Exciting News: Sofonie Dala receives invitations from the Industrial Association of Angola and BAI Bank to participate in the forum aiming to present various financing solutions available for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)

We are thrilled to announce that Sofonie Dala, the founder of Talentos Multiplus starup, has received an invitation from the AIA and BAI Bank to participate in the commercial forums and challenged BAI Bank to rethink their current policies regarding the financing of startups.

Sofonie Dala receives invitations from the Industrial Association and BAI Bank to participate in the forum on Financial Solutions to support the Productive Sector.

Throughout last month, BAI and AIA were hosting a series of over 25 commercial forums across the country.

On June 19, 2024, Sofonie Dala participated in the Forum on Financial Solutions to support the Productive Sector. During its presentation, BAI bank clearly stated that financing startups is challenging due to the lack of collateral, as startups typically do not have assets to secure loans against.

In response, Sofonie Dala, defending startups, advised BAI Bank to rethink their approach and consider startups that promote the empowerment of women and girls and sustainable social development as valuable collaborators for the advancement of Angola.

Sofonie Dala also showcased her most successful projects, receiving positive feedback from the regional director of BAI Bank. She was recommended to establish contact to facilitate possible support through the BAI Foundation.

According to a recent release from the bank, the objective of these forums is to present various financing solutions available for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). The main products highlighted include “PAC Express,” “Crédito Campanha Agrícola,” “National Letter of Credit,” and “Liquidity Advance.” These solutions have piqued the interest of businesspeople, who find them "quite interesting and appropriate" for their project portfolios.

AIA President, José Severino, encouraged businesspeople to "take advantage of the business and growth opportunities presented by BAI" during an event held in Luanda. Additionally, Henrique de Santos, Director of Individuals and Business for the Commercial Region of Talatona at BAI, assured that "BAI has excellent solutions to continue financing national companies because it understands that these are the engine of the economy. We remain open to Small and Medium-sized Companies and aim to increase the number of projects financed."

The Administration of Banco Angolano de Investimentos (BAI) is committed to bringing services closer to pure retail banking, attracting Micro, Small, and Medium-sized companies with credit and financing solutions tailored to current market challenges. In June, the "Liquidity Advance" product was adopted by the Association of Contracted Companies of the Petroleum Industry of Angola (AECIPA).

Sofonie Dala's involvement in these forums and her advocacy for startups mark a significant step forward in fostering a more inclusive and supportive financial environment for innovative enterprises in Angola.

What is the SME Financing Forum?

The SME Financing Forum is an initiative aimed at improving the negative impact on the financial and economic framework of businesses. It focuses directly on a multifaceted approach addressing economic, social, and institutional challenges. Specific considerations include the needs of SMEs and the local business environment, validating repayment capacity, risk profiles, and sectors with high potential. Key barriers to financing such as lack of collateral, credit history, and high transaction costs must also be addressed.

Banks should establish flexible credit lines offering tailored financial products for SMEs through Credit Guarantee Funds, working capital loans, financing for innovation and expansion, and affordable interest rates. Guarantee funds and risk mitigation should be strengthened to reduce banks' risks when lending to SMEs.

Developing credit insurance products to cover defaults, providing financial management and business planning training programs, and fostering strong business skills and growth strategies are crucial. Banks should align financing programs with public policies for economic development and employment.

In conclusion, banks should establish indicators to monitor the impact of financing programs, loan default rates, SME growth, job creation, and gather continuous feedback to adjust programs as needed for effectiveness and sustainability. SMEs - Improving the Economy! Said Jorge Chaves, the forum coordinator, during his speech.

African countries work to preserve forests

Brazzaville - The Angolan Minister of the Environment, Ana de Carvalho, said on Wednesday that African countries are working to increasingly protect forests, as an important resource for living beings.

The minister was speaking to the Angolan press, on the sidelines of the first International Conference on Afforestation and Reforestation, which takes place from 2 to 5 July in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.

She said that joint discussions around the protection of forests are fundamental, as States such as Angola have created measures to prevent the indiscriminate felling of trees. 'At this time, in Angola we suffer a lot from fires, a cultural aspect for the practice of agriculture, ending up affecting biodiversity and soil degradation', she said. 

In Angola, she pointed out, almost 50% of the land is made up of forests, but reforestation is needed, one of the themes of this Brazzaville conference. With this event, he stressed, the experience of Congo in terms of reforestation will be taken, as in Angola the coast is being reforested with the planting of mangroves, in addition to work with forest conservation areas. 

For the Angolan ambassador to the Republic of Congo, Vicente Muanda, the conference is of great importance, because Angola has a particular way of managing forests and exploiting these resources. She made it known that, sometimes, elements of Congo carry out indiscriminate logging and illegal hunting in the area of the Maiombe Forest, Cabinda.

In this regard, she stressed that it is necessary for States to coordinate to maintain conserved forests for the sustainability of living beings. The international conference on Afforestation and Reforestation discusses various topics related to the defense of forests, in an event promoted by the Government of the Republic of Congo.

Government calls for strengthening environmental education

 

Dundo - The governor of Lunda-Norte, Deolinda Satula Vilarinho, on Thursday called on to the need of strengthening environmental education in communities, aiming at the conservation of the environment.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop on 'Preservation of the environment', the governor called for the need to raise the environmental awareness of citizens, with a view to participating in the improvement of basic sanitation. 'Lunda-Norte has a huge challenge if we take into account the environmental impacts caused by mining activity, fires and issues related to basic sanitation, which has harmed the quality of life of citizens,' she stressed. 

Therefore, she added, it is necessary that mining companies operating in the province make a commitment to reverse the situation, creating sustainable environmental programs, to avoid the pollution of rivers and the degradation of fauna. 

The province of Lunda-Norte was created on July 4, 1978, through Presidential Decree No. 86/78, of July 4, as a result of the division of the province of Lunda into two administrative seats, the other being designated Lunda-Sul.

Angola needs to produce more than 600,000 tons of wheat

Bailundo – The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (MINAGRIF), António Francisco de Assis, stated on Monday, in Huambo province, that Angola needs to produce at least 600,000 tons of wheat/year, to reduce imports of this cereal. 

The government official was speaking at the beginning of the wheat harvest campaign, which took place on the Luvili farm, Luvemba commune, Bailundo municipality, in the presence of the governor of Huambo province, Lotti Nolika, and senior MINAGRIF officials. 

He expressed satisfaction with the harvest indicators intended to be achieved, two years after the relaunch of this crop in the country. 

The minister said that if a harvest of about 80,000 tons is reached, it will be quite satisfactory, due to the few inputs available and distributed to farmers and peasant families, mainly in the provinces of Benguela, Bié, Huambo, Huíla and Malanje.   

He considered the results still very small, compared to the path that has to be taken, as in the relaunch, many were “skeptical”, but MINAGRIF accepted the challenge.

Therefore, it announced greater scope in wheat production during the 2024/2025 agricultural season, taking into account the country's potential in this field. He highlighted that, despite the difficulties with wheat seeds, the peasant families, some with a little more than one hectare, did their best and the results are positive and encouraging to continue on this path, at a time when the process counts on the involvement of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the business and family sectors. 

More fertilizers for next season 

António Francisco de Assis said that the ministry acquired nearly seven thousand tons of fertilizers to allow peasants and farmers in the provinces of Bié and Huambo to begin cultivation at the beginning of September.

He added that the governments of the two provinces are entering into contacts with the management of the Benguela Railway (CFB) to transport the goods, so that peasants and farmers have access to fertilizers at prices subsidized by the State. For his part, the manager of the Luvili agricultural farm, José Eduardo, said that the production, in an area of 20 hectares, included, through an experimental partnership, the involvement of 125 peasant families. 

He said that the farm's management, staffed by 95 workers, plans to encourage farming families to invest more in the cultivation of wheat, soybeans and beans, as they are high-yield crops. In the province of Huambo, more than 600 hectares of land were cultivated for wheat production, with a harvest forecast of close to 600 tons, for the family sector, as well as the involvement of 437 business producers. 

During his stay in the municipality of Bailundo, in the northern corridors of the province of Huambo, the Minister of Agriculture and Forests led the opening ceremony of the first itinerant course on the representation and maintenance of agricultural equipment, aimed at 60 agricultural technicians from the 11 municipalities of this region of the Central Plateau. At another time, he distributed motor-cultivators and other agricultural instruments to the Mbalundo Kingdom cooperative, to increase production and productivity, focusing on planting fruit trees and growing corn, beans and vegetables.

 The government official's visit schedule to Huambo, which began on Sunday with an observation visit to the works of the future Center for Bio-veterinary and Animal Vaccine Production, foresees, for Tuesday, a trip to the municipality of CaálaAngola needs to produce more than 600,000 tons of wheat.