Working towards informal public transport improvement and integration in Luanda: process and outcomes of international technical cooperation between France and Angola

Abstract

Development finance institutions (DFIs) increasingly recognise the importance of informal public transport (IPT) in Sub-Saharan Africa, and are expanding the scope of their urban mobility-focussed technical cooperation and financed projects to include it. Since 2022 Codatu, an NGO based in France, has managed such a technical cooperation programme, funded by AFD, in Angola. The cooperation comprised leveraging Codatu’s international network to respond to knowledge gaps and support local government and operator capacities to plan for improved formal and informal public transport. Activities undertaken in partnership with local stakeholders included regular meetings, expert missions to Angola, and study tours and conference visits in Africa and Europe. This paper reports on the cooperation’s process and outcomes, with a focus on its IPT thematic area. Key findings include that IPT was the mainstay of the urban mobility system, with a nuanced service offer. Government officials and operators recognised this, though national policy advocated relegating IPT to a subsidiary role. The cooperation enabled exposure to IPT improvement processes elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing alternative approaches to the replace/displace policy discourse. To realise improved and integrated IPT, government and IPT stakeholders must develop a concrete change management strategy and address persistent capacity constraints.