Luanda - Six hundred sixty-one projects (around 55.1%) estimated at 727 billion kwanzas were funded this year under the Production Support, Export Diversification and Import Replacement Programme (PRODESI), the minister of Economy and Planning has said.
Presenting the PRODESI statistics for 2020, Sérgio dos Santos mentioned 1, 199 projects as having been submitted to the banking.
Of this figure, he said, 661 were approved and 191 are being negotiated.
According to him, the initiative will pave the way for the creation of 54, 241 jobs and the registration of four thousand producers.
The minister also said that the implementation of PRODESI allowed the reduction of imports, with the substitution of imported products for national production.
"We see an increase in the production of some basic products, such as potatoes, corn and cereals, as well as roots and tubers, vegetables, eggs, among other items," he said.
He explained that the Economic Relief programme, run by the Angolan Venture Capital Fund (FACRA), invested AKz 1.102 billion in microcredit programmes.
Of this amount, FácilCred with 420 projects received AKz 354 million, KixiCredit 68 (AKz 254 million) , Wiliete Crédito 184 (AKz 124 million) and Cooperativa Faje 17 (AKz 103 million).
Likewise, NespeCred with 25 projects (AKz 99 million), Kif Crédito 18 (AKZ 65 million), MultiCrédito 14 (AKz 52 million) and GingaCred 10 (AKz 51 million).
Also 1,033 contracts were reported under Presidential Decree 23/19 and under the Commerce and Distribution Operators, which feature the National Directorate of External Trade (251), industry (43), fisheries and aquaculture (25), trade operators and distribution (288) and cooperatives (272).
Still, under the same decree, imports were monitored, which resulted in 1. 420 billion in imports and three products totaled 47% of the value of imports.
They include rice, with 21% (USD 302 million / 471,000 tons), palm oil 14% (USD 193 million / 184,000 tons) and chicken 12% (USD 174 million / 187,000 tons).
Approved by Presidential Decree No. 169/18 of 20 July, Prodesi is a programme of the Angolan Executive aimed to speed up the diversification of national production and wealth generation, in a set of products with greater potential for generating export value and import substitution.
The sectors include food and agro-industry, mineral resources, oil and natural gas, forestry, textiles, clothing and footwear, construction and public works, information and telecommunications technologies, health, education, training and scientific, tourism and leisure.
