Africa-Press – Angola. An ophthalmic lens factory, with capacity to produce 50 pieces per hour, was inaugurated this Friday, in the municipality of Viana, in Luanda, by the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rui Minguêns de Oliveira.
The infrastructure will create, in the first phase, 50 direct jobs, with up to 150 expected to be reached in the next five years.
The project, budgeted at eight billion kwanzas, is an initiative of the company Oftalmed and financed by the Development Bank of Angola (BDA).
The ophthalmic lens factory, the first in the central African region and in the group of Portuguese-speaking African Countries (PALOP), will count on the collaboration of international brands such as ZEISS, a German company, one of the largest lens producers in the world, and the companies Schneider and Buhler, leaders in the development and production of industrial machines for the sector.
In the first phase, the factory, installed in an area of 1800 square meters, will have a daily production of a thousand lenses, which could double when the second production line is launched.
The inauguration was marked by the delivery by the administrator of the National Institute of Small and Medium Enterprises (INAPEM), Osvaldo Rasgado, of the “Made in Angola” seal certificate, as a mark of a national product.
According to the head of Industry and Commerce, Rui Minguêns de Oliveira, the lens factory meets a pressing need for the country and for people who need glasses.
“The inauguration of the factory is an important step for the country, since when they are produced in the country, the costs for customers will be more affordable”, he highlighted.
Attending the event was the vice-president of the MPLA, Luísa Damião, who highlighted that the installation of the first lens factory is proof that investors believe in the development of Angola.
Luísa Damião said that investors should be encouraged to invest seriously in the development of Angola.
For his part, the administrator of Oftalmed, Hamyn Habib highlighted that the space will manufacture progressive, bifocal, anti-reflective, anti-scratch and contact ophthalmic lenses, to meet the needs of users with vision problems.
“National lenses will be cheaper, as they do not add costs inherent to imports, and users, in addition to supplying the domestic market, the company also plans to export its production, in order to raise foreign exchange for the country.
Oftalmed, owner of the Centro Óptico network, already offers products such as ophthalmic lenses and frames for clinics and hospitals in eight of the country’s 18 provinces, ensuring that they will expand their services to another five, namely, Uíge, Moxico, Malanje, Bié and Cunene.
Fifteen thousand young people from the country’s 18 provinces begin, starting in February, to be trained in entrepreneurship, business creation and other areas of agri-business, in an initiative by the Association of Young Entrepreneurs of Angola (AJEA).
In 2023, 7,800 young people were trained.
The information in the city of Cuito, Bié province, by the president of AJEA, Alfredo Cangonga Nguli, after the national opening of this organization’s association year.
To this end, according to him, AJEA established a cooperation protocol with the National Institute of Professional Training and Employment (INEFOP).
The official highlighted the intention to reduce unemployment and contribute to the diversification of the economy.
Alfredo Cangonga Nguli also added that, during the year just ended, AJEA monitored 38 projects, of which eight benefited from financing of up to seven million kwanzas from FADA and FACRA.
Meanwhile, the coordinator of AJEA in Bié, Claudino Chipuco Kuenhe, said that this province is able to count on a training center specialized in entrepreneurship, as, in 2023, it trained 13 trainers, in partnership with INEFOP.
He confirmed that more than a hundred young people from the municipality of Cuito had been trained in the creation of companies and cooperatives, with the support of the Guiché Único de Empresas.
The director of the Bié Integrated Economic Development Office, Figueiredo Canguende Numbi, praised AJEA’s gesture in training youth in agribusiness, thus contributing to the promotion of self-employment and support for families.
Figueiredo Canguende Numbi encouraged young people to continue training, with a view to focusing on entrepreneurship.
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