Angola’s sovereign wealth fund and the African Export-Import Bank are looking to deepen cooperation on investment, trade and industrial development as Luanda seeks to expand economic activity beyond the oil sector.
Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA) Chairman Armando Manuel met Afreximbank President and Chairman George Elombi at the sovereign fund’s headquarters in Luanda on September 11. The meeting reviewed FSDEA’s 2025 financial performance and investment portfolio and explored new areas of cooperation between the two institutions.
A central focus was the development of bankable projects that can generate greater value inside Angola and support the expansion of intra-African trade. FSDEA said the discussions reaffirmed a shared interest in projects that can contribute to economic diversification, strengthen local value addition and connect Angolan investment more closely with African markets.
The approach gives the partnership a broader scope than the two institutions’ financial relationship. FSDEA has been building its investment portfolio across Africa while Afreximbank provides financing, trade-support and project-development capabilities aimed at increasing intra-African commerce and investment.
The two institutions already have a connection through projects in Angola. Afreximbank has been involved in the Amufert fertilizer project, a major industrial investment being developed by OPAIA Group. FSDEA committed $300 million to Amufert, with $110 million designated as the initial capital contribution, according to the sovereign fund.
Amufert illustrates the type of investment the latest discussions could help expand: projects designed not only to attract capital but also to build domestic production capacity and reduce dependence on imported products.
For FSDEA, the strategy also fits its broader effort to use its capital for investments linked to Angola’s economic diversification while generating long-term returns. The fund has expanded its African investment footprint in recent years, including investments outside Angola. In 2024, for example, FSDEA invested $20 million in Sierra Leone’s Baomahun gold project alongside African financial institutions including Afreximbank.
The September meeting does not amount to a new financing agreement, but it signals a closer alignment between Angola’s sovereign capital and one of the continent’s largest development finance institutions.
For Angola, the potential significance lies in combining domestic institutional capital with Afreximbank’s financing and trade infrastructure to move more projects from investment concepts toward implementation. That could become increasingly important as the country seeks to expand manufacturing, processing and other non-oil sectors while strengthening its position in intra-African trade.
