LUANDA, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Friday signed an agreement with Angola to provide 3 million U.S. dollars to support a transition away from more informal sectors of the economy.
At the signing ceremony with the UNDP Resident Representative Edo Stork, Angola's Minister of Economy and Planning Mario Caetano Joao said that the agreement falls within the scope of the Informal Economy Reconversion Program.
The informal economy consists of activities that have market value but are not formally registered or regulated. It usually makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countries.
In Angola, the informal economy guarantees the subsistence of approximately 76 percent of the economically active population and accounts for an estimated 60 percent of gross domestic product, Joao said.
"In 2021, we want to formalize 100,000 informal operators, of which at least half would be users of mobile payment systems," he said.
For his part, Stork said that the UNDP wants to work with the Angolan government to advance the reconversion of the economy to generate more decent jobs for Angolans.
The use of new digital technologies would benefit the process, Stork added. "People who work in the informal economy can find new clients, and the formalization process will be more efficient."
Angola's Informal Economy Reconversion Program has so far allowed the implementation of 99 percent of the economic relief financing line, using 2 billion kwanzas (3.3 million dollars) for the first phase, benefiting around 2,600 micro entrepreneurs. Enditem