Angola, AfDB Launch $100m Tech Park to Drive Innovation, Economic Diversification

The Angolan Government and the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) have inaugurated the Luanda Science and Technology Park (Luanda Tech) in the capital, Luanda.

The park is part of a $100 million Science and Technology Project (STDP) that has seen dozens of science facilities refurbished, and 1,500 science teachers trained, according to the AfDB.

“This Science and Technology Park comes at the right time, because a country that wants to develop must pay attention to science and technology,’’ Angolan President João Lourenço said at the ceremony.

‘’We want this infrastructure to become a meeting point between academia, scientific research, companies and young entrepreneurs. It is through knowledge, innovation and the capacity of our young people that we will build new solutions to address Angola’s challenges. This investment represents an important step towards strengthening national research capacities and advancing the country’s technological development,” President Lourenco said.

African Development Bank’s Country Manager, Pietro Toigo, said the Bank-government partnership was ready to create additional technology corridors across the country’s provinces in the project’s second phase. Toigo reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to Angola’s youth and highlighted the role of science, technology and innovation in driving the country’s economic transformation.

“This is not merely the launch of an important infrastructure asset. It is the celebration of a national vision: a vision of an Angola that invests in knowledge, empowers its youth, strengthens its scientific capabilities, and builds new engines for economic diversification and inclusive growth,” Toigo said.

He explained that the Luanda Tech project aims to create a conducive environment where researchers, entrepreneurs, students and innovators can transform ideas into solutions, and solutions into economic value.

The project has invested in human capital by providing scholarships for 161 scholarships at international universities, as well as funding secondary education for 1,204 girls from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue science-related studies and careers.

The STDP partnership between the Angolan government and the African Development Bank has equipped 54 science laboratories across 18 secondary schools; trained over 1,500 faculty members, researchers, technicians and academic counsellors, and funded 73 research projects – nearly a third of which were awarded to women.