Luanda, Sept. 21, 2026 (Lusa) - Angola secures less than 40% of the funding required to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) each year due to its inability to mobilise and utilise the available capital, according to a report published on Monday by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The findings are set out in the Country Focus Report 2026 – Mobilising Large-Scale Financing for Angola's Development in a Fragmented World, presented in Luanda.
Angola requires annual funding of $14 billion (€12.1 billion) to meet the SDGs and the commitments of the Africa 2063 Agenda, and faces an annual shortfall of $8.6 billion (€7.4 billion), the document states.
According to the AfDB, this financing gap «is not only due to a lack of resources», but also «to the country's inadequate capacity to mobilise, channel and effectively utilise its available capital on a large scale, in a context of global fragmentation».
Estimated investment levels of 10.6% in 2025, the financial institution adds, «remain below what is necessary to sustain [Angola's] development».
The report cites weak financial intermediation, inadequate project preparation, shortcomings in the use of competitive ‘procurement' (the process of identifying, evaluating, negotiating and acquiring goods and services), high levels of informality [in the economy] and a scarcity of long-term sources of finance as among the reasons for this deficit.
The report also emphasises that domestic savings, estimated at 15.7% in 2025, «are, to a large extent, underutilised», and that access to concessional external financing «is increasingly limited, with high interest rates, and exacerbated by an environment of global uncertainty».
Furthermore, the AfDB notes that the low mobilisation of domestic resources, capital flight and the underdevelopment of domestic capital markets continue to hinder the transformation of savings into productive investments.
In its analysis, the AfDB highlights, however, the «strong resilience» of the Angolan economy, «reflected in improved macroeconomic stability and growth of 3.1% in 2025, strongly driven by the non-oil sector».
Between 2020 and 2025, fiscal deficits remained below 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP); average annual inflation fell from 25.8% to the current 8.79%; and the public debt-to-GDP ratio fell from 119% to less than 50%, the report states.
The report also highlights «some progress» in the country's social indicators, such as life expectancy (which rose from 62 to 65) and the reduction in maternal and infant mortality, «gains which, although modest, have led to an improvement in the United Nations Human Development Index (…) in 2025».
The AfDB considers that, despite the challenges posed by the current «geopolitical fragmentation», Angola's growth prospects have become «more favourable», driven by the recovery in oil prices, with real GDP growth forecast at 6.15% in 2026 (the latest projection from the National Bank of Angola).
However, the institution notes that this growth rate «remains insufficient to ensure a significant reduction in poverty and to meet the country's development needs».
«It is estimated that Angola needs to grow by at least 7% a year to keep pace with rapid population growth, of around 3.5% a year, whilst mobilising sufficient resources to finance infrastructure investment needs (…)», notes the AfDB.
[Angola's] central challenge, it says, is to transform the current growth momentum into a higher, sustainable and inclusive growth trajectory, underpinned by economic diversification and increased productivity.
According to the AfDB, Angola's financial system remains shallow, fragmented and concentrated in urban areas, which limits capital mobilisation and inclusive growth.
It adds that despite «clear progress» in terms of reforms and risk mitigation, gaps remain in regulatory capacity and institutional coordination, arguing that Angola could benefit from stronger partnerships with multilateral development banks.
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