Angola: technology regulation at a glance

Framework: Lei n.º 3/24 de 10 de abril (Legal Regime on the Prohibition of Mining of Cryptocurrencies and Other Virtual Assets); Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA) as sole monetary authority; Comissão do Mercado de Capitais (CMC) for any securities-like tokens. No comprehensive VASP licensing framework yet in force.

Cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in Angola, and as of April 2024 the mining of crypto and other virtual assets is expressly prohibited and criminalized under Lei n.º 3/24. There is no dedicated licensing regime for exchanges, custodians, stablecoin issuers, or other virtual-asset service providers; the BNA has stated it is preparing regulatory instruments for virtual assets, but holding and trading remain largely unregulated rather than fully authorized or fully banned.

Framework: Draft Law on Artificial Intelligence (proposed by MINTTICS / Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technologies), operating alongside a proposed amendment to the Personal Data Protection Law and the 2023-2027 ICT Strategic Framework (LBTIC)

Angola has a comprehensive draft AI law, one of the most ambitious on the African continent, that was introduced and received general parliamentary approval but has not yet been enacted into law as of May 2026. The bill adopts a risk-based approach with a strict liability regime, mandatory content watermarking, and extraterritorial jurisdiction claims. It runs in parallel with a draft amendment to the Data Protection Act that adds a dedicated chapter on AI-based personal data processing.

Framework: Lei n.º 22/11 de 17 de Junho (Lei de Proteção de Dados Pessoais, LPDP), enforced by the Agência de Proteção de Dados (APD)

Angola enacted a comprehensive Personal Data Protection Law (Law No. 22/11) in June 2011, establishing an omnibus regime covering automated and non-automated processing of personal data by public and private entities operating under Angolan jurisdiction. The supervisory authority, the Agência de Proteção de Dados (APD), became operational in October 2019 and has been actively issuing fines since 2024. A draft revision of Law 22/11 underwent public consultation in early 2025 to modernise the framework and address AI-related privacy challenges.

Framework: Law no. 40/20 of 16 December, Payment System of Angola (Lei do Sistema de Pagamentos de Angola, LSPA), supervised by the Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA), supplemented by the Financial Institutions Basic Law and BNA notices (Aviso 07/2017 on payment services and Aviso 07/2018 on authorisation of non-banking financial institutions).

Angola operates a clear, in-force licensing regime for digital payments and e-money. Law 40/20 (LSPA) defines payment service providers (PSPs), payment institutions and electronic money institutions, with the BNA empowered to grant and revoke licences and set capital, governance, AML and consumer-protection requirements. The national interbank infrastructure (Multicaixa, run by EMIS) provides instant transfers and QR payments, and the BNA actively enforces the regime against unlicensed e-money wallet operators. No dedicated open-banking framework or specific BNPL regime exists yet.

Framework: Lei n.º 2/07 de 31 de agosto (Lei do Estrangeiro); Decreto Presidencial n.º 52/22 de 17 de fevereiro de 2022 (Regime de Teletrabalho); administered by Serviço de Migração e Estrangeiros (SME) under the Ministry of the Interior

Angola has no dedicated digital nomad or remote-work visa. The immigration framework provides tourist visas (up to 30 days, extendable once), work visas tied strictly to employment contracts with Angolan entities, and investment-based privileged visas (minimum USD 5 million). Presidential Decree 52/22 (2022) established a domestic telework framework governing Angolan employer-employee relationships; it does not create any immigration pathway for foreign nationals working remotely for overseas employers.

Framework: Law No. 38/20 (Penal Code, cybercrime chapter), Law No. 7/17 (Protection of Networks and Information Systems), National Security Law (August 2024), ERCA media regulator; Draft Cybersecurity Law and Draft Law on Dissemination of False Information on the Internet advancing through parliament (2025-2026)

Angola operates a fragmented online safety and cybercrime regime built on scattered statutory provisions, principally the 2020 Penal Code's cybercrime chapter and the 2017 Network and Information Systems Law, with no comprehensive platform-regulation statute equivalent to the EU DSA or UK OSA. In 2025, the government advanced a major Cybersecurity Law and a sweeping 'fake news' Law on Dissemination of False Information on the Internet through public consultation and initial parliamentary readings, both drawing international condemnation for vague language and disproportionate penalties. Existing rules already allow the media regulator ERCA to suspend websites without judicial oversight, and the August 2024 National Security Law authorises telecommunications restrictions without a court order.

Framework: Law No. 7/17 of 16 February 2017 (Computer Security); Law No. 22/11 of 17 June 2011 (Personal Data Protection / LPDP); Law No. 23/11 of 20 June 2011 (Electronic Communications); supervised by Agência de Protecção de Dados (APD) and INACOM; National Cybersecurity Strategy enacted by Presidential Decree No. 256/25 (December 2025); standalone Cybersecurity Bill in parliamentary process since January 2026

Angola's cybersecurity regime currently rests on sector-specific statutes, Law 7/17 on computer and network security, Law 22/11 on personal data protection (with breach-notification duties), and Law 23/11 on electronic communications, rather than a single comprehensive framework. A dedicated Cybersecurity Bill passed its first parliamentary reading on 23 January 2026 and, if enacted, would create a unified National Cybersecurity System anchored by a new National Cybersecurity Centre (CNC) with regulatory, supervisory, and sanctioning powers. In parallel, Presidential Decrees 256/25 and 258/25 (December 2025) formalised a National Cybersecurity Strategy and a National Cybersecurity Council, marking a clear policy shift toward a coherent national regime.

Framework: Private Investment Law No. 10/18 of 26 June 2018 (as amended by Law No. 10/21 of 22 April 2021); Lei das Sociedades Comerciais (Lei No. 1/04 of 13 February 2004); Lei de Simplificação No. 11/15; administered by AIPEX (investment certificates) and Guichet Único de Empresa, GUE (company registration)

Angola significantly liberalised foreign business entry through the 2018 Private Investment Law (No. 10/18), abolishing the prior mandatory local-partner requirement and removing minimum investment thresholds, enabling 100% foreign ownership in most sectors. Company formation is channelled through the one-stop Guichet Único de Empresa (GUE), which offers online and in-person simplified registration that can be completed in hours for straightforward cases. Practical impediments, including corruption, foreign-exchange controls, and sector-specific restrictions in oil, mining, maritime, and banking, temper the formal openness and place overall ease of entry at a moderate level.