joao Lourenco. (Photo credit: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



That same month, a flood of details about Dos Santos and her assets became public through the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/luanda-leaks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Luanda Leaks</a>, a collection of more than 700,000 documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. It confirmed the reporting&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;did in 2013 about Dos Santos corruptly obtaining stakes in Angolan companies. Luanda Leaks also shined a light on her enablers: consulting and accounting firms like McKinsey and PwC, as well as a coterie of bankers and lawyers who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/19/world/africa/isabel-dos-santos-angola.html?action=click&amp;module=Intentional&amp;pgtype=Article" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">helped Dos Santos obtain her fortune</a>&nbsp;and move it offshore. In a December 2020 statement, PwC said that when the allegations came to light it “took immediate steps to end our relationship with companies involved” and that some senior employees left the firm or were subject to “other remedial measures.” A spokesman for McKinsey says the firm no longer counts Dos Santos or her companies as clients. So far, none of the professional service firms have been charged with any wrongdoing, though last year a Portuguese regulator did&nbsp;<a href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/luanda-leaks/portuguese-regulator-calls-for-criminal-prosecution-of-auditors-following-luanda-leaks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">investigate auditing firms</a>&nbsp;that worked with Dos Santos and reportedly found that some had not taken steps to stop possible money laundering.



Dos Santos has also done business with Forbes Media, owner of&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;magazine and Forbes.com. Her Angola-based company Zap Midia is the licensee holder for&nbsp;Forbes Angola&nbsp;and&nbsp;Forbes Portugal&nbsp;magazines. Zap Midia is listed in the Angolan court filing as one of the companies whose assets were to be frozen.



One particularly galling revelation in Luanda Leaks: Documents from 2006 that showed Dos Santos’ husband paid Sonangol just $15 million (€11 million) for a stake in Portuguese oil firm Galp that was worth $99 million (€75 million). The balance of the purchase was essentially an interest-free loan from the Angolan government. That stake in Galp, held through Netherlands-registered entity Exem Energy BV, is currently worth about $550 million. But those shares have been frozen by a court in the Netherlands,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/luanda-leaks/dutch-court-orders-key-business-associate-of-isabel-dos-santos-removed-pending-investigation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to ICIJ</a>.



Dos Santos is far from the only person in her circle who got rich off the state. Corruption runs deep in the Angolan political elite. “Some of the biggest crooks seem to have made a gentleman’s agreement with [Angolan President] Lourenço and are being let off the hook,” says Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, a professor of African politics at the University of Oxford. He notes that in the past six months, Lourenço has expanded the anticorruption fight to include more figures than just the Dos Santos family.



<h4 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-freeze-out">Freeze-Out</h4>



A court in Angola made the first move. Then courts in other countries froze assets that belong to Isabel dos Santos and her husband.



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>December 2019Angolan court orders freeze of assets including stake in mobile telecom firm Unitel and two banks, together worth at least $300 million</li><li>January 2020Angola’s attorney general charges Isabel Dos Santos and her husband Sindika Dokolo with embezzlement and money laundering</li><li>February 2020Portugal’s <a href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/luanda-leaks/portugal-seizes-isabel-dos-santos-bank-accounts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">public prosecutor’s office </a>freezes dozens of Dos Santos’ bank accounts in the country.</li><li>April 2020A Lisbon court freezes her shares in Portugal’s telecom and cable TV firm Nos, a stake worth nearly $500 million.</li><li>July 2020Portugal’s Economy Minister announces the nationalization of engineering firm Efacec Power Solutions, of which Dos Santos owns nearly 72%, worth an estimated $225 million</li></ul>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Authorities in Portugal have also taken steps to recover assets owned by Dos Santos. In July the government went to the extreme of nationalizing Efacec, an engineering firm majority owned by Dos Santos, reportedly out of concern for the company’s survival. In April, a Portuguese court froze her roughly $500 million holding in cable TV and broadband firmNos. Her investment in Nos shows just how welcomed Dos Santos was by Portugal’s business elite: she held the shares through ZOPT, a partnership with the family of Belmiro de Azevedo, a respected Portuguese billionaire who died in 2017.&nbsp;The shareholders of ZOPT are in the process of dissolving the partnership, according to a spokesperson for Nos.



Dos Santos is also being pursued in the U.K. Unitel, the Angolan mobile phone provider where she was a 25% owner,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/luanda-leaks/unitel-sues-isabel-dos-santos-company-as-her-corporate-empire-continues-to-crumble/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sued Dos Santos in London</a>&nbsp;late last year, claiming her Dutch company, Unitel International Holdings BV, had defaulted in 2019 on multiple loans issued by the telecom firm Unitel beginning in 2012. The company is seeking repayment of $430 million.&nbsp;



In sum, the assets frozen in Angola are probably worth at least $300 million, while the assets frozen or nationalized by Portugal and the Netherlands together would currently amount to about $1.3 billion, but the likelihood of Dos Santos ever getting them back is uncertain. Her homes, yacht, cash and other assets could be worth as much as $400 million, but there’s also that $430 million in unpaid debt that Unitel is seeking.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Where will all these court cases lead? In August, Isabel’s brother, Jose Filomeno dos Santos, was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53774288" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sentenced to five years in jail&nbsp;</a>in Angola for transferring $500 million out of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, which he headed. The justice system moves slowly in both Angola and Portugal, so no one is expecting a quick resolution to the cases against Isabel dos Santos. “I’m forseeing years and years of litigation in courts, and while that happens the Angolan people won’t receive the money that was taken,” says Karina Carvalho, executive director of Transparency International Portugal. “That is why we need to take action on asset recovery and victims’ compensation.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“In a lot of these authoritarian places, economic power derives from political power. The moment you lose political power, you’re vulnerable all over the world.”</blockquote>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Asset recovery is typically a long shot. There is no guarantee that the prosecutors will prevail and release the frozen assets to the Angolan state.&nbsp;A 2014 report from the World Bank’s Stolen Asset Recovery Program, aptly titled “Few and Far,” noted that a huge gap remained between the assets recovered—just $147 million between 2010 and 2012—and the $20 billion to $40 billion estimated to have been stolen from developing countries each year.



When Angola first announced the charges against Dos Santos in early 2020, several news reports mentioned that the country would issue an international arrest warrant for her. So far, that has not happened. Dos Santos is able to move freely between Dubai and the U.K.&nbsp;



Still, life is not the same as it was. “She’s been humbled, she’s been cut down to size,” says Oxford professor Soares de Oliveira. “It just shows that in a lot of these authoritarian places, economic power derives from political power, not the other way around. The moment you lose political power, you can be had. You’re vulnerable all over the world.”



By Kerry A. Dolan, Forbes Staff

PORTUGAL-ANGOLA-ECONOMY-INDUSTRY

How Isabel Dos Santos, Once Africa’s Richest Woman, Went Broke

Adjany da Silva Freitas Costa, the youngest minister in the Angolan cabinet, is an intrepid adventurer, biologist and conservationist committed to saving the world’s last wild places.



Adjany da Silva Freitas Costa is not your ordinary minister. At 30 years old, the Luanda local is currently the youngest minister to serve in the Angolan cabinet and an intrepid adventurer with an inspiring hands-on background.



In 2015, Costa was one of the braves who undertook a four-month journey from the highlands of Angola, meandering 2,400km by mokoro (a traditional canoe), camping wild along the Okavango River until they reached the town of Maun in Botswana. The trip illustrated how the Okavango Delta relies on Angolan rains, but also highlighted the costs of Angola’s lengthy war to its landscapes.



In April this year, Costa assumed the government position as Minister of Culture, Tourism and Environment. “It is not exactly unusual for a woman to join the Angolan government,” says Costa, “but it&#8217;s not exactly common either.&#8221; Currently, there are seven women ministers in the Angolan cabinet, creating a gender split of roughly 35% female.



“We bring a lot of benefit for the simple fact that we can bring inclusion to the politics forged in society,” says Costa. “I think that every single one of us brings a different perspective to the whole context of politics. Currently, I am the youngest minister to serve in the Angolan cabinet. It makes me feel like there is hope for youth and hope for the future. I do think we bring an innovative way of thinking and innovative vision into the current system that is very beneficial to change and to the improvement of the system here in Angola.”



The cross-country expedition revealed new species (to date, ongoing field trips have resulted in the discovery of 26 species new to science, more than 75 species potentially new to science, and more than 130 species previously unknown in Angola). It also embedded in Costa a life-long commitment to saving the world’s last wild places. It short, it changed her life.



“It changed the whole perception that I had of everything, personally, professionally, academically,” Costa admits. “The trip helped me see the world and my participation in the world, in a very different way. In a very concrete way and I don&#8217;t think I would be sitting here answering these questions if I hadn&#8217;t participated. I have never, ever in my entire life “envisioned myself as a minister. I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve ever envisioned myself being part of politics, but there is a writer who once said, ‘You don&#8217;t choose politics. Politics chooses you’, and that&#8217;s exactly what happened. I see it as an opportunity to bring change from the outside. I am someone that has always applied the policy that&#8217;s created by decision-makers. I think it&#8217;s an opportunity to bring that applicability into the system and make it much more action-focused – and more than a piece of paper.”



In 2017, Costa was named an emerging explorer at National Geographic, and in 2019, she became the Young Champion of the Earth for Africa in the United Nations Environment Program. Before taking a seat in the government, Costa worked as an ethno-conservationist to pioneer projects that developed working conservation models for communities living alongside crucial wildlife hubs.



“Being a biologist is also a great advantage for this position. I believe that policies should be made to be applied and not archived,” Costa says. Another benefit for her position is that she knows all about being on the ground. “I started my journey in conservation, looking specifically at biodiversity and working directly with the specimens. I started with turtles, and all we did was patrol the beaches and look after the nests – and that was it. There was no engagement. For a long time, I always thought there was a separation between humans and wildlife – and that the separation was needed for us to protect wildlife. Working for the past five years in the East of Angola, I realized that it is the complete opposite. The gap that we&#8217;ve created with nature is what causes us to destroy nature in the first place.”



Costa has a masters degree in Biology and a PhD in International Wildlife Conservation Practices from Oxford University. In the wake of Covid-19, we are just beginning to see the harsh effects of tourism loss to wilderness protection.



<figure class="wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex"><ul class="blocks-gallery-grid"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="683" height="1024" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/MSF2357-683x1024.jpg" alt="" data-id="45550" data-full-url="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/MSF2357-scaled.jpg" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/?attachment_id=45550" class="wp-image-45550" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/MSF2357-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/MSF2357-scaled-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/MSF2357-scaled-600x899.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/MSF2357-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/MSF2357-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/MSF2357-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/MSF2357-1366x2048.jpg 1366w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/MSF2357-scaled.jpg 1708w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /></figure></li></ul></figure>



“Rural communities are the true protectors of the environment around them,” Costa says. “Ethno-conservation is the art, and it is our privilege of being able to work with communities for the sake of nature. Not just for the conservation of biodiversity, but also the improvement of their own lives.”



The drastic decline in visitor numbers in the wilds of Kenya, Zimbabwe and across the African continent highlights the importance of such a conservation model more than ever as decades of conservation successes hunker in jeopardy due to tourism collapse.&nbsp;



“Our main target for tourism in Angola is internal tourism. We have 29 million people that don&#8217;t know most of the country,” says Costa. “We have a lot of potential though; whether it&#8217;s landscape, culture, adventure or eco-tourism, it’s possible in Angola. We are very much focused on creating the services and infrastructure for internal tourism before we look outside of our borders.



“In terms of tourism, Angola’s biggest asset is definitely diversity,” Costa enthuses. “Not just naturally and not just culturally. The conditions that you find from one place to the other are so unique that you can go, within Angola, to 10 different places that feel like completely different countries. We literally go from a tropical forest, all the way to a desert in one row. Angola has partnered with different collaborators to assure the protection of these spaces. Whatever happens in Iona National Park is completely different from what happens in the Luengue-Luiana National Park (which feeds the Okavango Basin), and that’s completely different from what happens in the Quiçama National Park.”



She also believes that protecting such wild spaces enables wildlife to flourish.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“Nature has this incredible thing that is, to me, one of the most fantastic traits. It is resilient. Even now, with this Covid-19 situation, we have seen how resilient nature is. Wilderness itself can resuscitate, and wilderness can find a future – if we just know how to protect it.”</blockquote>



When asked about inspiration and the future, Costa cites other intrepid conservationists, Jane Goodall and Sylvia Earle as strong influences.



“If I have to send a message to young women around the world, what would it be? Do it. That&#8217;s something that I always say. Do it. Whatever it is that we set our minds to do. We can most definitely, definitely do it. We can achieve impossible things. I&#8217;m a minister today. That says a lot!”



&nbsp;– By Melanie van Zyl

Adjany Costa – Forbes Africa-2

‘With Covid-19, See How Resilient Nature Is’

Isabel dos Santos amassed an empire worth more than $2 billion as the daughter of Angola’s former long-time president. Now it looks like that empire is beginning to crumble.



On Wednesday—as the Attorney
General of Angola held a press conference to provisionally charge Isabel dos
Santos with embezzlement and money laundering, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51218501" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according
to the BBC</a>—a bank in
Portugal where she has been a significant shareholder issued a statement saying
that Dos Santos’ stake is being sold.



EuroBic, a small privately
held bank in Lisbon in which Dos Santos has owned a 42.5% stake, issued a <a href="https://www.eurobic.pt/eurobic/noticias-eurobic/Comunicado-de-Imprensa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement on Monday</a> that it was severing its business relationship
with Dos Santos and the entities related to her. On Wednesday <a href="https://www.eurobic.pt/eurobic/noticias-eurobic/Comunicado-de-Imprensa---Estrutura-Acionista" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EuroBic announced</a> that Dos Santos had decided to sell her stake in
the bank, which has about $8 billion in assets. Forbes recently valued Dos Santos’
42.5% stake at around $200 million.



Dos Santos has come under
intense scrutiny this past week after a number of media outlets, including the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/19/world/africa/isabel-dos-santos-angola.html?action=click&amp;module=Intentional&amp;pgtype=Article" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Times</a>, the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51128950" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BBC</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/19/angola-state-oil-company-sonangol-isabel-dos-santos-investigation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Guardian</a>, published articles based on
the “Luanda Leaks”—a cache of some 700,000 documents related to Dos Santos’
allegedly corrupt business dealings that were released to the International
Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).



Dos Santos was appointed to
head Angola’s state oil company, Sonangol, in 2016, when her father was still
president of the country. (He retired in 2017 after ruling Angola for 38
years.)



According to an article in<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/19/angola-state-oil-company-sonangol-isabel-dos-santos-investigation?utm_term=Autofeed&amp;CMP=twt_b-gdnnews&amp;utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1579458161" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> The
Guardian</a>, while Dos Santos
was heading up Sonangol, she allegedly arranged for a transfer of $57 million
on one day in November 2017 from Sonangol’s bank account to a Dubai company,
Matter Business Solutions, run by Paula Oliveira, a woman who The Guardian says is
apparently a close friend of Dos Santos’.



It turns out that the Sonangol
bank account from which the funds were transferred was a EuroBic account. In
its statement severing ties with Dos Santos, EuroBic also said that the
payments ordered by Sonangol to Matter Business Solutions “respected the legal
and regulatory procedures formally applicable . . . between this bank and
Sonangol, namely those related to the prevention of money laundering.”



The <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51224655" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BBC is
reporting</a> that an employee of EuroBic who managed the
Sonangol account, Nuno Ribeiro da Cunha, 45, was found dead in Lisbon on
Wednesday. A police source told the BBC that “everything points to
suicide.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Dos Santos issued a statement on Thursday saying, “The
allegations which have been made against me over the last few days are
extremely misleading and untrue,” and adding that “I am a private businesswoman
who has spent 20 years building successful companies from the ground up,” and
that “I have always operated within the law and all my transactions have been
approved by lawyers, bankers, auditors and regulators.” 



Forbes first dug into the murky origins of Isabel
dos Santos’ fortune, with help from Angolan investigative journalist Rafael
Marques de Morais, in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2013/08/14/how-isabel-dos-santos-took-the-short-route-to-become-africas-richest-woman/#52e2d7c345f5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an in-depth investigation in 2013</a>. In late
December 2019, an Angolan court issued a freeze of Dos Santos’ assets in
Angola—assets that Forbes estimates are <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2020/01/03/angolan-billionaires-assets-frozen-by-countrys-court-worth-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars/#278178507acb" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">worth hundreds of millions of dollars</a>. Most
of Dos Santos’ fortune—which <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/isabel-dos-santos/#4ec97300523f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forbes estimates at $2.1 billion</a>—lies in assets held outside of Angola, primarily in Portugal. 



The natural question: Will other Portuguese companies in which Dos Santos is a shareholder follow in EuroBic’s footsteps? 



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/">Kerry A. Dolan, </a>Forbes Staff 



Isabel dos Santos features in the 2020 Africa Billionaire’s list in the February issue of FORBES AFRICA. The news of the provisional charges against her for embezzlement and money laundering was unavailable at the time of going to press.

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As Angola Accuses Billionaire Isabel Dos Santos Of Fraud, Her Empire Begins To Unravel

Angola is planning to hold its first diamond auction this week, inviting around 35 companies to bid for seven stones as the world’s fifth largest producer moves to make the sector more lucrative for producers and the state.



The stones, selected for their rare quality and size, were produced by the Lulo project operated by Australia-listed Lucapa in the northeastern province of Lunda Norte.



“It’s our conviction that the final result of this auction will show to our society and the wider world our total commitment to transparency and innovation in the commercialization of diamonds in Angola,” Minister of Mineral Resources Diamantino Azevedo said on Monday.



The auction on Thursday will use a sealed system by which interested parties submit their offers electronically without knowing what others have bid. This model is proven to garner the highest price, Azevedo said.



The new system, part of wider reforms in the commercialization of diamonds in Angola, has been welcomed by producers who long complained they were not getting fair value for their stones.



Producers were previously obliged to sell through an opaque government marketing system to buyers selected by the Angolan state, a process they said resulted in prices well below international levels.



Angola has vowed to increase diamond production and per carat value, aiming to become a top 3 producer by 2021, as part of an attempt to diversify its economy away from a dependence on oil. -Reuters



-Stephen Eisenhammer

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Angola to Hold First Diamond Auction

On 23 August Angolans went to the polls to elect a new parliament, and for the first time in the lives of a great majority of the population, a new president. José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country for 38 years, did not run this time as his party’s top candidate.
Instead, the MPLA, the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) fielded Defence Minister, <a href="http://www.dw.com/en/who-is-angolas-next-president-joao-lourenco/a-40218458" target="_blank" rel="noopener">João Lourenço</a>, as its presidential candidate. So the mais velho (old man) has <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1505928.stm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">finally</a> left. This in itself is a significant moment, considering how difficult it appears for <a href="https://qz.com/1059007/angola-election-jose-eduardo-dos-santos-will-step-down-as-angola-elects-its-first-new-leader-in-38-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some African leaders</a> to relinquish power.
Despite this, it’s likely that the elections will bring more of the same, and only slow and gradual improvements — if at all — of <a href="https://www.cmi.no/news/1671-angola-from-boom-to-bust-to-breaking-point" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the lives of most Angolans</a>. Lourenço is very much a product of the system. He has the backing of the party and the armed forces, which is an improvement over Dos Santos’ previous intended successor, (former) vice-president, <a href="https://www.africa-confidential.com/whos-who-profile/id/3227/page/3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Manuel Vicente</a>.
Vicente was pushed through against the party’s will as Dos Santos’ running mate in the 2012 elections. He had no “liberation credentials”, and is <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38996879" target="_blank" rel="noopener">under investigation</a> for the corruption of a magistrate in Portugal. It would also appear that, for now, any plans for <a href="https://www.makaangola.org/2013/07/dos-santos%c2%92-son-shapes-his-own-government/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dynastic succession</a> are off the table.
Some Angolan commentators have called Lourenço “dull”, and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w172vgh8cd1mg4v%22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“not previously known for his intellectual capacities</a>. But, compared to <a href="https://www.makaangola.org/2016/10/incompetence-and-corruption-sinks-angolas-development-bank/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some</a> of his MPLA comrades, he has a reputation of relative probity. Nevertheless he is unlikely to be willing – or able – to <a href="https://www.voaportugues.com/a/cabinda-padre-congo-duvida-que-eleicoes-tragam-mudancas/3996126.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">change</a> the current political economic dispensation.
<h2>Corruption</h2>
Lourenço campaigned under the motto &#8220;<a href="http://www.angop.ao/angola/pt_pt/noticias/politica/2016/11/50/Melhorar-que-esta-bem-corrigir-que-esta-mal-novo-lema-estrategico-MPLA,62faa988-79c5-4357-9c58-2716650c8f23.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">improve what is good, correct what is bad</a>&#8221; and vowed to tackle corruption.
Legal frameworks to combat corruption already exist, such as the 2010 <a href="http://www.angop.ao/angola/pt_pt/noticias/politica/2011/10/46/Lei-Probidade-Publica-vem-reforcar-mecanismos-combate-corrupcao,72965749-90f9-48c7-9eff-1a028c953b97.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law on public probity</a> and anti-money laundering <a href="http://cdn2.portalangop.co.ao/angola/en_us/noticias/economia/2016/0/2/Angola-BNA-implements-measures-prevent-money-laundering,93c706db-6098-497d-87ea-fd84ae765db9.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">measures</a> in the banking sector. But despite repeated high-level declarations of a &#8220;zero tolerance” policy, Dos Santos, his family and his close entourage remain the <a href="http://africanarguments.org/2017/08/14/angola-elections-ruling-family-dos-santos-worth-billions-what-happens-when-dad-steps-down/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prime beneficiaries</a> of the misappropriation of public funds. This tendency has become even more marked in the past three years, with the president’s family openly multiplying their private gains from publicly funded investments. The <a href="https://southernafrican.news/2016/11/18/isabel-dos-santos-defends-appointment-to-sonangol/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appointment</a> of Dos Santos’ daughter, Isabel dos Santos, at the head of state oil company Sonangol is the most glaring example of this.
Such “eating of commissions” in all productive sectors of the economy would have to be tackled to address the profound <a href="http://africasacountry.com/2016/03/the-economic-crises-in-angola/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economic, political</a> and <a href="http://www.africanews.com/2016/05/16/angola-s-health-crisis-deepens-after-slump-in-oil-causes-budget-cuts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social</a> crisis the country has faced since the fall of world oil prices in late 2014.
But it’s doubtful Lourenço will be able to institute such a change, especially as Dos Santos has “locked in” by decree his latest appointments. These include the heads of the army and state security forces, as well as those of his children Isabel and José Filomeno ‘<a href="http://expresso.sapo.pt/internacional/2016-07-17-O-destino-de-Zenu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zénú</a>’ dos Santos, at the helm of Sonangol and the Sovereign Wealth Fund.
Dos Santos has granted himself and his entourage <a href="https://www.makaangola.org/2017/06/lifelong-immunity-from-prosecution-for-the-president/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lifelong immunity</a> from prosecution and remains president of the MPLA. This ensures that whoever succeeds him is likely to depend on him and his family economically, and is unlikely to go after the family’s ill-gotten gains.
<h2>Election outcome</h2>
Although election day was peaceful and orderly, there was reportedly widespread abstention (20%) and targeted voter disenfranchisement. Some voters turned up at polling stations only to hear they had been registered at a different place, often kilometres away. On 25 August the nominally independent National Electoral Commission <a href="http://www.dw.com/pt-002/cne-atualiza-resultados-mpla-vence-elei%C3%A7%C3%B5es-em-angola-com-617/a-40238976" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced “provisional” results</a> with the MPLA as the winner with 61% of the vote, down from 72% in 2012 and 81% in 2008.
Parallel counting from the voting stations, by contrast, shows opposition parties winning in many urban areas. This tallies with some pre-election opinion polls and the general public mood. In a truly open contest — which it <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057070.2010.507572" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was</a> <a href="https://www.makaangola.org/2017/08/a-teoria-da-fraude-eleitoral-em-angola/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not</a> — the MPLA would probably have lost Luanda and some provincial capitals, even if at national level it would likely still have come out on top.
The results are thus likely to be fiercely <a href="http://www.dw.com/pt-002/angola-t%C3%A9cnicos-da-oposi%C3%A7%C3%A3o-contestam-apuramento-da-cne/a-40232826" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contested</a>, though given the politicisation of the judiciary and the electoral organs, the MPLA is likely to emerge as the winner in the end, albeit with a significantly reduced majority.
It remains to be seen whether the end of dos Santos’ rule will also mean turning the page on the <a href="http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100492980" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sistema dos Santos (System dos Santos)</a>, and a change in the ways in which the Angolan political economy works. For the MPLA, losing key urban districts, and probably in a free contest only just scraping past the 50% mark nationwide was something hitherto unthinkable, especially for the party’s old guard who still think the MPLA has a destiny to lead Angola for the coming 25 years. Perhaps this poor showing might prove a wake-up call and strengthen reformist tendencies within the party, and provide some incentive to start a constructive dialogue with the opposition.
But the regime has so far been remarkably resilient to crises. The <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057070.2013.798541?src=recsys&amp;journalCode=cjss20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">political awakening</a> of a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/13/angola-repression-generates-more-dissent-politics-mpla" target="_blank" rel="noopener">growing number</a> of Angolans over the past years has <a href="https://www.voaportugues.com/a/abel-chivukuvuku-pica-candidato-mpla-novo-pedido-debate/3964756.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strengthened</a> <a href="http://www.angonoticias.com/Artigos/item/55128/eleicoes-2017-samakuva-reitera-governo-inclusivo-e-participativo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opposition parties</a> in their <a href="http://www.africanews.com/2016/02/29/angola-opposition-kicks-against-management-of-yellow-fever-epidemic//" target="_blank" rel="noopener">positions</a>, yet it will require continued <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2016/02/angola-15-activist-your-support-got-us-out-of-prison/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressure</a> and <a href="http://www.dw.com/en/a-trial-in-angola-increasingly-seen-as-a-farce/a-19131740" target="_blank" rel="noopener">activism</a>, and more than a change of the figurehead at the top, to fundamentally reorder Angola’s social, political, and economic relations — which is what Angolans are increasingly <a href="https://qz.com/538237/ordinary-angolans-are-asking-where-did-all-the-oil-riches-go/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clamouring</a> for. &#8211; Written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jon-schubert-402560" target="_blank" rel="author noopener">Jon Schubert</a>, Senior research fellow: Civil War and State Formation, Global Studies Institute, Université de Genève
Originally published in <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>
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Election unlikely to herald the change Angolans have been clamouring for

In Luanda, Angola’s capital, a group of teenage girls sit together, chatting and giggling. They are excited to share in the parties marking 40 years since their country’s independence. One member is especially jubilant, celebrating a double victory. Earlier that year, Catarina Serra joined a team in Portugal for Angola’s first ever international showjumping tournament, bringing back a silver medal and a heightened sense of national pride.
“Portugal was the highlight… showjumping fascinates me and I always intended to pursue it as a career,” says the 18-year-old Serra, exhibiting a determination belying her age.
Showjumping is an Olympic sport, judged according to a rider’s ability to clear obstacles in the shortest time possible. While participants are not judged for style, it is widely seen as one of the most stylish sports in the world, attracting luxury brand sponsors and a jet-set elite from across the globe. While the sport may appeal to those seeking glamour and excitement, in practice it requires dedication, strength, stamina, balance, as well as empathy with and control of the horse.
Angolan riders must train regularly, face internal competitions at least once a month and are encouraged to take part in at least three regional competitions each year. While her friends enjoy leisurely weekends at the beach or the mall, Serra starts her weekends at 7.30AM, taking the traffic-logged journey to the riding school. Here she tacks up her horse, begins training, showers her down, and then starts all over with another mare.
“It is hard to balance riding, school, family, friends…” she huffs as she runs from one stable to another.
Showjumping began in France and Britain in the 18th century but is very new to Angola, where riding itself can only be traced back to the 1950s. It was then that horses were used for combat purposes by the Portuguese colonial forces against guerrillas in the Angolan War of Independence. These cavalry units, known as the Dragöes de Angola, benefited from a better view of the battlefield above the tall grass. They also held a psychological advantage over their enemy who were unaccustomed to dealing with soldiers on horseback. Since independence, Angola’s cavalry forces were expanded and the mounted unit remains an integral and highly-regarded part of the national police force. Horses were first imported from South Africa, and later from Argentina. The former Minister of Petroleum, Desidério Costa, boosted the equestrian movement further by importing the first Lusitano breed from Portugal and setting up the first riding school after independence.
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This school, Gimunalu, on the outskirts of Luanda, remains one of the top training grounds for athletes today, featuring a stadium and a riding school with a covered ring and jumping arena. It also houses a 42-box stable yard, accommodation for the riders, and several fields. In addition, a specialist hippotherapy center provides rehabilitation for people affected by motor, sensory and mental disorders through interdisciplinary training with the horses. Meanwhile, the Huila riding center at Lubango, born out of the dust in 2013, now boasts a three-hectare field, five paddocks, a 34-stable yard, three training rings, as well as accommodation and event rooms.
A mostly rural country, with many farms and a predominantly young population, Angola is now seizing the opportunity to become a major player worldwide. In 2009, it set up its own national federation for equestrian sports, Fequangola. In 2014, it was accepted into the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the top governing body for equestrian competitions, and in 2015 it sent a team to compete in Portugal at a Grand Prix tour, the highest level of showjumping competition. In the same year, in line with the leading governing body which oversees the breeding of competitive dressage and showjumping horses, it also began its first insemination program for a local line of specialist horses.
It’s an expensive business. Contrast this with Angola’s extreme poverty and one would be forgiven for thinking that its foray into equestrian sports comes at a shameful expense. However, unlike many countries where the sport is traditionally reserved for the affluent, Angola is keen to utilize the sport as a lifeline for the disadvantaged. The mounted police unit gives free riding lessons to children of all staff, while Gimunalu also offers free lessons to stable grooms, relatives of farmers, as well as top students from the neighboring school. FEI Solidarity, a global program to support the next generation of riders, is also being implemented in Angola.
“[Showjumping] is a means to give some hope to children of a poorer background and have them practice this wonderful sport. I just love to see the smiles on their faces when they sit on horseback for the very first time,” says Fequangola Vice President for Foreign Affairs, Ginga d’Almeida.
Considering the slump in oil prices and its need to diversify the economy, Angola’s focus on equestrian sports is also pragmatic. Equestrian sport is just one of several areas targeted for creating jobs and boosting economic growth. The nation aims to attract foreign direct investment through the sale of its showjumping bloodstock to neighboring countries, as well as to boost tourism through top-class riding schools and international competitions.
Unsurprisingly, showjumping is being taken very seriously at the upper echelons of government, with President Jose Eduardo dos Santos attending the first competition held in the country in 2009. Other African nations are providing ample competition, with the FEI now boasting 14 members across the continent. Angola will be focusing on jumping in particular over the coming years, working closely with the FEI, neighboring national federations and the African Confederation of Equestrian Sports.
“I personally intend to pursue efforts… for Angola to become the most equestrian nation in southwest Africa,” says d’Almeida with a determined smile.
Sadly, the fall in oil prices and global economic recession has forced the country to tighten its belt, and the lack of funds is proving a higher obstacle than the jumps themselves. If Angola is to maintain momentum in the world of showjumping, it will need private sponsorship. Top-notch trainers, qualified veterinary surgeons and horse medicine are not readily found within the country and come at a huge cost. Add to this the maintenance of the riding schools, entry fees into international competitions, along with the logistics of getting the team there in the first place, and the costs spiral. For this reason Angola will not be competing at this year’s Olympics in Brazil.
“Unfortunately riding is an expensive sport so we need to find sponsors so we can better finance our activities. I trust that, with time, people will understand this sport better and support us more,” says d’Almeida.
While Angola faces many challenges, it holds a promising future. Serra has her eye on a particular prize.
“I would be very pleased if one day I could get to the World Equestrian Games and maybe, who knows, the Olympics,” she says.
FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez says that this is not such a distant dream.
“This is a real possibility for Angola looking towards Tokyo 2020 and beyond,” she says.
All the more reason for a double celebration at the country’s 50th independence anniversary.

The Showjumpers   Of Angola

Gatuso the rat looks hungry and he has a job to do; it’s 6AM and he’s been up all night as nocturnal rats do – now he’s ready for a hard day’s work in the field. He looks harmless as his whiskers twitch in the light of dawn. Most people fear to tread where he works.
Clearing landmines is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Gatuso takes it on with a sniff. The rodent has a natural advantage; he weighs less than 1.5 kilograms, too light to trigger a mine. There are 10 rats like him in Camatenda, clearing minefields so people can till the earth once again.
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It takes nine months and more than $8,000 to train a rat to find a landmine. In the field, they are harnessed to a pole, like a dog on a leash, to keep them in their lanes. What Gatuso and his fellow rats do is sniff out the gunpowder beneath. The moment the rat scratches at the landmine, the engineer squeezes a clicker. When the rat smells the gunpowder and hears the click it knows it will get food.
The idea occurred in an unlikely mind in a pub in Scotland. Bart Weetjens, a former product designer from Belgium and a Zen Buddhist monk, heard about the ability of the gerbil to sniff out explosives while at a conference on technology development sensors. Weetjens had bred pet rodents as a child.
Weetjens is no stranger to Africa. As a student, he spent three months in the Congo building a soy bean mill for rural farmers. He knew Africa needed to get rid of its deadly landmines and he wanted it to be cheaper and more efficient.
“Rodents are of course everywhere. In a moment I saw [landmine clearing rats] happening.  However, between the first pitch and the first grant was two and a half years,” says Weetjens.
With a million Belgian francs ($33,700), Weetjens set out to find the perfect rat for the job. The Cricetomys gambianus, the African giant pouched rat, met the standard.
“At that time, there were so many scientific questions that had to be asked first… I knew I wanted to use rats. But the rodent is the most diversified species in all the mammals so I went to a specialist, Professor Ron Verhagen, who worked in Africa for a long time studying all kinds of rodents. He saw a villager with a giant African pouched rat on a leash. So we said, at the very least, it must be possible to domesticate this species.”
In 2000, after three years of work, Weetjens trained his first rats in Morogoro, Tanzania, through his company APOPO. Since then, landmine clearing rats have unearthed at least 3,212 mines, 1,077 UXOs (discarded bombs and grenades) and 26,934 small arms and ammunitions. They’ve worked in two of the world’s most landmine infested countries: Mozambique and Angola. Eighteen more rats will soon be working in Cambodia. One rat can clear up to 400 square meters a day. An engineer, with a metal detector, can only do 25 to 50 square meters.
APOPO’s contribution to the landmine clearing business is relatively small, says Weetjens. The company has an income of around $9.1 million; Angola receives $659,264 of this. According to Weetjens it’s a small part of the $800-950 million business that is made of mostly NGOs.
“The majority of our expenses are in Mozambique [$5.3 million]. Because of the scale of our operation; in Mozambique there is a fully integrated approach with manual clearance, mine detection rats and vehicles. In Angola we only have our essential rat services,” he says.
In Africa, Angola is the ultimate test for the rats. The country endured a brutal civil war for nearly 30 years, until 2002 and has millions of mines to prove it. No one really knows how many mines are in Angola, not even the experts, because soldiers scattered them across the country like seeds. It is estimated there are 10 to 20 million. It’s the third-most landmine laden country in the world, according to Landmine Monitor.
In 1997, Landmine Monitor estimated 110 million active mines were scattered in 68 countries. An equal number of landmines are thought to be stockpiled by governments. In 15 years, engineers have destroyed 47 million, but millions more lurk in countries like Iran and Afghanistan.
For the people of Camatenda, 400 kilometers east of Luanda, the landmine is a neighbor. Gatuso works in a 194,000 square meter field covered with three-meter-high grass and the odd cassava crop. The farming area, which grows food for 34 families, is now slowly being cleared and will one day produce more. A wooden stake tipped with red paint marks the ground that has been cleared. APOPO works with the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), deactivating mines in this region since 1994. The rats have amazed Austragildo Freitas, APOPO Field Operations Manager, who fought in Angola’s civil war and has cleared mines for his country for 19 years.
“The rat detects only the scent of explosives and not any other objects, while in comparison with metal detectors that can pick up anything with metal in the field. If you use one car to transport three dogs you can use the same car to transport 15 rats. The food for dogs is very expensive and must be imported while the rats can use local food,” says Freitas.
The rats of Camatenda have different personalities, says Alfredo Adamo, Operations and Training Field Supervisor at APOPO. In the world of landmines and rats, Gatuso is seen as the Lionel Messi in Angola. He’s certainly found more mines than the Argentinean has scored goals. Adamo’s star rat is able to pinpoint mines within centimeters. Others can only manage an accuracy of 30 to 40 centimeters. They also lack Gatuso’s flair.
“He’s our best pole rat. I like the way it walks in the field. He’s always active and never misses. Some of the others dawdle, but not Gatuso,” says Adamo.
The rats work best at dawn. When the temperature hits 32 degrees Celsius it’s too hot for them. At the other end of the pole, it’s too dangerous for engineers to work at night. The rats are wide awake then but you can’t see what they are doing.
The rats can also be fussy.
“Some go for bananas, others like peanuts or apples. It’s why trainers started carrying different types of food for each rat,” says Adamo.
Rewarding rats can be a problem. Engineers must be able to give food when a landmine is found. A false reward could also knock the rat’s sense of smell off.
Rats are not the only animals that have proven themselves in the minefields, says Hannes Slabbert, Canine Business Manager at MECHEM in South Africa.
“A rat is able to detect any target odor for which it is trained, maybe just as well as a dog. But so can elephants, pigs and honey bees,” says Slabbert.
MECHEM have been training dogs to sniff out explosives and drugs in airports since the 1960s. They have also been used to hunt rhino poachers in South Africa’s Kruger National Park and cleared mines in countries like South Sudan, Angola and Mozambique.
It costs Slabbert $12,600 to keep a mine detection dog in action for six years. This includes their food and the vet. He has seen dogs clear 2,500 square meters a day and as much as 4,000 square meters on a good day. Dogs can sniff out landmines in the extreme heat of deserts for up to six hours at a time.
“Dogs work to please the handler and receive a ball reward, now and again. Rats work for food… I am of the opinion that there is a place for rats, but I do not see them replacing dogs,” says Slabbert.
The path of rats in Angola is far from smooth, says Francisco Gregorio, APOPO’s  Program Manager in Angola.
“Rats are a unique thing in Angola. We have not experienced rats before and this is the first time we are experiencing anything like its kind. But the process went on in a satisfactory way. We were to start operations in January, but we did not receive the letter of approval from national authorities. We just got it at the end of February and consequently deployed the rats in the field,” says Gregorio.
Rats can also be discriminated against. In parts of Tanzania, the African giant pouched rat is endangered species, it’s considered to be a local delicacy. Weetjens also says that many think that APOPO are a pest extermination company.
It’s not always a hard day’s dig for the rodents. On Fridays, the rats party after work, like everyone else. They are rewarded a large meal over weekends.
On this day, Gatuso has to be patient, its 30 degrees Celsius already, the sunlight is blinding and its only Tuesday. There is plenty of work ahead before a brief respite under the cool shade of an umbrella.
An engineer straps on his harness. Gatuso runs up and down the field and digs furiously when he catches the whiff of gunpowder. The rat may not eat many bananas today, but he will on another day. Not a bad bargain for clearing fields and saving lives; especially for the people living in the ever safer village of Camatenda, who may soon be able to once again till their grandfathers’ fields.

A Rat Race Against Death

Being on top of your game is key to being successful in business. But when trading internationally, there is an additional factor that is at play: cultural differences. Understanding these cultural differences can have a serious impact on business and may be the deciding factor for signing or losing a deal.
Bunga Kiala knows well about such pitfalls. As an Angolan working for a German company doing business in Africa, he is at the coalface of juggling two fundamentally different business cultures. Kiala, who grew up in Angola but has lived in Germany since the age of 16, had to quickly learn that, for better or worse, many stereotypes about the two nations contain an element of truth. And that knowing how to handle them can open many doors.
“The business environments in Germany and African countries are completely different,” explains Kiala.
They are often the reason why potential business opportunities fall through. There are two common deal-breakers, says Kiala: being late for a meeting, which Germans interpret as being unreliable. And focusing on camaraderie instead of research, academic credentials and skill.
“To Germans, only the quality of the product counts. Liking somebody is not essential,” he explains.
Those were tough lessons to learn for Kiala, who came to Germany as a teenager in the early 1990s, to escape Angola’s three-decade-long civil war. After growing up in a children’s home and attending high school in the city of Karlsruhe, he trained as an electrician and started to work for the city’s public utility company. But Kiala wanted more from life.
“The dilemma was that I didn’t have the money to study. So I continued working and went to a technical college in the evenings, for six years, to become an electrical engineer.”
His efforts paid off. After his graduation, Kiala was soon promoted, first to the position of project manager, leading a team of 40 people. His ambition and drive were also noticed by the competition. In 2007, SebaKMT, a Bamberg-based developer and manufacturer of measuring equipment that locates faults and leaks in power, water and communication networks, headhunted him.
“Like many other German companies, SebaKMT didn’t have an Africa division. For a long time, European countries believed that only South Africa and the Maghreb had economic potential, while the rest of the continent wasn’t deemed worth the investment. But in early 2000, the thinking somewhat changed,” says Kiala.
Showing impressive economic growth figures of up to 10%, African countries gained interest in the eyes of foreign investors. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts, the future continues to look rosy for the continent. Seven of the world’s ten fastest-growing economies will be in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015, the IMF predicts, thereby soon outweighing Asia’s economic growth. It was this trend that gave a boost to Kiala’s career.
“SebaKMT decided to explore the African market,” he says.
As SebaKMT’s new sales director for Africa, Kiala, then in his early 30s, set up a new export division from scratch. It was a challenging task, he says, but it helped to have a product that met growing demand.
“Few African countries manage their water and electricity networks efficiently,” says Kiala.
In most nations, 40% to 60% of treated water gets lost on the way to the customer. Finding leaks quickly can therefore save millions of dollars. The same goes for faulty electricity and communications networks.
In less than five years, he brought SebaKMT’s equipment to 25 African countries, practically half of the continent. It is during those trips, he says, that he has to draw on one of his most valuable skills: understanding two very different business cultures. It all begins with the first encounter, when Germans’ famous virtue, punctuality, collides with the African thinking that good things take time and making someone wait is a sign of authority.
“It’s common to have an appointment at 2PM but your business partner won’t appear for another hour or so. It has even happened to me that my meetings were postponed for two or three days,” he says.
In a German business context, that’s an unthinkable scenario. And so, more often than not, Kiala finds himself in the difficult situation of having to straddle the divide: showing patience for “African time”, while trying to placate his fervent German bosses.
“It’s a different mentality. You have to understand it and treat people accordingly.”
It doesn’t end here. Who doesn’t understand Germans’ need for surety might perceive their let’s-get-down-to-business attitude as offensive.
“Small talk is kept to a minimum. Nobody asks how your family is doing,” Kiala explains.
And those who hope to seal a deal with a handshake will get a rude wake-up call, too.
“Germans are incredibly accurate. Their business culture is about careful planning and sticking by the rules. They want 100% assurance.”
That comes with detailed written communication, which is passed back and forth repeatedly before a contract is signed.
After 20 years of living in Germany, Kiala can offer sound advice on how to deal with Europe’s powerhouse. He explains it in true, three-point German style: “First, it’s all about competence. You need to have the best product, be able to offer maintenance plans and assistance.”
Second comes preparedness.
“Be professional. Have an excellent presentation ready. Know your product inside out.”
And third—it can’t be stated often enough—be on time.
It might seem to be hard work, but it’s worth the effort, says Kiala, who over the years has come to prefer Germans’ conservative approach to doing business.
“In return, you get longer-term investments, stable economic activity and a business environment that is separate from political power and friendships. Germans don’t take a lot of risk. Everything is double secured. As a result, you don’t see big losses, even in difficult economic times.”
Kiala didn’t always think this way. When he first arrived in Karlsruhe, it took him time to appreciate the German mentality. He struggled with people’s reserved attitude, which was so different from the outgoing nature of the people in his home country, Angola.
“Germans take time to open up. But once you get warm, it’s really a good friendship. It has substance,” he says.
He stresses that this also translates to the business environment. The initial approach is cautious, but once a business relationship is built, it is sturdy.
His appreciation for German culture has led to some snide remarks from his countrymen.
“In Angola, people call me ‘the German’ because I have adopted a different way of life,” Kiala jokes.
He believes it’s less about losing his roots, it’s about making the best of both worlds.
“I try to pick the good things out of each culture,” he explains.
In his professional life, this has certainly stood him in good stead. And it’s something he plans to hold on to for a while: “I might go back to Africa one day. But for now, Germany is the place for me”.

Explaining The Unthinkable  To The Germans

Peaceful, organized and quiet on a Sunday afternoon. That was election day in the otherwise bustling and chaotic seaside capital of Luanda.
“I’m so proud of my country right now. Angola has shown it can organize itself, if it wants to,” says IT engineer Jose Tomas.
The August parliamentary elections were Angola’s second since the end of the civil war (1975-2002) and the third since independence. UNITA (The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) almost doubled its 10% take from the 2008 elections, while new coalition CASA-CE won 6% of the votes. The MPLA is down 10% from its 82% landslide victory in 2008. Voter turnout at 60% was low. The African Union (AU) deemed the elections free, fair, just, transparent and credible. European observers were also positive.
“The margin of the MPLA victory, the AU observer mission’s judgment and the continued presence of Dos Santos as president spell continuity. The MPLA still has an absolute majority in Parliament. The increase in opposition MPs will have little impact on law-making and is unlikely to affect international business interests,” says Markus Weimer from independent think tank Chatham House
South African managing director of telecom company MCS Angola, Ryan Ellerker, thinks the peaceful elections and MPLA’s victory will have “a definite positive effect” on Angola’s business climate. He has already seen projects previously on hold being restarted.
“That shows confidence in the market, in the country and its political stability,” he says.
Managing director of insurance broker AIBA Rupert Weterings, who grew up in Zimbabwe, echoed Ellerker’s view.
“The positive political climate combined with the fact that Angola is one of Africa’s most resource-rich countries makes one realize that Angola is open for business.”
In the run-up to the elections, Angola’s largest opposition party UNITA held nationwide street protests twice against perceived fraud, lack of transparency, unequal funding and lack of media space. Other opposition parties have voiced similar grievances.
But Unita’s protests took the shape of cheerful campaign gatherings and a healthy wake-up rather than a threat to the status quo. Opposition parties may contest the election results within the framework of the law, but Weimer does not expect a different outcome.
The street protests of Angola’s budding revolutionary youth movement and disgruntled war veterans, which unlike the political opposition protests were forcefully repressed, dwindled as the elections drew near. Many of the veterans—who demanded long overdue social subsidies—were paid last-minute. The youths, who have suffered physical violence and threats, generally chose to voice their discontent in the larger and safer framework of opposition party’s manifestations.
In other words, time does not seem ripe for change.
According to Weimer, the government’s goal for the next five years will be to empower the Angolan private sector—particularly the small- to medium-sized businesses—agriculture and to increase formalization of informal businesses.
“After 10 years of national reconstruction, the top government priorities are now job creation and the reduction of poverty and inequality, which are crucial for medium to long-term stability,” he says.
The key to achieving these aims, according to Weimer, is the “colossal task” of diversifying the Angolan economy. “Colossal” because a staggering 97% of Angola’s exports are currently petroleum products, while the oil sector only employs around 1% of the population. In order to achieve all this, mass education is crucial, Weimer warns.
One essential factor must not be forgotten: President Dos Santos turned 70 three days before the elections and is widely expected to retire within the next few years. Vice-president Manuel Vicente, the former CEO of Sonangol, is equally widely expected to follow in his footsteps. But for that, Weimer said, “Vicente will have to develop his own support base and popularity.”
“The transition process may well take a few years still, but a smooth presidential succession is essential for continued stability.”
For now

Business As Usual  After Polling Day

Flamboyant, young, handsome, sociable and most of all: successful, beyond most people’s dreams. With his Panama hat on, sipping a drink at his rental house’s swimming pool only four steps from Luanda’s beach, Thomson-Payan looks like an actor in a gangster movie: too smooth to be true. But he’s the real deal.
Thomson-Payan owns Electrix Group which makes more than five times Thomson-Payan’s initial $200,000 investment each month. The annual turnover at Electrixtel, the telecommunications arm, is $15 million. .
“In five years, we’ve had well over 1,000% growth or between 100 and 200% growth per year.”
Electrix created its construction company, Topson SA, two years ago. Its services company, ESS, counts Schlumberger, ConocoPhillips, Trafigura and FMC among its major clients.
Thomson-Payan’s granduncle was former Colombian president Alfonso Lopez, while his father was a diplomat and a successful international entrepreneur. With a background like that, you could say he was born for success. But that’s not the whole story.
“I first came to Angola in 2007 after my friend, who lived there, told me to check it out. I was sick of working in a corporate American office. When I arrived, I was stupefied. There was so much to do.”
Thomson-Payan went to Babson College, the top entrepreneurial school in the States.
“I always knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. When I was 10, my dad told me to work for my own car. By the age of 15, I’d saved enough money by doing odd jobs. That’s when it started.”
When he was 19, Thomson-Payan moved to Shanghai and lived there for a-year-and-a-half.
“I studied Mandarin nine hours a day. Then I started an outsourcing company called China Source. We still have a three-person office there.”
China Source’s bigger clients spread the word. Suddenly, things moved forward fast.
“One day I received an email from a guy named Marcelo Claure. I had no idea who he was. It turns out this 35-year-old guy owns $7.5-billion company Brightstar—the largest mobile phone distributor in the world.”
Thomson-Payan met Claure in New York.
“He asked: ‘So where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?’ I bit my tongue and said: ‘Running my own company or running yours!’ I was 20 or 21 at the time. He gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse—to become his right-hand. I worked with him as a senior business development manager, and we grew from 35 countries to 54. We worked crazy, crazy hours. Sometimes from 7am to 4am. But it was an amazing experience and education… amazing.”
In his second year at Brightstar, Thomson-Payan started studying law at Florida International University in the evenings. Meanwhile, he was itching to start something new.
“Africa was the only part of the world that Brightstar hadn’t conquered. This continent is a difficult market to break; you have to be very hands-on here. After my visit to Angola, I raised some capital among Swiss and American investors, friends of friends. We then started Electrix.”
Electrix now has between 100 and 120 employees, 95% of them Angolan; 25 stores in Luanda, Malange and Lubango; and store-within-a-store contracts with supermarket chain Nosso Super and gas station chain Pumangol. Cellphone brands distributed by Electrix include Samsung, LG, Nokia, Motorola, Alcatel, Apple and HTC.
“In the retail industry, we’re the fastest growing mobile phone distributer and the only one with our own brand.”
Electrix sells airtime, internet, cable and satellite TV, digital cameras and computers and it’s launching a gaming division. The company buys large chunks of airtime at discount prices from Angola’s biggest cellphone players, Unitel and Movicel.
“The beautiful thing about Angola is that there’s no landline infrastructure. Mobile phones are not a luxury, literally everybody needs one,” says Thomson-Payan.
Smartphones aren’t hot in Angola. Eighty percent of Electrix’s phones are sold for under $50.
“The large majority of this country lives under the poverty line. You’ve got to fit into that market. This is one of the reasons we’ve partnered with a company and brought in our own brand, BLU, with a price range of between $12 to $250 for smart Android phones.”
Electrix understands the Angolan market. BLU has a 30-day battery.
“Imagine that, in a country with major electricity problems!”
In July, Electrix implemented electronic recharge systems that look like credit card machines.
“We sell a few $100,000 per week’s worth of Unitel and Movicel recharge cards to Pumangol and our other retail clients. But they are high-risk, because you’re basically moving cash. These machines will allow us to distribute airtime instantly without risk and minimal operations. Credit cards haven’t hit the Angolan market strongly yet.”
Competition is the drive behind these revolutionary ideas.
“Five years ago in Angola, in a business where Brightstar makes a two percent margin, we were doing 80%. Crazy! But margins have gone down a lot; competition has grown. When I started, to differentiate Electrix, I literally filled my big truck with phones and drove off to the provinces, where margins are a lot higher.”
“When the market matured, margins went down and no one wanted to drop their prices anymore. My competitors started giving clients credit. So I told my biggest clients: ‘Look. You guys have the cellphone stores. What are your main costs?’ The answer was always inventory, which for an average cellphone store can go up to $35,000 or $50,000. So I’d say: ‘I’ll put in the inventory and we’ll go 50-50 on the store and become partners.’ That meant I gave them credit, but now I owned 50% of the retail business. So I was making my margin in the wholesale, plus 50% of the retail margin and could control my debtors. As a result, we’re now the largest retailers in the Angolan cellphone industry.”
Unlike many foreigners operating in Angola, Thomson-Payan has never had an Angolan business partner.
“I suffered for two years because I didn’t have anyone to lean on, but now I don’t need to lean on anybody because all my contacts are my own.”
Thomson-Payan says the toughest aspect of doing business in Angola is the bureaucracy.
“Many people will say corruption. But there are two ways to get things done here: corruption and relationships. The second option is actually better. Let’s say you want to get your stuff out of the port quickly, so you pay someone 500 bucks. But as soon as someone else comes and pays him 550, he’s not going to give you any more love.”
“I know a guy at the port, he’s a good friend of mine. I called him from Europe because I knew he was getting married and then I brought his wife’s wedding dress over. That guy will remember that for the rest of his life—it’s a true relationship. He’ll always be there for me and I’m really there for him. I try to build genuine relationships that in the long run are so much more valuable for both of us.”
Thomson-Payan was in the right place at the right time.
“After 15 years of independence war and 27 years of civil war, Angolans need absolutely everything. They’ve got the money to pay for it, but no one here to provide it. If you’re here and can offer first-world service, the sky is the limit. Angola is a perfect storm for business.”
Electrix opened a new office in Johannesburg, South Africa in July. The company is scheduled to start operations in Mozambique in the next three months.

A Good Call

While Spain faces a 23.6% unemployment rate and a forecasted 1.7% economic decline this year, Angola is the world’s fastest growing economy of the last decade, with an impressive 12% growth forecast for 2012. Ten years after the civil war (1975-2002), Angola has risen like a phoenix from the ashes.
Few could have predicted this. Ivan Pizarro (37), along with his brother, David (43), and José María Sánchez Soler (52) opted for Angola in the middle of Spain’s construction bubble. “People lived in a Peter Pan world, they spent crazy amounts of money. Our friends called us nuts when we left,” Ivan recalls.
Eight years later, Global Telesat has been named Most Innovative Company in Africa by Spanish newspaper El Mundo, while most of the Pizarros’ friends in Spain are struggling. “Do you see this pile here? All Spanish and Portuguese applications. Most of our Spanish friends have tried to get a job at Global Telesat. We’ve hired 10 of them.”
More than that, the European economic meltdown has been advantageous for Global Telesat. “We are able to recruit Europeans we didn’t have access to before. And all the European companies fleeing to Angola need the internet.”
Global Telesat’s history began in 2003. Its founders were commissioned to build a satellite cyber cafe for the Spanish soldiers in Iraq, which they did from their parents’ garage during the Christmas holidays. “The company that commissioned us then offered us a telecommunications license in Equatorial Guinea via José María, so we rushed to create Global Telesat and flew there,” Ivan says. They “escaped” after three days.
Instead, they decided to embark on a similar adventure in Angola. Off they went, with $10,000 among the three of them plus “two very cheap, old and tired second-hand jeeps”.
“José María and I managed to find a house in the city center, which was in a really bad state. It cost $2,500 a month and needed $50,000 worth of renovations,” Ivan says. Due to investment expenses, the three only managed to cover costs during the second year. “We almost went bankrupt twice. Luanda’s incredibly high cost of living was the toughest aspect of getting started.” For Sánchez Soler, finding the appropriate local partners in Angola was the number one difficulty, before “bureaucracy and a very slow business rhythm”.
The Pizarros and Sánchez Soler started out doing a bit of everything, including fixing and selling computers and VSATs (very small aperture terminals). They briefly ran an LED display business. “It was a rough time, in a tense environment. We knew nothing and no-one, lived without furniture and worked from our sitting room for almost two years, until we could afford our current office.”
Soon, Global Telesat embarked on one international high-profile satellite internet project after the other. It created the well-publicized, first continental satellite internet connection from Morocco to Europe via the Strait of Gibraltar in 2004; connected the Spanish army in Herat and Kabul to the world-wide web in 2006; and built satellite cyber cafes for soldiers in Libreville and Kinshasa during the UN supervision of the Congo elections in 2007.
Officially registering Global Telesat in Angola was not easy. Sanchez Soler and David bought an existing, but inactive debt-free, Angolan company in 2004. It had a so-called ‘alvara’ (permit), which allows you to import and export and is “a must for every company in Angola”. Ivan points to a huge pile of documents in the cupboard behind him. “Never start a company in Angola,” he says jokingly. “You need each one of those, and each requires 20 letters to a given ministry. It takes years to complete the whole process.”
Angola ranks 168 out of 182 countries on Transparency International’s 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index, but Ivan says Global Telesat won’t accept or pay bribes. “That has both disadvantages and advantages. We miss out on many business opportunities because of that, but at the same time, it secures lots of deals with the type of people we want to work with: embassies, NGOs and international companies and organizations.”
Judging from Global Telesat’s achievements, one might wonder exactly what opportunities it has missed out on. The company recently became the first in Angola to own a European teleport. It has the exclusive rights to RascomStar in Angola and owns RascomStar’s only European teleport. Global Telesat is also the only Angolan representative of MWEB and Israeli joint venture company SkyVision, one of the world’s leading satellite operators.
With around 50 employees, the majority of them Angolan, Global Telesat provides satellite internet and electronic security equipment to major clients, including the Cuban and Angolan governments; Angolan state oil company Sonangol; Interpol; the Angolan Immigration Service (SME); beer brands Cuca, Ekka and Nocal; Unicef; the Angolan armed forces (FAA); embassies; and international NGOs. Its annual turnover in 2011 was between $4 and $6 million. This year, it forecasts an $8 million turnover. Global Telesat has grown a steady 25% annually.
The fact that Multitel, MS Telecom, ITA and Dimension Data are Global Telesat’s main competitors is anything but a problem. “What makes doing business in Angolan telecommunications unique and fun is the fact that almost all of the competitors are friends. We even share houses sometimes,” Ivan says.
Ivan studied electro-technical engineering after specializing in telecommunications in Ireland. He accepted a job there at Dell and experienced the boom and burst of the dotcom bubble while at Dell. He then moved to Hewlett-Packard in Barcelona and various smaller IT companies before becoming project manager of Siemens Germany. For four years, he oversaw the implementation of GSM satellite stations in the Middle East, USA, China, Pakistan and Brazil. He also brings extensive satellite internet experience from some time as a political activist.
Originally a technical engineer with a telecommunica-tions specialization, David has seven years of electronic security experience at Digisoft in Spain.
Sánchez Soler studied piloting then physics in Granada. He worked as a salesman at Spain’s first private, commercial IT group, Centre de Càlcul de Sabadell, for eight years. At the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, and together with David, he developed software to feed 20,000 people a day on behalf of the company, Jomipsa. Next, as Jomipsa’s commercial director, he dealt with more than 50 countries, including Angola, until 2003. Jomipsa designed and manufactured combat food rations for armies.
After Angola’s civil war ended in 2002, the nature of doing business with Angola changed drastically. “But Jomipsa didn’t want to invest in Angola, so I jumped out and looked for partners. In December 2003, we founded food company SPA (Societdade de Produtos Alimentares, Lda.), which we closed after internal differences.” Global Telesat was next.
What makes Global Telesat stand out, as much as its breakthroughs, is its well of remarkable stories. One example is that of its first employees.
“Our guards were constantly being harassed by Jehovah’s Witnesses or Igreja Universal members,” Ivan says. “When I came back from work one day and caught them reading these pamphlets, I got angry. ‘If you’re bored,’ I said, ‘I’ll give you something interesting to read.’ I gave them books on telecommunications and IT, and they got excited. After work, we allowed them to sell satellite internet connections and electronic security products. They decided to copy the church guys and attack in couples, which worked. They were then hired by Global Telesat.”
One of these former guards specialized in satellite internet installations, one in sales and the other in electronic security. Two of them now own their own companies.
Global Telesat is trying to make a difference in Angola. “Among other projects, we have offered hundreds of professional courses for internet installers. We may soon get support from the Ministry of Education,” says Ivan.
Global Telesat consists of a satellite internet and an electronic security department. Ivan heads the internet branch; David the security branch. Sánchez Soler, the company’s CEO, lives in Spain. All three own equal shares. It is a structure that works.
Global Telesat’s satellites are located in a ring around the earth at a distance of 38,000km from the earth. From that position, they perform a 24-hour rotation around the globe.
Monthly corporate rates for Global Telesat’s satellite internet connections start at $300 and can reach upwards of $50,000. A once-off investment starts at $3,000. “After that, the price difference with a terrestrial is not that big,” Ivan says. “Satellite internet reaches any place in Angola, including its most deserted areas and oil rigs in the middle of the sea. This is the key advantage of satellite internet over fiber-optic internet.” And prices are going down, mainly because of Global Telesat’s access to Africa’s RascomStar satellite.
“Look!” Ivan says. He hands me his mobile phone, which shows moving images of Global Telesat’s office. “What you’re seeing is being recorded right now by our camera systems and broadcast over the satellite. A simple internet connection allows me to check my premises on my iPhone. “This is a killer in Angola, because people can monitor their business without being present, even from another continent.”
Adds David: “Since the war, Angolans feel the need for more safety. That includes electronic security, which is lacking.” Global Telesat also offers automatic fire detection and extinguishing equipment.
“We had two competitors in 2004, Infortel and AfriAlarm, but their prices were double what ours were. We’re not the biggest electronic security firm in Angola, but unlike our competitors, we operate professionally according to European quality standards. We offer the best equipment available. Our surveillance cameras’ definition, for example, is up to four times sharper than those of our competitors.”
Many of Global Telesat’s electronic security systems are used to prevent labor abstinence, for instance, through fingerprint controls. At the end of the month, the fingerprints are reviewed and registered and salaries are paid accordingly.
“Apart from equipment that could, in theory, be used for spying, we also offer anti-spying equipment such as mobile phone frequency blockers or tools that can localize hidden cameras,” David says.
The Pizarros and Sánchez Soler have never regretted setting foot in Angola. “Unlike Europe, rules and regulations are no major obstacle here,” David says. “You can truly set up your business according to your wishes. Plus, Angola is a country full of companies rich in financial resources.”
“After 27 years of war, Angola offers immense room for growth and so many opportunities,” Sánchez Soler agrees. “Competition is not as high as it is in Europe. We moved to Angola at a time when hardly anyone in Spain knew Angola. We bet on Angola, and we won.”

Internet For Africa, Olé!

In just six years, Timothy Vieira (38), Nuno Traguedo (44) and Odair Peres (32) have created Angola’s number one advertising giant that advertises for major brands including Cuca, Chevrolet and Kraft Foods.
“Angolans connect with rhythm, music, happiness and bright colors. Those ingredients work magic in
drawing Angolan consumers’ attention,” Peres says at Special Edition’s humble headquarters in the Angolan capital, Luanda. But creating the perfect match between an advert and its Angolan audience does not end there.
Special Edition’s biggest clients include Angolan beer brands Cuca, Eka and Nokal; Argentinean chocolate company Arcor; Angolan TV broadcast company Zapp; Suzuki, Chevrolet and Volkswagen; Kraft Foods (owner of Cadbury); the Ministry of the Interior; and South Africa’s Standard Bank.
One of the reasons Vieira, Traguedo and Peres manage to hook such big fish is that competition in Angola is only a fraction of what it would be elsewhere. “If you’d set up the same company in Portugal, it would be one in a million,” Traguedo says. “Here, it’s one in five.”
More importantly, though, the three owners know what works in Angola and what doesn’t. They understand the Angolan psyche and the country’s troubled past. “Culturally and linguistically, Angola is not a united country and its civil war (1975-2002) only ended 10 years ago. For outsiders, that makes it very difficult to understand how Angolan consumers will react,” says Traguedo.
One of Special Edition’s companies, Key Research, conducts research into Angolan consumption habits. With Bon o Bons, big chocolate bonbons in yellow wrappers that cost 20 (US) cents each, they made a surprising discovery. “Bon o Bons here are sold by the millions. We always thought Angolans had a sweet tooth, but they don’t: these chocolates serve as a lunch substitute for people who work far from home,” Peres says. “That makes TV ads unnecessary, because Bon o Bon’s eaters generally don’t own a TV. So we just offered a free T-shirt per two boxes of chocolate at branded Bon o Bon’s selling points.
“But until recently, people would go to the store and ask for a Brazilian Garoto (when they wanted a Bon o Bon), since it was the only brand that existed here during the war. We created a jingle that constantly repeated Bon o Bon’s name. It worked.”
Special Edition’s history started six years ago, after Traguedo sold his first Angolan company, Publibrinde. “I originally returned to Angola with just $500,” he says, “but the sale of Publibrinde left me with some pocket money. Tim and I, together, invested about $100,000 in the creation of our first advertising company six years ago, Dilal. Tim’s garage was our office.”
Dilal developed into the group Special Edition, of which Angolan-Norwegian investment fund Fundo de Investimento Privada Angola now owns 20%. Six directors have also been given shares. Directors who stay for more than a decade are entitled to their share. “That’s how they stay loyal,” Peres says.
Special Edition’s growth rate has been spectacular from the start. The group employs over 350 people. “Growth has been an average 20-25% annually and annual turnover has reached between $25-35 million,” Traguedo says. “We chose to reinvest in Angola because returns here are still more attractive than in most parts of the world.” Angola’s growth forecast for 2012 is a staggering 12.8%.
Some of Special Edition’s companies offer a clearer illustration than others that advertising in Angola is a custom-made art. Key People, for example, is a recruitment agency. It was originally set up to prevent clients from “stealing” the group’s employees. “Due to Angola’s lack of human resources, qualified Angolans constantly get proposals from other companies. We created Key People to train employees and rent them out to our clients. That way, our clients are happy and we make sure our employees stick with us,” Peres says.
Key Promotion helps Angolans understand how to use various products “primarily via radio, because TV is not accessible to everyone and internet is even worse. During the war, Angolans only had one type of soap. Now there are hundreds to choose from, but people aren’t used to that. They use Omo to wash their clothes, cars and themselves. That’s where Key Promotion comes in,” Peres says.
Press People is a printing company that produces its own pocket-sized magazine with gossip, music, fashion and recipes. It’s for the masses. “They love it!” Traguedo says. “It’s very unlike the other magazines, which cost $7 or $8. That’s quite a lot for the majority of Angolans (two thirds of Angolans live on less than $2 a day). Our magazine costs $1. While other Angolan magazines print 5,000 issues a month, we print 45,000 a week.”
Special Edition currently has nine companies within its holding. The newest additions include the high-tech outdoor company Big Media, “the Angolan government’s choice during national elections”, which has 2,500 billboards across the country; Digital Print, Angola’s leading digital printing company; Key Service, which was set up to analyze the media group’s competition; Angola’s biggest media buyer, On Media, which develops bluetooth advertising, SMS, plasma rental and indoor advertising in shopping malls; IMACOP, which creates light boxes, stands, store decoration and signs; and the PR company, Uanda, which was set up to create a good relationship between clients and the media, and which is part of the largest independent PR firm in the world, the Edelman Group.
With 98% Angolan employees, Special Edition’s three owners are convinced that human resources are key to their success. “We employ the best staff in the industry,” Vieira says. “The commitment I see here is huge compared to advertising agencies in Europe. None of our Angolan employees have studied abroad, but they are all top people,” Peres adds. “One of them learned to create 3D by watching YouTube. There’s a little competition going on. Our people motivate themselves to learn from each other, which is beautiful.”
In the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report last year, Angola ranks 163 out of 183 countries. “In Angola, finding a place and qualified people is difficult and the stress involved is a lot worse than in other countries,” Peres admits. “Sometimes you don’t have any water or power or the generator breaks down. But Angolans are happy by nature. If we don’t have electricity, we visit our neighbors and have a glass of champagne. What other people call problems, we call challenges. Nothing is impossible in Angola.”
Special Edition has already booked its first international success. “We managed to convince Arcor to do an Angolan campaign instead of simply translating their existing one, which would not have worked,” Peres says.
“The response was so good that we’ve translated the Angolan Bon o Bon TV ad into English and French. For the first time ever, an Angolan TV spot is being broadcast all over Africa.”
Despite that, says Vieira, Special Edition does not have international aspirations. “Angola is big enough to keep us busy. I believe our story has just begun.”

Bursting Colors, Vibrant  Rhythms And Dazzling Smiles Sell

Sitting down to white wine and a breath of fresh air during sunset at one of Luanda’s newest and finest seaside restaurants, Miles October, the managing director of Internet Technologies Angola (ITA), harks back to the dark days of 2003.
<div id="attachment_334" style="width: 484px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-334" class="size-large wp-image-334" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ITA-20x30cm-2630-1024x682.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="316" />Miles October and Rolf Mednelsohn in Luanda</div>
That was the year he moved to Luanda with his friend, Rolf Mendelsohn—a Namibian who is now ITA’s technical director—to start a company from scratch amid the chaos of post-war Angola. Mendelsohn was just 20 years old.
“We knew there were lots of opportunities in Angola right after its civil war, but none of us had been to Angola before,” he says.
The biggest problem was they didn’t have any money.
Times were tough, Angola lay in ruins and business was difficult. The two friends, who were joined by another Namibian, Barney Harmse, almost gave up, but fate took a hand at the end of another frustrating week.
With a smile and a twinkle in his eye, October recalls their judgment day.
“Three months after our arrival in Angola, we were down to our last $100.
Rolf and I looked at each other that Friday night and said: ‘Are we going to party tonight, or try and prolong our stay for another week?’ We decided to go and party. That Monday, we got our first deal, with an NGO called Intersos… We got our next deal, and the next, and the next. It was mostly work in the NGO sector; setting up networks, fixing PCs and reselling other ISPs’ (internet service providers’) connectivity.”
Economic progress in post-war Luanda lumbered like an old Russian tank. It took a year for the company to employ someone and move to a bigger house.
“Behind it was one of the biggest and most dangerous favelas (slums) in Luanda,” says October.
“You won’t believe how many visitors got mugged at gunpoint at our doorstep. We also discovered years later that we had been providing electricity to the entire favela.”
The company employed more people and grew rapidly as word spread.
“From there on things just got crazy,” says October.
It was still tough. The partners couldn’t afford to pay themselves a salary for the first three years.
In these early crazy days there were also problems in the boardroom. ITA began as a partnership with an Angolan company, but it didn’t work out. The three founders then registered ITA as their own company in 2005. By that time they had a new German shareholder.
That year, the four men set up an ISP, MaxNet, a joint venture with two Angolan companies.
“That partnership didn’t work out either,” says October.
“So in 2008, we got out and started running the ISP business on our own. We now operate independently and provide Internet and data services to all our customers via wireless and satellite technology, 80% of whom are in Luanda and 20% in a few large provincial towns. We now have more than 60 staff.”
It was a tough nut to crack. The Internet is incredibly expensive in Angola. Clients wanting the same internet speed as in Europe can pay up to 200 times more. Despite the fact ITA’s services are more expensive than its many competitors it has won business with large clients including BPC Bank; BP Angola; Trafigura Group (Pumangol); GA Angola Seguros; Casa dos Frescos and Shoprite.
“Banks and oil companies require a 24/7 availability and superior quality of service. We have very, very skilled technicians, 90% of whom are Angolan.”
ITA’s annual turnover, in US dollars, is now in the seven figure range.
For October, it has been a meandering path to the helm of an IT company in Angola via dance floors and ball parks.
As a 19-year-old, back home in South Africa, October was scouted by professional American baseball club, Vero Beach Dodgers, and moved to the United States. He doubted he would make it to the major leagues and returned to South Africa after a year to study psychology and earn money as a DJ.
With his Bachelor’s degree in his pocket, he kept spinning the discs in dance clubs from Johannesburg to Germany to pay his way through more studies. By 2002, he had earned an IT degree and worked for an internet company before accepting a job with Worldcom.
“In 2002, Worldcom filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the USA. That’s when Rolf, Barney and I decided to quit our jobs and start our own company in Angola.”
It means every year October studies keenly the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report. The 2011 report ranks Angola 163 out of 183 countries—another headache for fledgling companies like ITA.
“For us, the biggest obstacles have been the volatility of the kwanza-dollar exchange rate, major problems with paying our suppliers outside of the country due to the Central Bank’s increasing red tape, and also finding skilled labor… The last few years we’ve seen a clear increase in Angolan returnees, who have studied abroad, which makes finding skilled Angolan employees much easier. The Angolan education system has also improved significantly since the end of the war.”
In Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2011, Angola ranks among the world’s 15 most corrupt countries—168 out of 183.
“But I think the Angolan government is doing a lot to minimize corruption,” October says.
Roger Ballard-Tremeer, the former South African ambassador to Angola and now the CEO of the South African-Angolan Chamber of Commerce, agrees.
“Angolan society at large has, especially since 2010, reflected on the profound damage inflicted by the civil war on the social and moral values of the nation and has launched a quite remarkable pro-ethics movement aimed at rescuing the nation’s societal values from the abyss into which they had plunged. Today better and more transparent governance is a very obvious feature, not only of the way in which the public sector generally conducts its activities, but also, specifically, of the manner in which a new generation of Angolan businesspeople seek sustainability over short-term profitability. Sound business ethics are now taught very effectively at tertiary level,” he says.
October says then there was the global financial crisis. “It started filtering through to Angola in 2009. As a result, we no longer see the phenomenal growth of the first few years. A few clients called it quits and left Angola. But we are still a healthy and growing company, and I expect next year to be better.”
Well, if you’ve been down to your last 100 bucks and survived, surely there is always hope.

Crazy Days Of Cash And Chaos

Angola’s female basketball warriors are pretty pleased with themselves right now in a country mad about the sport. They came back from a thrashing from favourites, Senegal, to take gold at the 2011 Afrobasket Women in Mali; they were feted by President José Eduardo dos Santos and the Minister of Sport, Goncalves Muandumba, on their triumphant return to Luanda and now they have a shot, alongside the men, for a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London.
The progress of the Palancas Negras—which translates as ‘black sables’—is being seen as a breakthrough for women’s basketball. Behind this success is the former captain of the Angolan male basketball team, Moreira, who has coached the team for six years.
In the basketball courts of Luanda’s number one sport complex, Citadela, a youthful looking, casually dressed and relaxed Moreira gave FORBES AFRICA the inside track on this heroic chapter in Angolan basketball.
<h3>How do you explain Palancas Negras’ victory at Afrobasket Women in Bamako?</h3>
This year’s result is the fruit of continuous hard work and improvement. The Palancas Negras have already had a foot on the podium since 2007. We gained bronze at Afrobasket Women both in 2007 and in 2009. We lost against Mali twice in the finals. But now we’ve managed to beat them, which made the victory twice as beautiful.
<h3>What does this victory mean for Angola?</h3>
Male basketball was already ‘hot’ in Angola. Now that the men have lost their ticket to the Olympics, the women will definitely be in the spotlight. This victory is of key importance for Angolan female basketball, which has very little support and lacks professional organization. Angola only has four female teams—Primeiro do Agosto, Maculusso, Interclub and Juventud de Viana—of which only two are represented in the national team.
<h3>What role did leading player Nassecela Mauricio, who was elected Most Valuable Player of this year’s Afrobasket tournament, play in the female team’s victory?</h3>
She really gave it her all. She’s a fighter, and she definitely deserves this victory. But I don’t like speaking about any player in particular because the entire team played very well.
<h3>What do you and your team strive for at the Olympics, and what are the greatest challenges?</h3>
We’ll do all we can to reduce the quality gap with the other Olympic teams. Whether we manage to do so will partly depend on the team’s make-up. Height, weight, physical condition and defence are all challenges. Our tallest player is 1.92m. But we’re fast and aggressive, we always seek the best positions, and we will train hard on our three pointers. In order to gain experience, we will try to train abroad as much as we can.
<h3>Isn’t African basketball often deemed a ‘nursery’ for young talented players, who exchange their African teams for European or American teams as soon as they get a chance?</h3>
Generally speaking that’s true, but I think that would be different if they had the same opportunities at home. Africa, except for maybe Tunisia and Egypt, lacks the right conditions for basketball. To professionalize, you need good financial resources. Angola has done that. Our country used to have many players in Portugal, including myself for 11 years. But when Angola started paying well, it managed to create its own great team.
<h3>What needs to be done to improve African basketball conditions?</h3>
Focus on the basics: create more playing fields and schools. Provide the minimum conditions. In the second phase, you can start thinking about remuneration and investments. The Angolan government plans to build a venue for basketball training purposes only, but so far it is only a concept.
<h3>What do you think of the Basketball without Borders camp that was recently held in South Africa?</h3>
It seems to serve a ‘double agenda’. The concept aims at promoting basketball as a common language for global peace, friendship and sportsmanship, but at the same time serves as a recruiting platform.
I think it is an extremely valuable initiative because of the friendships, cultural exchange and experience it creates. I do agree that it’s probably not beneficial for African countries. But what matters to me more is that it benefits the players. It allows them to play in much more competitive championships and to improve their very poor African working conditions.
<h3> How does it feel to be celebrated by the Angolan president?</h3>
We’re happy! This is an acknowledgement of our hard work.

Tag: Angola

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