I made mention here of Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angolan President, José Eduardo dos Santos. Here's how she got started (the translation is mine):
Isabel dos Santos got her start in business in 1997 [she was 24 at the time] as head of the company Urbana 2000, which holds a monopoly on the cleaning and sanitation business in Luanda with annual contracts of US$10 million. It's owned by Geni, a company founded by Brigadier General Leopoldino Fragosos do Nascimento, the head of communications for the presidency along with some other partners, Anthony Van-Dunem, former secretary of the Council of Ministers, and Manuel Augusto da Fonseca, the head of Legal Affairs for Sonangol [the state oil company]; in conjunction with Portugal telecom, Geni owns 50% of Unitel, the largest mobile phone carrier in Angola.
Some more largess is spread around to the rest of the family and friends (pdf file):
Top of the list of Angola’s fat cats is the family of President José Eduardo dos Santos. Its latest visible acquisition, in January, was Channel Two of the public television service Televisão Pública de Angola (TPA), which should come in handy at election time. The vehicle was the firm Investimentos, where a key figure is Chizé dos Santos, the President’s youngest daughter. She at once handed out a contract to Semba Communications, run by José Avelino Eduardo dos Santos, her brother.
An older daughter, Isabel (AC Vol 49 No 12), is a main shareholder in the Banco Internacional de Crédito and helped set up the GENI group of companies, with interests in banking, oil, diamonds and construction; it also owns Unitel, Angola’s main mobile telephone company, alongside Brigadier Gen. Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento (head of communications in the presidency) and the convicted Angolo-Franco-Brazilian entrepreneur Pierre Falcone (AC Vol 48 No 25).
Isabel also has shares in Sagripek (farms, livestock, agribusiness) with several banks and the Public Works Minister, Gen. Francisco Higino Carneiro. The presidential eldest sister, Marta dos Santos, has shares in the Angolan oil company Prodoil, which is associated with Amec Paragon of Houston, Texas, United States.
Apparently it's a family business. This in a country in which 8.2% of children from six months to five years suffer from acute malnutrition while 29.2 percent have chronic malnutrition caused by inadequate diet and/or infectious disease. In addition 12 million of the 19.7 million Angolans are vulnerable to food crises and 75% of them are women and children.
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