World
Angola Mulls Manufacturing Russian Military Equipment
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
As it was, indeed, looking for profitable business, investment and trade rather than development aid, Angola, a south-central African republic, announced corporate plans to diversify its state business away from purchasing to fully-fledged manufacturing of Russian military equipment for the southern African market, and most possible other regions in Africa.
While heading a delegation for a four-day visit from April 2-5 on an invitation from the Kremlin, President João Lourenço, said in an exclusive interview with the local Russian media, Itar-TASS, that Angola is one of the principal buyers of Russian arms and his country wants, not only buy but also to produce them, – outlining the government’s grandiose plan.
“As for our military and technical cooperation with Russia – it will continue and be deepened. We would like to evolve from our current state of purchasers of Russian military equipment and technologies towards becoming the manufacturers and having an assembly plant of Russian military equipment in our country,” he told the news agency.
Although this was the Angolan leader’s first official visit to Russia in this capacity, he has first-hand knowledge about the Russian capital, since he studied at the Military-Political Academy in 1978-1982.
Russian Defense Ministry and Rosoboronexport have made no official comment on the alleged deals, but local Russian financial newspaper Vedomosti said, in essence, such highly military deal with Angola could offer Russia a conduit to the southern region and would cement its position as a controlling super power in the weaponry market.
Over the years, Russia has made “military-technical cooperation” as an important part of its foreign policy objectives with Africa. According to Angola’s Defense Minister Salviano de Jesus Sequeira, Russia has already delivered six SU-30K fighter jets to Angola this year and two more are expected by the end of May.
Besides, Sequeira said the country is interested in buying Russian S-400 air-defense systems, but there is no talks because of economic difficulties, and only adding that “Angolan armed forces are used to work with Russian weapons” because of that the military cooperation between the two countries will last forever.
According to Ministry of Defense website report, Russia agreed to supply arms and military equipment to Angola worth US$2.5 billion, including spare parts for the Soviet-made weaponry, light weapons, ammunition, tanks, artillery and multi-purpose helicopters.
In a research report titled “Angola: Russia and Angola – the Rebirth of a Strategic Partnership” that was released by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), the authors Ana Christina Alves, Alexandra Arkhangelskaya and Vladimir Shubin acknowledged that “defense remains the most solid Russia-Angolan cooperation dimension. To date, Russia is Angola’s most strategic military partner.”
Ana Christina Alves, a Senior Researcher at the Global Powers and Africa Programme, South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), explained further to me that “the military equipment is, undoubtedly, the largest and most profitable side of Russia’s trade with Africa – which the figures unfortunately don’t feature in official bilateral trade data. If these were included, the bilateral trade volume would appear much more impressive. This is, perhaps, the strongest dimension of Russia’s dealings in Africa at present, but because of the nature of the business very little is known outside military circles, so hard to get the actual picture.”
“Of course, it is better and cheaper to have such armaments assembled in Angola than purchasing ready-made ones directly from Russia. It will enable technology transfer and improve the technical knowledge and experience of Angolans while possibly turning that country into a getaway for Russian arms and military equipment to the wider central and southern African region,” Professor Shaabani Nzori, Expert on foreign policy based in Moscow, told me in the interview discussion.
It would help Russia gain fully-fledged foothold in that market for its military industry, one of the few comparative advantages that Russia currently has over other arms’ producing countries. So, it is a win-win situation for both these two countries, he added assertively.
On the other hand, concerning trafficking and proliferation of Russian arms in Africa as a result of such cooperation between Russia and Angola, even without them at the moment, Russian, American, Chinese, European, North Korean, Iranian, Israeli arms are already in abundance in continent. But it’s expected that the Russian-Angolan deal helps to mitigate, if not exclude altogether, such a development,” Shaabani further informed.
Military-technical cooperation has long been a priority area in bilateral ties, with the Soviet Union beginning to supply weapons for guerilla units back in the 1960s, Andrei Tokarev, Head of the Center for Southern African Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Kommersant, a local Russian financial daily newspaper.
“However, with the fall of the apartheid regime in neighboring South Africa in 1994 and the end of the civil war in 2002, Angola has no potential enemies, so the need for arms supplies has dwindled. In recent years, Angola’s leadership has had plans to turn the country into a base to repair Soviet equipment for African countries. For its part, South Africa had similar business ideas as well. One cannot rule out that the proposal to both purchase and produce (manufacture) weapons as an attempt to outmaneuver South Africa, but the local industry is not yet ready to manufacture its own military equipment,” explained Andrei Tokarev.
Foreign experts have also expressed their concern. Professor Alex Vines, Head of the Africa Programme at Chatham House, and recently served as a member of the Commonwealth Observer Group to Ghana in 2016 and a UN election officer in Mozambique and Angola, in an emailed discussion acknowledged Russia’s military-technical cooperation with African countries.
He wrote from London that “the Angolan military partnership with Russia has been tight for many years and a significant part of the procurement through its Simportex is with Russia. This continues as Russia delivered six SU-30K fighter jets this year and is interested in procuring a Russian S-400 air defense system. The new development is seeking a partnership with Russia for manufacturing defense equipment in Angola. Russia has a series of maintenance facilities in Africa for after sales – but this would be a significant development.”
Furthermore, he said assertively that his own experience of Angola, including being a UN sanctions inspector, “is that Angolan arsenals have not been a major problem for theft, but the biggest concern was the sale of old weapons and munitions from stores to independent brokers who then sold the equipment onto sanctioned entities.”
Professor David Shinn at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, and a former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia (1996-99) and Burkina Faso (1987-90), wrote in an email interview that with the latest development, particularly, SU-30K aircraft purchased by Angola, one has to ask why Angola needs such a high performance fighter aircraft and who is the potential enemy?
Undoubtedly, Russia might have proposed to help Angola develop a weapon’s manufacturing capacity, obviously drawing on Russian designs and weapons. If this assumption is correct, it therefore means that Angola will join a growing list of countries in Africa that have their own internal weapons manufacturing.
In this regard, Shinn added that South Africa has the most advanced capacity to produce military equipment followed by Egypt. Sudan, which received assistance from China and Iran in building its arms industry, and Nigeria, among others, also have the ability to produce military equipment. In this sense, what Angola proposed to do (that is to establish manufacturing plant) is not much different except that it would, reportedly, be assisted by the Russian Federation.
“Weapons produced by any country can and do appear in African conflict zones. There is plenty of documentation, for example, that weapons made in China, Russia, and Western countries are being used in ongoing conflicts in Darfur, the eastern Congo, and Somalia. In some cases, African governments have transferred the arms to rebel groups and many others have been purchased on the international arms market,” he said.
According to Professor Shinn, the SADC countries, with the notable exception of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have avoided major conflict in recent years. As a result, the movement of arms to rebel groups has not been an issue.
Professor Shinn concluded: “Should Angola become a key producer and distributor of Russian arms, there is always the possibility some of them could eventually appear outside Angola in the SADC region. One would hope this initiative must necessarily be approved by the Angolan parliament, and be of great interest for SADC, the African Union and Security Council of the United Nations.”
Kester Kenn Klomegah writes frequently about Russia, Africa and the BRICS.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
From Africa’s perspectives on attaining economic sovereignty, Tanzania, located in East Africa, has seriously begun showing the investment model as Russia pledges tremendous support during the meeting of the Russian-Tanzanian intergovernmental commission in Arusha, in mid-May 2026. Russia is undertaking various development projects as well as addressing bilateral issues relating to investment, trade and innovation on the African continent, and described Tanzania as the gateway to the broader East African region.
Step 1: Gazprom is interested in implementing comprehensive gas projects in Tanzania, according to the report issued by the Ministry of Economic Development. It says Gazprom, in addition to selling natural gas, LNG, and petrochemical products, is ready to supply technologies and equipment for gas production, processing, transportation, and sales. It says Gazprom is continuing its work on a pilot project launched last year to supply two mobile gas tankers to Tanzania.
NOVATEK has also indicated its preparedness to participate in natural gas exploration and production projects in Tanzania, and for now, the staff are awaiting information on the date of the fifth round of license allocation for exploration blocks, as well as on the acquisition of blocks outside the tender process—specifically, at the Ntorya field. “Tanzania has significant resource potential, and the economy’s growing demand for electricity and fuel opens up significant opportunities for joint projects. The current situation in the Strait of Hormuz compels us to seek new solutions to ensure that it does not reduce economic growth on the African continent, and particularly in Tanzania,” said Maxim Reshetnikov, head of the Ministry of Economic Development, speaking at a meeting of the Russian-Tanzania intergovernmental commission in Arusha.
Step 2: Russia and Tanzania plan to sign a memorandum of cooperation in tourism in Moscow. In June, as part of the “Travel!” forum in Moscow (June 10-14), the Tanzanian delegation was already given the invitation to participate, noted Reshetnikov while further explaining that Russia is interested in launching direct air service between the two countries, which would “give a powerful boost to tourism development.”
Air Tanzania’s initiative to launch flights from Moscow to Dar es Salaam, with high hopes that Russia and Tanzania will complete the necessary procedures for the entry into force of the new air traffic agreement as quickly as possible. In particular, officials are awaiting notification from the Tanzanian side regarding the entry into force of this agreement.
Air Tanzania will begin flights from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city, on May 28. According to the online flight information at the capital’s Vnukovo Airport, flights on this route will include a stopover on the island of Zanzibar. Flights will operate three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The program will run until October 24.
Step 3: Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected on an official state visit to Russia in June, and that will boost bilateral trade and investment, and provide an additional impetus to developing mutual cooperation.
“In preparation for the upcoming high-level meeting, I propose discussing both promising areas and specific projects… and identifying key areas for further cooperation. In addition to trade, these include energy, transport, industry, agriculture, tourism, science, and education,” Reshetnikov said.
The Tanzanian delegation is expected to participate in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which will be held from June 3 to 6. Usually, at the St. Petersburg forum, the African agenda is of great importance. The programme includes the Russia-Africa Business Dialogue, which, since 2016, has been the annual meeting place for representatives of Russian and African business and official communities. Roscongress Foundation organises it.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Infrastructure solutions provider, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), has committed parts of a $100 million investment to fund managers—Future Africa and Lightrock Africa—to boost African tech venture backing.
The commitment to Lightrock Africa Fund II and Future Africa Fund III is the first tranche of a broader deployment, AFC noted.
The corporation added that it is actively evaluating a pipeline of additional Africa-focused funds spanning a range of strategies and stages, with further commitments expected in the near term.
This is part of its efforts to plug a persistent gap in long-term institutional capital on the continent, which constrains the development and scaling of high-potential technology businesses across the continent, especially with a drop in foreign investments.
“Through this commitment, AFC will deploy catalytic capital in leading Africa-focused technology Funds and, in particular, African-owned fund managers,” it said in a statement on Monday.
AFC aims to address the underrepresentation of local capital in venture funding by catalysing greater participation from African institutional investors and deepening local ownership within the ecosystem.
Despite some success stories on the continent, local institutional capital remains significantly underrepresented across many fund cap tables, with the majority of venture funding continuing to flow from international sources.
AFC’s commitment is designed to shift that dynamic, according to Mr Samaila Zubairu, its chief executive.
“Across the continent, young Africans are not waiting for the digital economy to arrive; they are seizing the moment — adopting technology, creating markets and solving real economic problems faster than infrastructure has kept pace. That is the investment signal.
“AFC’s $100 million Africa-focused Technology Fund will accelerate the convergence of growing demand, rapid technology adoption, youthful demographics and the enabling infrastructure we are building.
“Digital infrastructure is now as fundamental to Africa’s transformation as roads, rail, ports and power — enabling productivity, payments, logistics, services, data and cross-border trade, while creating jobs and industrial scale.”
Mr Pal Erik Sjatil, Managing Partner & CEO, Lightrock, said: “We are delighted to welcome Africa Finance Corporation as an anchor investor in Lightrock Africa II, deepening a strong partnership shaped by our collaboration on high-impact investments across Africa, including Moniepoint, Lula, and M-KOPA.
“With aligned capital, a long-term perspective, and a shared focus on value creation, we are well positioned to support exceptional management teams and scale category-leading businesses that deliver attractive financial returns alongside measurable environmental and social outcomes,” he added.
Adding his input, Mr Iyin Aboyeji, Founding Partner, Future Africa, said: “By investing in AI-native skills, financing productive tools such as phones and laptops, and expanding energy, connectivity and compute infrastructure, we can convert Africa’s greatest asset — its people — into critical participants in the new global economy. AFC’s US$100 million commitment is the anchor this moment demands.
“As our first multilateral development bank partner, AFC is sending a clear signal that digital is as fundamental to Africa’s transformation as agriculture, manufacturing and physical infrastructure. We trust that other development finance institutions, insurers, reinsurers and pension funds will follow AFC’s lead.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Dangote’s East African refinery plan gained momentum as Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni threw his support behind the proposed project following talks with Mr Aliko Dangote.
In a tweet posted on X (formerly Twitter) on May 17, 2026, the Ugandan President announced that he had met with the Nigerian billionaire at Nakasero, and revealed that the meeting centred around the development of a proposed 650,000 barrels per day regional oil refinery in East Africa.
Mr Museveni emphasised adding value by refining oil locally rather than exporting crude, to maximise economic and strategic benefits for the region.
He called for greater regional cooperation and market integration in East Africa, highlighting the importance of large-scale projects for shared prosperity.
Business Post has earlier reported that Kenya has been positioned as the central player following Tanzania’s recent denial of its support of the project.
Mr Dangote said the East African country was his preferred choice due to its established fuel logistics network and port infrastructure serving several neighbouring countries.
In the latest development, the Ugandan president explained that his primary focus remains on value addition.
He detailed why Uganda has historically refrained from exporting raw crude oil, arguing that doing so allows foreign entities to exploit the country’s natural resources and reap the financial rewards of refined products.
“Without refining our oil, it would not make economic or strategic sense to simply export crude oil while others benefit from the finished products,” Mr Museveni stated.
The president expressed strong support for a larger regional refinery, describing it as a crucial step toward “African integration and shared prosperity.”
He further emphasised that East African nations must move past an individualistic mindset and overcome fragmented markets, urging regional cooperation to execute large-scale projects that benefit the entire populace.
“We cannot continue operating in fragmented and weak markets,” Mr Museveni wrote. “If East Africa works together, such projects become more viable and beneficial to our people.”
“Uganda is ready to support the regional refinery initiative while also continuing with the development of our own refinery in Hoima,” he added.
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