Angolan entrepreneurs will get access to regular entrepreneurship talks and information when global entrepreneurship meetup group Startup Grind kicks off its first event in Luanda next month.
The event, which will be held on July 5th at the Belas conference center in Luanda, will feature agribusiness specialist Marcia Gomes, who will talk on soil quality and the tech behind agriculture.
Founder of entrepreneurship news site Acelera Angola and the head of Startup Grind Luanda Jose Carlos dos Santos told Ventureburn that he expects about 50 people to attend the first event.
In November last year Santos helped organize the first official events Angola has held under the annual Global Entrepreneurship Week.
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Dos Santos said since 2015 the country has seen a significant increase in initiatives and events focused on entrepreneurship. “Not only in quantity, but with a much more concrete output and greater exposure to various market players,” he added.
Compared to countries such as South Africa, Portugal or Brazil he said entrepreneurship in Angola is still at a nascent stage, with the government only really beginning to focus on entrepreneurship in the last decade.
Angolan entrepreneurs face various challenges such as a shortage of skills and training, significant red tape, the closed market and high corruption.
Dos Santos said the civil war between 1975 and 2002 destroyed the country’s infrastructures, left tens of thousands dead and lead to a large part of the population emigrating.
“We can say that our emergence as a powerhouse has only now begun and a lot has to be done in regulating all the missed opportunities and the market that is emerging for several areas,” he said.
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