Only 6% of small businesses in Angola have a bank loan
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Expansao
In Angola, only 6% of formal small businesses with five to 19 employees had a bank loan, while nearly 68% cited financing as their main obstacle. The World Bank survey, conducted from May 2024 to March 2025 among 430 formal non-agricultural businesses, also found that loans covered only 0.1% of their investments.
In Angola, only 6% of formal businesses with between five and 19 employees had a bank loan, according to a World Bank survey conducted between May 2024 and March 2025. Nearly 68% of the businesses surveyed cited financing as their main obstacle, Expansão reports.
The survey covered 430 formal, non-agricultural businesses. While 88% had a bank account, bank credit financed only 0.1% of their investments, compared with 95.6% funded from their own resources. Informal businesses and those with fewer than five employees were not included.
The stock of Angolan bank credit grew by 1% in the first half of 2026, rising from 8,903 billion kwanzas in December 2025 to 8,987 billion in June. This increase does not measure the volume of new loans, since the stock also includes repayments and reclassifications, Expansão notes.
Banks may favour government securities, seen as less risky and more profitable, while the lack of reliable information about businesses makes credit applications more costly to assess. The article also cites slow judicial processes, a lack of property titles, non-performing loans and macroeconomic instability among the obstacles to financing small businesses.
Summary produced with the help of artificial intelligence tools, under AFREEQUE’s editorial responsibility.
