This was interrupted by civil war, but now after nearly 20 years of peace, Angola is bouncing back and two Angolan companies are expanding into the global market once again.
Camila Paula, the commercial director at Café Cazengo, explains that in colonial times coffee was what moved Angola’s economy and Quiculungo was really built around coffee.
The majority of the company’s production is sold to the United States, but it also has a website and they are able to sell their coffee elsewhere.
Producers are also getting help from an EU-UN programme that’s part of an effort to scale up the private sector and diversify Angola’s mainly oil-based economy.
Fazenda Vissolela is one of those larger commercial farms. It covers 5000 hectares, 1000 of these are for its coffee project.
Énio Miranda, the managing partner at Fazenda Vissolela says that this productivity has already given them a good turnover this year.
In her eyes, “there is real government motivation both from local government, but also from international institutions like the European Union, to revitalise this sector with the help of some locals”.