Isabel dos Santos Attends the Russia-Africa Summit

Isabel dos Santos is widely regarded as a dynamic and exciting business leader for a myriad of reasons. Born in 1973, she’s achieved a lofty status as the richest woman in Africa, due in large part to smart investments and an impressive mind for business. According to Forbes, dos Santos’ current net worth is over $2 billion. That ranks her high on the list of African billionaires but also on the list of billionaires worldwide. In fact, there are only eleven black billionaires in the world, and only two of those are women.

These accolades would be impressive for anyone. Isabel dos Santos stands as a beacon of hope, not only for her own country of Angola but on the world stage. Successful women-owned businesses are still fighting for equality in many parts of the world and dos Santos is competing in a very heavily male-dominated market.

Isabel dos Santos Attends the Russia-Africa Summit

On October 23 – 24, 2019, The Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum was held in Sochi. It was the first event of its kind in Russia. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has made some inroads in securing business interests on the African continent. This summit was the largest of its kind and promises to open larger and mutually beneficial partnerships for all nations concerned.

“In Africa we say that when you have troubled waters, the best thing is to build a bridge. So this is what I hope that is happening here. Is to build bridges between the African continent — that has a lot of challenges and a lot of problems — and Russia. And of course they also say, but this I think is a Chinese saying, when there is problems, there is opportunities. So I hope this is what we are going to be doing here, discussing opportunities.” Isabel dos Santos said of her expectations for the summit.

The summit was attended by over 6,000 attendees with representatives from all 54 African states present. Some subjects that were covered during the summit included education, science, and economic change.

Isabel dos Santos praised the event and indicated that she was highly hopeful that such a partnership would offer opportunities for advancement for African businesses, as well as the consumer markets in Africa and Russia.

She said, “Such a forum provides a chance for dialogue not only between Russia and African countries but also among African nations. It allows them to speak about threats and challenges they are facing and to search for solutions.”

The Angolan female businesswoman was clear in showcasing her excitement for the possibilities with regard to new initiatives, especially technological advancements that could benefit businesses in Angola and other parts of Africa, as well as being mutually beneficial for Russian businesses.

“The IT sector, programming, artificial intelligence are boosting in Russia. I feel that Russia has a vast potential. One can help an array of startups, can invest in talented young people and can create in Russia solutions and technology that would be applied worldwide,” Isabel dos Santos said.

She made it clear that there were areas of finance and technology in the Russian market which could be very exciting and lucrative for African businesses to partner with for mutual growth. She’d already been scouting Russian offerings in fin-tech where she was interested in exploring new business.

A total of 92 agreements were signed as a result of the summit. These agreements serve multiple purposes and help both Africa and Russia, opening up new business markets for each country involved and helping to promote financial and economic relations that benefit all parties. Russia was also adamant that their businesses adhere to the strictest guidelines to help maintain Russia’s high reputation within the African market and around the world.

Isabel dos Santos History and Future

Having a businesswoman, like dos Santos, attend the Russia-Africa Summit still seems surprising for many, even though we’re well into the twenty-first century. However, those who have been following this entrepreneur should not be remotely shocked to see her in the midst of such an important economic meeting of these regions.

Isabel dos Santos was raised as the oldest daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, the Angolan President from 1979 to 2017. Of course, being born to the president of her country afforded her access to the best schools. Her parents valued education for female children as highly as for male heirs, and Isabel’s early education at home taught her that girls were just as capable of great success as boys. Her parents taught her the value of intellect and humanities, and she went on to complete her education with a degree in electrical engineering from King’s College in London.

After spending a great deal of her adult life traveling internationally, dos Santos has a wider view of the world that she brings with her to business dealings and this international perspective has become a great asset. Women across the globe are often afforded fewer opportunities. They’ve had to work harder for their earnings, and they get less credit than their male counterparts in male-dominated fields. This reality has also impacted dos Santos. With role models like dos Santos, these societal norms are starting to shift, giving hope to more women, especially women of color.

Her primary and secondary education were completed at a boarding school for girls in England. From there, she went on to King’s College and met her future husband, Sindika Dokolo. Today, they have three children together, and her husband is supportive of her career and lofty goals.

Isabel dos Santos invested in her first business venture in 1997, called Miami Beach, a restaurant and nightclub in Angola. Her next venture was in the diamond industry, and dos Santos created the business Trans-Atlantic Investment Services for this endeavor. She bounced from these initial starts to a trucking business and then to a communications business, called Unitel.

If you followed dos Santos and her growth through these years, you’d see that she has a knack for vision with regard to her investment choices. From the trucking company she learned that there was a need for communication remedies and that spurred her inception of Unitel. From there, dos Santos went on to invest in various ventures in Angola and Portugal.

She has developed a culture of community and social responsibility in each of her companies and takes great pride in initiatives that give back, especially initiatives that help women. The Women for the Future Scholarship Fund is one of these initiatives. This scholarship, set up by Unitel, encourages girls and young women to enter the communications and technology fields by providing money for education on these subjects.

Isabel dos Santos is a role model for women, but she can also be an excellent example for male business leaders. She’s taken each bit of education in her journey and used it to influence future investments. She also leads the way with a mission for social responsibility to benefit her country and women around the world.