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Angola bets on small businesses to help transform its economy
Developing a national entrepreneurship strategy in Angola is high on the political agenda and aligned with the country’s 2050 strategy, focused on economic diversification and growth, among other priorities.
It’s also part of the government’s 2023-2027 National Development Plan, which includes strengthening the business environment, fostering entrepreneurship and positioning the private sector as the main driver of economic development.
To lay the building blocks of the national entrepreneurship strategy, UNCTAD has supported the country’s National Institute of Support to Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (INAPEM) to design a national entrepreneurship review, with an action plan.
“We want to diversify the economy and make it more competitive on the international market,” says Amadeu de Jesus Leitão Nunes, Angola’s Secretary of State for Commerce.
“For this to happen, we are developing a stronger framework that will encourage entrepreneurship, drive innovation and facilitate access to funding,” he added. “UNCTAD’s support towards a national entrepreneurship strategy is an important step in the right direction.”
South Africa builds new roadmap to revitalize entrepreneurship
outh Africa has more than 2 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, representing over 98% of formal businesses, according to UNCTAD’s entrepreneurship strategy review for the country.
Despite their sheer prevalence, these small businesses create less than a third of all formal jobs, leaving job creation highly concentrated in a few large corporations and government entities.
The survival rate of the businesses is also low, with two thirds failing within the first five years and about 20% in the first two years.
Combined with a high level of youth unemployment and around 70% of entrepreneurs operating in the informal sector, South Africa’s entrepreneurial potential remains well below international trends.
Georgia: Enhancing customs systems to unlock trade potential
Strategically situated at the eastern end of the Black Sea, Georgia is long seen as a top gateway for transportation between Western Europe, the Caucasus region, and Central Asia.
The country, home to some 3.7 million people, grew its merchandise exports by 32% between 2015 and 2022.
Neighbouring economies – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Türkiye – plus China, were Georgia’s top five trading partners.
As a national economic priority, Georgia also seeks to boost free trade relations with the European Union (EU). In addition, the country is aiming to join the bloc which requires meeting strict deadlines to ensure compliance with all EU transit complexities.
To reach that goal, the nation is putting in place a new computerized transit system (NCTS), backed by UNCTAD’s Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) technologies, and funding from the EU.
The system, already used by traders within Georgia, has been rolled out to cover goods moving across borders. The NCTS is expected to make it cheaper and faster to transport goods between Georgia and the EU market.
