Grupo Opaia SA is a holding company operating under Angolan law based in Luanda, Angola, running projects in civil construction services, solar energy technology, drinking water systems, hotel service and tourism, agriculture, finance and more. It was founded by the Angolan Agostinho Kapaia, from Huambo, in 2002. From the year 2012 it began to be present on a national scale while it is planned to cover every province with its services. Most of the projects are yet in an early stage, but the companies Greenpower and NBASIT and the projects Meña of Opaia Water and Casa Feliz of Opaia Construction already got a lot of attention. For reasons of purchase, investment and international knowledge among others, there are offices abroad in Lisbon in Portugal, São Paulo in Brazil, Guangzhou in China, Miami in the US and the main office is in the own capital Luanda.Jaime Fidalgo, ‘Agostinho Kapaia e o Grupo Opaia’, O País / Exame, 16 June 2012, p. 5, (http://www.exameangola.com/pt/?id=2000&det=27456), last visited on 7 December 2012.
The company is divided into four divisions: Opaia Produção (Production), Opaia Imobiliária (Real Estate), Opaia Investimento (Investments) and Opaia Serviços (Services). These are also divided into various sections and units.Author unknown, ‘Investimos no nosso futuro Angola’, Opaia Brochure (2012), p. 8, (http://www.opaia.co.ao/imprensa/), last visited on 7 December 2012. In October 2012 the billing was not yet revealed, the investment in the first half of 2012 was US$20 million.Jaime Fidalgo, ‘Agostinho Kapaia e o Grupo Opaia’, p. 7, (http://www.exameangola.com/pt/?id=2000&det=27456), last visited on 7 December 2012. The holding company was co-founder of Group of Business Leaders Angola (Grupo de Lideres Empresariais, LIDE), which was officially launched in December 2011. Companies have to make a billing of at least US$50 million to become a member of this organization.Author unknown, ‘Lançada organização privada de empresários angolanos’, Angop, 1 December 2011, p. 1, (http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/pt_pt/noticias/economia/2011/11/48/Lancada-organizacao-privada-empresarios-angolanos,03c74cc1-4b9c-4ff8-b2bf-10a43519dffb.html), last visited on 7 December 2012.Author unknown, ‘Membros’, (), last visited on 7 December 2012. The Group also has various partnerships with the Government whose project Angola Investe was a support for some companies of the Group in 2012.
The activities of the Group indicate that it aims to sustainability and social development of Angolans as important objectives, beyond the financial aspect, by investing in projects that streamline the Angolan economy and that offer opportunities to populations lacking funding. The team appears to be idealistic by wanting to participate in and contribute to development, growth and the national reconstruction of Angola.Author unknown, ‘Investimos no nosso futuro Angola’, Opaia Brochure (2012), p. 2-6. In anticipation of the stock exchange planned for some time in Angola, Agostinho Kapaia said in an interview in June 2012: ‘We want to be one of the first Angolan companies listed on the Stock Exchange’.Jaime Fidalgo, ‘Agostinho Kapaia e o Grupo Opaia’, O País / Exame, 16 June 2012, p. 4.
Opaia Produção (Production) Opaia Production had its start in 2012 and consists of the sections Opaia Energia (Energy), Opaia Ambiente (Environment) and Opaia Engenharia (Engineering), which also consist of multiple units.
Opaia Energia (Energy) The business Opaia Energy wants to provide services to the area of Crude Oil, through Oil e Gas Consulting e Manutenção (Oil and Gas Consulting and Maintenance). For this the company is looking for partnerships with other companies.Author unknown, ‘Investimos no nosso futuro Angola’, p. 10.
Opaia Ambiente (Environment) Opaia Environment is set up through three parts, which are Greenpower, Opaia Águas (Water) and Opaia Resíduos (Waste).Author unknown, ‘Investimos no nosso futuro Angola’, p. 8.
Greenpower
Greenpower, led by the General Director Carlos Igrejas,Author unknown, Grupo Opaia investe 6 milhões dólares na criação da empresa Green Power, Angop, 9 May 2012, p. 1, (), last visited on 7 December 2012. is a company of renewable energies, these are Photovoltaic Solar Energy and Thermal Solar Energy. It is located in Viana Park in Luanda with a showroom, store and assembly line of Kits. The two business areas are distribution of equipment and the realization of projects ‘chave-na-mão’ (‘key-in-hand’), being the development, the implementation and the maintenance of systems.Author unknown, ‘Investimos no nosso futuro Angola’, p. 12. Greenpower is installing photovoltaic systems for illumination of school, hospitals, police stations, administrative organs and public roads, and also systems for the supply of water for irrigation in agriculture and for the placement of panels for water heating. The target groups are rural populations. The company's facilities were inaugurated in May 2012 in the presence of the Secretary of State of Energy, Joaquim Ventura. The initial investment was the amount of six million US dollars. According to Carlos Igrejas, the company expected to bill US$11.5 million and to create 50 direct and indirect jobs, through the several projects to be implemented in the 18 provinces of Angola.Author unknown, ‘Grupo Opaia investe 6 milhões dólares na criação da empresa Green Power’, 9 May 2012, p. 1. The plant would have an initial workforce of 30 people. The enterprise was in the process of having some pilot experiences in the provinces of Namibe and Kwanza-Norte, in a project subsidized by the central government.Author unknown, Novo Jornal, as referred to in: Author unknown, ‘Primeira fábrica de equipamentos de energia solar inaugurada em Angola’, Macauhub, 17 May 2012, p. 1, (), last visited on 7 December 2012. The group's administrator Carlos Rola disclosed that depending on customer needs, the mounted solar panels could cost US$1,000–40,000. Greenpower at that time already had realized a contract with the provincial government of Luanda to install at least 500 electric power stations in seven neighborhoods.Aylton Melo, ‘Green Power investe em energia solar, Expansão’, 16 May 2012, p. 1, (), last visited on 7 December 2012.
The venture appears to make sense in a country with one of the largest numbers of hours of sun, and can reduce the necessity of generators and the use of oil. While the technology is imported from countries like China, Germany and the United States, the assembly, training of personnel and maintenance of equipment is being done in Angola.Jaime Fidalgo, ‘Agostinho Kapaia e o Grupo Opaia’, p. 3.
The president of the holding Agostinho Kapaia confirmed that one of the main goals of the creation of the company is to help in tackling poverty and the development of the country. He declared at the act of inauguration ‘Only those countries that manage to combine economic growth with social development can be considered states with eyes on the future and Angola is certainly one of those countries, that’s why Greenpower pretends to lead this transformation in energy’.Author unknown, ‘Grupo Opaia inaugura empresa de energias renováveis’, Angop, 8 May 2012, p. 1, (http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/pt_pt/noticias/sociedade/2012/4/19/Grupo-Opaia-inaugura-empresa-energias-renovaveis,960d5e3b-c936-4f88-9b6f-32d66f708547.html), last visited on 7 December 2012. The Secretary of State of Energy, Joaquim Ventura, regarded the company as a partner of the government in the implementation of its energy projects, especially in the countryside. In remote areas or in cities like Luanda do still exist enormous challenges for the supply of electricity. Until 2012 Angola was dependent in the area of renewable energy on businesses seated abroad and technical capacity and executive projects had to be imported.Author unknown, ‘Comemorações do dia internacional do enfermeiro Marca semana finda’, Angop, 12 May 2012, p. 2, (http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/pt_pt/noticias/sociedade/2012/4/19/Comemoracoes-dia-internacional-enfermeiro-marca-semana-finda,6fe3e5e7-4cd9-4db0-83e1-cc70917bdabd.html), last visited on 7 December 2012.Author unknown, ‘Empresa Green Power considerada parceira do Executivo no sector energético’, 10 May 2012, p. 1, (http://www.minerg.gv.ao/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=273:empresa-green-power-considerada-parceira-do-executivo-no-sector-energetico&catid=51:noticias-do-sector), last visited on 7 December 2012.Luís Costa Branco, ‘Electricidade chega ás cubatas’, Sol, 15 May 2012, p. 1, (), last visited on 7 December 2012.Author unknown, ‘Opaia Group inaugurates renewable energy company’, Angop, 5 September 2012, p. 1, (http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/sociedade/2012/4/19/Opaia-group-inaugurates-renewable-energy-company,4c56d50e-5278-491e-992e-6493d740bd15.html), last visited on 7 December 2012.Author unknown, ‘Opaia inaugura Showroom da Green Power’, Revista África Today, 10 July 2012, p. 1, ()
Opaia Águas (Water) The second unit of Opaia Ambiente is Opaia Águas, introduced to the press in April 2012 through the first project. It does the management of water systems consisting of supply and treatment. In the treatment the project ‘Meña’ stands out. It is designed to carry pure drinking water to little towns of 500 to 2,000 inhabitants with lack of drinking water, until the most remote locations of the country. The one responsible for the technical coordination of this project is Hélder Alves. Meña is a system that functions automatically with solar energy, but also with a generator or a battery. Depending on the region it can purify water coming from rivers, lakes and ponds, including water considered brackish.Author unknown, ‘Investimos no nosso futuro Angola’, p. 14. It has ultra-filtration membranes through which water passes already treated this way and suitable for human consumption. This way the sand conventionally used is not necessary nor another kind of product to disinfect. This process already takes out all organic material, viruses and bacteria.Author unknown, ‘Opaia Ambiente prevê levar água potável a regiões longíquas do país’, Angop, 24 April 2012, p. 1, (http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/pt_pt/noticias/sociedade/2012/3/17/OPAIA-Ambiente-preve-levar-agua-potavel-regioes-longinquas-pais,8858f986-55b4-4cf2-9aa6-536d22d6301c.html), last visited on 7 December 2012.Rúbio Praia, ‘Opaia lança água ‘Meña’, Sol, 24 April 2012, p. 1, (https://sol.sapo.pt/Angola/Interior.aspx?content_id=47688), last visited on 7 December 2012.Author unknown, ‘Opaia lança sistema de tratamento de água’, Rumo, p. 1,(), last visited on 7 December 2012.
The initial investment of ‘Meña’ was US$700 thousand and the first provinces to grasp the opportunity were Kwanza-Norte and Namibe. The purchase value of a unit varies between 50 and US$120 thousand, and the smaller model has a capacity to produce two thousand liters water per hour. The estimated cost per capita would be US$40–50. Hélder Alves reported that this was a project created for the Angolan reality, with an analysis of the place of catchment, studies about the water quality and that they would adapt the conditions to the demands of the people. The enterprise recruited and trained local technicians to maintain the functionality of the equipment. Moreover, it is included in the governmental program of Combat against Poverty for the promotion of economic and social sustainable development, according to those responsible. ‘It will guarantee better food security and diminish the occurrence of communicable diseases through contaminated water’, the president of the Group clarified.