Enhancing financial & digital inclusion in the Angolan agricultural sector
BFA Bank in Angola and Rabo Partnerships, with support of the Netherlands Embassy and Netherlands Enterprise Agency RVO, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in April 2023 to enhance financial and digital inclusion in the Angolan agricultural sector.
The partnership, which will in the first phase focus on a technical assistance program provided by Rabo Partnerships to the bank, was announced in Luanda during a signing ceremony attended by Tsjeard Hoekstra, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Angola; Luís Roberto Gonçalves, BFA Chairman of the Executive Board; Sebastião Machado Francisco Massango, BFA Executive board member; and Corné de Louw, Rabo Partnerships Project Manager Agribusiness & Cooperative Development.
As one of the first activities under the agreement, we held a workshop at BFA Bank’s offices in April 2023, presenting the conclusions of a diagnostic exploration of the Angolan agricultural sector and sharing our recommendations for strategies that can support the bank and leverage agribusiness in Angola.
Agricultural powerhouse
Rabo Partnerships strongly believes that financial institutions have the responsibility to play a role in fostering sustainable agricultural development. Angola has an abundance of arable land, water supplies for irrigation and diverse climate conditions that are suitable for producing a variety of agricultural products. Therefore, the country has the potential to become an agricultural powerhouse in the near future. “This partnership builds on the intention to enter long-term association between Rabo Partnerships and BFA Bank. As a strategic partner, BFA Bank has demonstrated its dedication to play an integral role in increasing access to financial services for the Angolan agricultural sector,” said Mr. de Louw.
Important role
The Embassy underlines the strategic importance of this collaboration. “The Netherlands is supporting and investing tremendously in the agricultural sector in Angola. We do see an important role in stimulating the linkages between the increase of productivity and access to finance in the agricultural sector in Angola.”
While financial inclusion, as driven by digital financial services through formal relationships with banks, remains relatively low, it is a key driver to reducing income inequality and poverty while boosting household livelihoods, productivity, development and economic growth.