Luanda, July 2, 2025 (Lusa) - Multilateral organisations financed Angola’s development with more than US$4 billion (€3.3 billion) between 2019–2023, with the World Bank as the main financier, according to data released on Wednesday by the consulting firm PwC.
The World Bank (WB) was the largest financier during the five-year period, followed by regional development banks, European institutions, the United Nations and other multilateral organisations.
The data are contained in a presentation made today by PwC’s management in Angola, namely Pedro Palha (director) and Maurício de Brito (partner), on Angola’s position in the context of the use of financing from multilateral entities.
According to the study, the WB alone accounted for 83% of the total in 2023, with a total of US$863.9 million (€732 million), followed by regional development banks (US$54.1 million) and European institutions (US$31.5 million).
The analysis, shared today during a conference in Luanda organised by Economia & Mercado magazine and PwC, also points to high external debt, high global interest rates and institutional fragility in Angola as some of the reasons for obtaining less financing.
“Although stable, Angola’s external debt stands at around US$43.3 billion (in 2024), much of it owed to Chinese creditors. Rising international interest rates have made loans more expensive and less sustainable,” said Pedro Palha.
Regarding institutional fragility, the PwC director said that the capacity to execute projects, bureaucracy and position in some global/regional rankings “reduce the confidence of donors”.
On the other hand, he also pointed to Angola's political and geopolitical history, "whose prolonged civil war caused delays in the full reintegration of multilateral cooperation networks," and exchange rate instability, where the devaluation of the kwanza (Angolan currency) "makes imports more expensive and affects macroeconomic stability" as other reasons that hinder the obtaining of more financing in Angola.
For the PwC official, multilateral agencies have a fundamental role "because they are catalysts for accelerating the diversification of the economy in Angola, as well as promoting social resilience and ensuring a sustainable energy transition".
"In fact, there are many projects underway [in Angola] and multilateral agencies have played a key role in these projects," he told journalists, pointing to project monitoring units as an instrument that creates obstacles to financing in the country.
"In Angola, whenever there is a project, a monitoring unit is set up, which takes time to recruit the right people and train them. In my view, the fewer management entities we have, the better; just one or two entities to manage and monitor would suffice," Pedro Palha argued.
PwC managers also recommended that the Angolan authorities create specialised units to formulate, negotiate and manage multilateral projects, provide technical training for staff, improve the monitoring and evaluation system, continue the fight against corruption, ensure transparency in public finance management and improve the business environment.
DAS/AYLS // AYLS
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