Angolan President João Lourenço has authorized public spending of more than $9 million to purchase Microsoft licenses for the entire public administration, with the aim of strengthening digital governance and ensuring the continuity of the state’s technological services.
The decision is contained in Presidential Order No. 11/26 of January 13 and is part of the partnership signed between the Institute for Administrative Modernization (IMA) and Microsoft in July 2023, through which the Institute plans to train 120,000 civil servants, integrate 160,000 teachers and 3.7 million students into digital platforms, and generate savings of $264 million by 2030.
The partnership is part of the Digital Development Program (DDP) and Digital Public Goods Program (DPG), led by Microsoft Tech for Social Impact with support from the United Nations, and also includes support for startups through a national network of incubators, with a view to strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
According to the government, these programs allow for the centralization and substantial reduction of Microsoft license acquisition costs, with savings of around 80% compared to individual purchases by each institution. In this context, the entity plans to make 80,000 credentials available to the public administration this year.
The presidential order delegates to the IMA the power to perform all decision-making and supervisory approval acts, as well as to verify the validity and legality of the procedure, including the conclusion and signing of the contract.
The measure comes at a time when Angola has made progress in the World Bank’s GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI) in 2025, moving from Group C to Group B, which comprises countries with significant digital government maturity.
The index assesses central government systems, digital public services, digital citizen participation, and institutional enablers, including areas such as governance, standards, capabilities, data management, and security.
Source: Forbes Lusophone Africa
