Through infrastructure expertise, digital innovation and skilled local talent, COPIA Group of Companies is strengthening engineering capacity in Angola.
The COPIA Group is placing Angolan engineering expertise at the heart of the country’s evolving energy landscape, drawing on major infrastruc-ture projects, investment in technology and skilled human capital, and ambitions for regional expansion. Founded in 2015, the Angolan company specialises in inspection and supervision of infrastructure projects in the energy, oil and gas, mining and technology sectors.
The company also provides topographic surveying, magnetometry and gravimetry services for energy and geological projects. Led by Chairman and CEO Eng. Adilson Mangueira Nelumba, COPIA draws on experience in Angola’s infrastructure sector. Nelumba began his career at Sonangol, the country’s national oil and gas company, during Angola’s ambitious reconstruction programme. “That was my professional school. My generation of engineers had just graduated from university, and we had the opportunity to contribute.”
That experience fed COPIA’s involvement in some of Angola’s most important engi-neering projects. The company contributed to the Laúca hydroelectric project and is now involved in the Caculo Cabaça Hydroelectric Development, where it leads the supervision consortium. “We can carry out inspection and monitoring of works of any scale. We currently have the capacity to operate across up to 18 categories,” Nelumba notes.
By 2029, COPIA expects to have taken part in projects totalling up to 4.2 GW of renewable energy generation capacity. “For a relatively young local-content company, taking part in four gigawatts of renewable energy is an enviable track record,” says Nelumba. The company is now applying this experience to Angola’s changing energy needs. Beyond hydroelectric power, COPIA has built capabilities in oil and gas exploration, particularly in quality control and assurance during the acquisition of geophysical and geological data.
With a strategy that links traditional engineering to digital innovation, COPIA has created proprietary technologies incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning. Its solutions include COPIA Seis, developed for seismic data interpretation, and COPIA DynamicSim, designed to support oilfield management and analysis. “The question is how we, as local content, can gain access to and take part in developing these technologies,” Nelumba explains. “That’s where we come in. COPIA is here to strengthen local content with new tools.”
Gas is another area COPIA is targeting for growth, with the company taking part in the LNG2026 conference in Qatar as it prepares to expand its involvement in the sector. Nelumba regards natural gas as important for the transition to lower-carbon energy sources. “We believe that, in terms of the energy transition, gas is the key commodity,” he says. COPIA is also expanding its capabilities in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. At the same time, growing demand for minerals including lithium, quartz and rare earths has led the company to establish a dedicated mining division. “Our group’s goal is to keep investing in specialisation. Our strengths lie in our versatility and our deep expertise in specific areas,” Nelumba notes.
Around 75% of COPIA’s workforce holds a university degree, reflecting the technical demands of its activities. To strengthen this skills base, the company is investing in professional training, pursuing international certifications and strengthening ties with Angolan universities. “We want to set up incubators at universities and develop projects so that we can grow together and nurture new talent,” says Nelumba. Looking to the future, Angola will remain at the centre of COPIA’s operations, while the company identifies the SADC region as its next market.
Its ambitions combine commercial expansion with a commitment to generating greater value through Angolan expertise.
“Our commitment is to maximise the company’s profit and create value for the shareholder, pay taxes in our country and, ultimately, contribute to the development of Angola and Africa,” Nelumba concludes.
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COPIA Group of Companies
Produced independently of the TIME Africa newsroom by Penresa.