New York – Angolan minister of Industry and Trade Rui Miguêns said Sunday in New York that Angola is the first country to launch the Holistic Productive Capacity Development Programme.
The minister said the Holistic Structural Economic Transformation Programme has a significant impact in Angola and is laying the foundations for a structured economic transformation.
The Holistic Development of Productive Capacities Programme is a joint initiative between the UN and the European Union, which mainly aims to train small entrepreneurs in management.
The initiative, which has been underway in Angola since 2018, is intended to facilitate the rapid integration of the beneficiaries into the formal economic process.
Rui Miguêns said at least 2,900 entrepreneurs and 100 trainers have already been trained in the country, as part of the Holistic Development Programme.
The move is meant to multiply the impact of the intervention and strengthen the ownership of national institutions.
The programme offers opportunities for a new political paradigm, aimed at achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development in the country.
The Holistic Programme, according to the minister, is supporting the Angolan government in implementing a series of economic and fiscal reforms to improve the business environment and promote sustainable investment.
In particular, it makes it possible to capitalise on Angola's comparative advantages and eliminate some of the main constraints, such as excessive dependence on one or a few products for export.
"We, therefore, believe that a holistic, integrated and long-term approach to economic development is the way to revive the key sectors of our economy, boost productive capacities and create tangible impacts on the lives of the people. The Holistic Programme, which supports the diversification of Angola's economy and exports, in line with the Angolan government's priorities, has improved human resources and institutional, regulatory and policy-making capacities," he said.
It plays an important role in facilitating Angola's participation in regional and global value chains in sectors where it has comparative advantages, which allows for the sustainable generation of income at national level for the realisation of the SDGs, the creation of resilience in the face of external shocks and a reduction in dependence on commodity exports.
According to the minister, the results achieved by the programme so far have been very encouraging, with tangible and multifaceted results due to its innovative nature, primarily covering seven areas of economic policy and sustainable development.
In Angola, it involves 23 ministries and national agencies, including the private sector, academia and civil society.
With this assistance, new regulations for public-private partnerships have been developed and PPP projects have been formulated with a view to improving the transport and logistics infrastructure for the new economy that is being built, which has led, for example, to an investment of 3.2 billion US dollars in the Lobito corridor, linking the Angolan port of Lobito to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rui Minguêns considered it fundamental to fostering a dynamic and vibrant domestic private sector, noting that 30 of the 100 best companies in the country had gone through the UNCTAD entrepreneurship programme.
"In 2022, Angola's Holistic Programme was selected as a global success story in the implementation of good SDG practices. And today, we are here to share our experience as part of this High Impact and Transformative Initiative," said the minister.
The Programme has trained a National Host Institution - Prestígio - Liga de Empreendedores Executivos de Angola - to provide entrepreneurship training in Angola.
According to the director general of the Empretec centre in Angola, Hirondino Garcia, his organisation has helped to train various entrepreneurs in the country, based on the experience acquired several years ago with Prestígio.
This Sunday's meeting took place on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly, which will take place in New York from the 18th to the 26th of this month, with the participation of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço. ELJ/DAN/NIC
