1. Could you share the most significant milestones in Poliedro’s growth trajectory?

Mr. Ulanga:

Poliedro was established in November 2004, driven by the ambition to ensure the presence of national companies across the entire value chain of the oil sector, as well as in other key sectors of the national economy. It has since evolved from a relatively small upstream player into a diversified Angolan group, with activities spanning oil and gas, mining, logistics and international investment.

The history of the company is not that different from the history of the development of the industry in the country in the last 20 years, where today there’s more and more space for local players to consolidate what they’re doing, including in the oil industry, which at the beginning, besides Sonangol, later on Somoil, which today is Etu Energia, there was very little space and very little opportunities in terms of divestment from the IOCs, which prevented some of the local players from establishing themselves.

What Poliedro has been doing, especially in the last five years, is trying to organize in terms of governance, consolidating the business so that we could benefit from the opportunities that are arising slowly.

One good example of that is when Sonangol changed their strategy in 2017 and decided to start divesting from some of the joint ventures that they had, we decided to look at one opportunity in particular, which is Bourbon, a global marine logistics business.

We negotiated initially with Sonangol and directly with Bourbon after that, to allow Poliedro to become the local shareholder of the company in Angola.

Angola is still the largest operation of Bourbon globally, and we successfully completed the negotiation.

We then obtained the necessary financial facilities to allow us to own 40% of Bourbon Angola.

For us, this checked many boxes. It demonstrated that the work that we have been doing internally in terms of governance and compliance has paid off, to the point that we have been approved at all levels by an international group governed by the highest standards.

Having Poliedro as their local shareholder was a clear demonstration that what we have been doing in the last five years is paying off.

Now the next milestone we are looking for is to expand our presence in the upstream business. 

2. Could you share the most recent performance indicators and how they reflect Poliedro’s strategy?

Mr. Ulanga:

We are just doing our first steps. We are quite ambitious and there is space and opportunities to do more.

In the oil industry, we still own 12.5% of Block 2, which we consider our biggest asset at the moment. Block 2 is still producing around 15,000 barrels per day, which gives us an allocation of around 1,900 barrels per day.

For 2025, we finalized the year with a turnover of around 35 to 40 million dollars, mostly in the upstream business.

We will continue to invest not just in the oil industry itself, with Bourbon, but also executing the business plan for Block 2, which is currently in a redevelopment phase.

We are drilling for the first time in Block 2 in the last 20–25 years, doing workovers and supporting the operator.

In the mining sector, we continue to invest in our diamond project where we are the financial partner.

In the last four years, we have invested around 10 million dollars in infrastructure and equipment to complete the prospecting phase.

The project is located in Malanje, in the Banje municipality.

If successful, it could become one of the largest projects in the area and the largest employer in the region.

We expect to invest an additional 5 to 6 million dollars to fully advance the project. 

3. Over the past two years, Poliedro has strengthened its focus on operational efficiency and modernization. How have these innovation and automation initiatives improved operational performance, reduced costs, and enhanced coordination across the value chain? Are there additional technological or digital transformation initiatives currently being implemented or planned?

Mr. Ulanga:

As we are not operators ourselves, we support these initiatives and encourage our operator to adopt them.

Recently, and publicly, Etu Energias and Block 2 partners signed an agreement with SLB to support the redevelopment campaign.

High-end technology is being used to pinpoint operations, save costs and reduce time.

We support these initiatives as a partner and are also trying to replicate this approach as we expand our upstream portfolio.

We believe that using technology will allow small players like Poliedro to participate in larger projects because it reduces costs and improves efficiency.

These tools also allow collaboration and the application of advanced technologies to both ongoing and future projects. 

4. Poliedro operates within a highly collaborative ecosystem, partnering with key industry players such as Etu Energias  and Endiama in mining projects. How have these partnerships contributed to strengthening technical capabilities, sharing investment risk, and accelerating project development? Looking ahead, are there new strategic partnerships or joint ventures that Poliedro is exploring to further expand its operations?

Mr. Ulanga:

For a small player like Poliedro and many other local companies, it is critical to be open. We need to collaborate with both local and international players, whether more or less established. This openness allows us to acquire technical expertise, which we still need to develop, and also financial capability. We need partners to develop our projects.

Collaboration is not optional, it is a necessity. It is the best way to gain the technical expertise and financial strength required to tackle increasingly large projects. 

Yes, many of the projects we are currently looking at involve strategic partnerships. These collaborations can be technical or financial. This is one of the reasons we established Poliedro International. It allows us to access more developed capital markets to secure funding. It also helps us bring in technical expertise for projects in mining, oil and logistics.

In logistics, our strategy is to enter through acquisitions. Having access to funding and partnerships will allow us to move faster, which is our objective. 

5. Poliedro has emphasized job creation, skills development, and contributions to local economic growth, particularly in regions where it operates mining and logistics activities. Could you share more details on the impact of these initiatives so far? In addition, what ESG practices has Poliedro implemented in areas such as environmental management, workforce development, and corporate governance?

Mr. Ulanga:

We became members of the Global Compact around two years ago. We are implementing proper governance structures to report on ESG and sustainability.

In the mining areas where we operate, we support communities and local administrations.

For example, we have opened more than 100 kilometers of roads, which are public and accessible to communities. These roads facilitate daily life for local populations. We maintain a close relationship with communities.

We are also planning, once the project moves to the next phase, to create an agricultural cooperative linked to the mining project. Since modern mining does not absorb much labor, this cooperative will help communities generate income.

We are developing this initiative internally and aim to implement it within the next 18 to 24 months. This will complement what the mining operation itself cannot provide in terms of employment. 

6. Poliedro has taken important steps to diversify its portfolio, including expanding its presence in mining through projects such as the Banje development, as well as entering the logistics sector through its investment in Sonasurf. Looking ahead, what are Poliedro’s strategic priorities for the coming years? Are there plans to expand further into new resource sectors, scale logistics and infrastructure capabilities?

Mr. Ulanga:

Our strategy focuses on three main sectors: oil, mining and logistics.

In oil, we aim to strengthen and expand our presence.

In mining, we want to grow beyond diamonds.

In logistics, we aim to reinvest proceeds from non-renewable resources into the broader economy.

We are already doing this through our investment in Bourbon and are looking at acquisitions to establish land logistics operations.

Our goal is to serve multiple sectors of the economy, not just oil or mining.

This creates a circular model where revenues from natural resources are reinvested into sustainable economic activities. 

7.Is Poliedro planning to expand internationally?

Mr. Ulanga:

For now, no.

Our strategic plan up to 2030 does not include international expansion.

Our focus is to strengthen the company in Angola, which still offers many opportunities.

Future expansion may be considered depending on shareholder appetite in the next strategic cycle. 

8. As Chairman & CEO of Grupo Poliedro, what are the key values, experiences, and defining moments that have most shaped your leadership approach and strategic vision? And also what legacy would you like to one day leave at Poliedro?

Mr. Ulanga:

The key word is exposure.

Through academic and professional experiences across different countries, languages and industries, I gained valuable exposure. This includes working in banking, consulting and now leading Poliedro. This exposure creates an environment where things become possible and drives ambition and growth. It is a major factor in shaping leadership and vision. 

About the legacy, we aim to create generational wealth.The goal is for the company to remain strong and continue generating opportunities for employees, shareholders and the country.

We want Poliedro to become a long-lasting company, similar to those in Europe and the US that exist for 100 or 200 years.

We want to break the cycle in Angola by building a company that can sustain multiple generations and economic cycles.

This is the legacy we are trying to build.