Across Eastern and Southern Africa, one opportunity stands out above almost every other for creating jobs at scale: agribusiness. In nearly every conversation I have — with government officials, farmers, entrepreneurs, and young people — the discussion inevitably turns to jobs, and increasingly, agribusiness is the answer. From Ethiopia to Mozambique, governments are looking to agriculture not simply as a source of food, but as a driver of private investment, regional trade, and employment. The recent launch of Angola’s AgriConnect Compact shows how that vision is beginning to take shape.
Africa’s food market is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030, driven by the fastest-growing population on earth, rising consumer spending, and growing global demand for food. African countries can create millions of jobs at home by producing more food per hectare of land and developing value chains to serve that market.
Today, Africa spends close to $65 billion a year importing food. African farmers produce one-third of what Asian farmers produce and just one-tenth of what OECD farmers do. The continent also trades remarkably little with itself, partly because each country produces little relative to local needs, and partly because of the high cost of regional trade. The Malabo Declaration and the Kampala Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Declaration both set ambitious targets to triple intra-African trade in agrifood products and inputs, recognizing deeper regional integration as the continent’s most underutilized jobs strategy. Realizing this ambition is within reach, but it requires a significant increase in food productivity across the continent.
Our global AgriConnect initiative was created to help countries unlock the full potential of their agribusiness value chains — creating jobs while meeting rising demand for food. It brings together governments, development partners, the private sector, and financing around a shared agenda: turning Africa’s agricultural potential into an engine of employment and growth. Angola has just made that agenda concrete.
Backed by the World Bank Group and a broad coalition of partners, AgriConnect is helping countries tackle the barriers that limit agricultural productivity and private investment while scaling the irrigation, technologies, financing, and partnerships needed for impact. The World Bank Group has committed to transforming farming for 300 million smallholders worldwide, and countries across Africa are developing AgriConnect Compacts to translate that ambition into action.
Angola’s Compact: Why It Matters
In Angola, the Compact was developed by the government in partnership with multilateral development banks, international finance institutions, development partners, farmer organizations, and private sector partners. Running from 2026 to 2030, the program aims to transform the country’s agrifood sector by mobilizing private investment, reducing dependence on food imports, and creating rural jobs at scale.
By 2030, the program aims to create up to 700,000 jobs, generate up to $2.2 billion in annual added value, and mobilize up to $1.45 billion in public and private finance. Beyond economic impact, the Compact targets a significant reduction in child stunting and a meaningful cut in Angola’s food import bill, with benefits reaching up to 7.9 million people.
Angola’s program focuses on the Lobito Corridor and the Malanje Corridor, targeting five agriculture value chain groups: staple crops such as grains, roots, and tubers; coffee; tropical fruits including banana, mango, and avocado; livestock; and commercial forestry anchored by eucalyptus. Together, these span the backbone of Angola’s agricultural economy, from smallholder food production to export-oriented commodities.
What makes Angola’s approach distinctive is that it treats the value chain as a system, where all parts collectively contribute to job creation. Investments in production, processing, storage, logistics, and market access are planned as a single, connected system, meaning that jobs are created at every stage: on the processing floor, in the cold store, and along the supply route to the final consumer. Through the Compact, the government has committed to specific policy reforms to improve the enabling environment so that the private sector can invest more in the value chains.
In the Lobito Corridor, for example, smallholder coffee and fruit growers in Huambo and Bié are connected to new drying, roasting, and packaging facilities, whose output would move by rail along the Benguela railway to the Port of Lobito, and from there to regional and international markets. The approach is clear: no single investment works alone, and the transport corridor becomes an economic corridor.
From Angola to the Region
The launch of Angola’s Compact was deeply encouraging— and a signal that the agribusiness agenda is gaining ground. Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda are all actively working on their AgriConnect Compacts, and more countries will follow.
The timing could not be better. Across Eastern and Southern Africa food demand is growing and regional integration is opening new possibilities. The African Continental Free Trade Area is reshaping the economics of agribusiness across the continent, lowering barriers, expanding markets, and creating the conditions for value chains that cross borders and generate jobs at every node. For agribusinesses and investors, the opportunity is significant.
The window is open, the platform is ready, and the momentum is real. Agribusiness is one of Africa’s most consequential opportunities for growth and job creation — and the World Bank Group is committed to helping countries across the region seize it.
Ndiamé Diopis the Vice President, Eastern and Southern Africa, AFEES
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