Through digital access, tailored credit and productive-sector finance, ATLANTICO is widening financial participation while connecting more Angolans and businesses to economic opportunity.
For twenty years, Banco Millennium Atlântico (ATLANTICO) has followed a path guided by a purpose that continues to steer every decision: Transforming Lives. Today, it is one of Angola’s five largest banks, with four million clients, and the journey is just beginning. It is in the balance between solidity and purpose that the Bank builds its path: supporting families that start saving, companies that contribute to economic growth, and the communities where ATLANTICO operates.
This purpose is reflected in a sustainability agenda that forms an integral part of the Bank’s strategy, rather than a commitment on its sidelines. ATLANTICO is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact and currently chairs the Board of Directors of the Global Compact network in Angola. It was also the first Angolan bank to adopt the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. These commitments influence how decisions are made, with environmental and social criteria considered when granting credit and selecting suppliers, alongside the impact on people and communities.
In Angola, approximately half of the adult population still lacks access to financial services. Millions of people work, produce, and create value without an account, formal savings, or access to credit because the financial system has not yet reached them. When half of adults remain outside the system, the economy itself operates below its potential. For ATLANTICO, financial inclusion is therefore a central strategic pillar. The Bank seeks to facilitate access to banking through solutions for different segments of the population and businesses, encouraging digitalization, financial literacy, and greater proximity to clients and communities.
In 2019, ATLANTICO started from a simple conviction: to reach those who had never entered a branch, the Bank had to fit inside a mobile phone. *400# Agiliza was born, allowing users to open an account, transfer money, or make a payment simply by dialing the code, even on a feature phone and without internet or voice balance. Banking agents followed, bringing services to areas traditional banking does not reach and turning canteens, shops, and market stalls into access points to the financial system.
In Catinton Market, vendors who had never held an account can now deposit money and make transfers. At Km 30, one of Luanda’s largest open-air markets, ATLANTICO implemented a solar-powered self-service space serving farmers and traders. On the beaches of Zaire and Namibe, the Malembe Malembe program finances artisanal fishermen according to the rhythm of tides and harvests, recognizing that income does not always arrive monthly. For women entrepreneurs, the Bank provides, together with the Credit Guarantee Fund, a financing line with conditions designed for those sustaining both home and business.
With the ATLANTICO+ Strategic Plan, this conviction became a strategic priority, with an additional ambition: to include about five million Angolans in the formal financial system by 2028. Inclusion, however, is not limited to opening accounts. It means giving people the knowledge and confidence to use financial services effectively. The Bank therefore brings financial literacy to markets, neighborhoods, and schools and works with the UNDP to empower rural communities, women, and young entrepreneurs. The mission to include will not end in 2028.
The same logic guides financing of the real economy. Angola’s diversification depends on capital reaching those who produce and create jobs, and ATLANTICO focuses on three fronts. The first is the productive sector: agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, commerce, and tourism. ATLANTICO finances with judgment and accompanies clients throughout their growth, because well-granted credit should grow the company, not simply the Bank’s balance sheet. The second is the extractive industry. Across oil, gas, and minerals, ATLANTICO aims to be the bank for Angolan companies serving major operators, helping ensure that logistics, engineering, and maintenance remain in Angola, together with the value and employment they generate. The third is the Asian continent, where ATLANTICO is building bridges in both directions. Companies arriving in Angola find a partner ready to support the startup and growth of their operations, while Angolan businesses gain access to new markets and partners that can strengthen their competitiveness.
None of this comes to fruition without people. Developing talent is a foundational mission of the Bank. Through continuous training, university partnerships, and opportunities for young people seeking careers in finance, ATLANTICO aims to develop professionals whose contribution extends beyond the institution itself. A country seeking to produce, transform, and export needs managers, analysts, engineers, and specialists. The professionals ATLANTICO trains take their knowledge into the wider economy, contributing to Angola’s development. Training talent is, ultimately, an investment in the country’s future.
Twenty years later, the journey continues with the conviction that has guided ATLANTICO from day one: Transforming Lives to Impact the Future.
Contact
www.atlantico.ao
gp.comunicacao@atlantico.ao
+244 923 168 168
Banco Millennium Atlântico
Produced independently of the TIME Africa newsroom by Penresa.