Angolan bank BFA and Rabo Partnerships, with the support of the Netherlands Embassy and Netherlands Enterprise Agency RVO, have signed an agreement to enhance financial and digital inclusion in the Angolan agricultural sector. The partnership in the first phase, implemented through a Technical Assistance program, was announced during a signing ceremony attended by the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Angola, Tsjeard Hoekstra, and his agricultural team.
From left to right: Luís Roberto Gonçalves (BFA Chairman of the Executive Board), Sebastião Machado Francisco Massango (BFA Executive board member, Corné de Louw (Rabobank Senior Project Manager Agribusiness & Cooperative Development), Tsjeard Hoekstra (Ambassador of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in Angola).
Agricultural powerhouse
According to Rabo Partnership’s Director, Mr. Corne de Louw, Rabo Partnerships strongly believes in the opportunity and responsibility of financial institutions to foster sustainable agricultural development. Angola has an abundance of arable land, water supplies for irrigation, and a diversity of climatic conditions that are suitable for producing a variety of agricultural products. Therefore Angola has the potential to become an agricultural powerhouse in the near future. “This partnership builds on the intention to enter a long-term association between Rabo Partnerships and BFA. As a strategic partner BFA 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 in reducing income inequality and poverty while boosting household livelihoods, productivity, development, and economic growth.
Source: agroberichtenbuitenland.nl
