Luanda: ‘There’s a vibe to the city,’ says investor

Luanda, Angola

Isaac Marshall, from investment firm TLG Capital, describes Angola’s capital Luanda as one of the most vibrant cities in Africa he has visited.

“Luanda is a city where you can feel an energy, an excitement about the future … There’s a vibe to the city. It’s colourful, the architecture is beautiful, there’s bustle in the streets, young people are trying to build things, banks are excited to do business. There’s a sense of flourishing and activity that I think is exciting to see,” he said.

In a recent interview with How we made it in Africa, Marshall also highlighted significant improvements in Angola’s business climate and governance. The country, with a history of corruption, has undergone substantial changes in recent years. “In just the last couple of years, there’s been a bit of a turning point in the dynamics around the economy where suddenly you’re seeing banks that are very, very keen to attract international investors. Local entrepreneurs are seeing economic growth kind of pick up to greater and greater degrees … And frankly, I think that there was also a big clean-up in the country. [I] think that certain systems are cleaner than they were in the past from a governance perspective in the country. And all of that sort of sets the groundwork for a good opportunity to bring capital in at this moment.”

Read our full interview with Isaac Marshall: Why Angola is on the radar of this investor