Angola's Unitel suffers cyberattack ahead of stock market debut

Details: Manny Pham; Category: Operators; 29 July 2026; 1485 views

Angola's largest telecoms operator, Unitel, has suffered a cyberattack that disrupted voice, mobile data and internet services nationwide just one day before the company is due to begin trading on the country's stock exchange.

In a statement, the operator said it detected the attack at 02:20 local time on Tuesday, adding that the incident affected its technology infrastructure and caused widespread service disruptions across the country.

Unitel, which serves more than 21 million customers in Angola, said restoration efforts were ongoing but did not indicate when services would be fully restored.

The company also declined to provide details about the nature of the cyberattack or who may have been responsible.

The disruption comes ahead of Unitel's planned stock market debut on the Angola Debt and Securities Exchange (BODIVA) on Wednesday, following the successful sale of a 15% stake in the operator through an initial public offering (IPO).

The IPO was oversubscribed by more than 20%, reflecting strong investor demand as Angola continues efforts to attract private investment and reduce state ownership of key businesses.

According to Reuters, the timing of the cyberattack is particularly significant given the operator's imminent market listing, although there is currently no indication that the incident will affect the planned debut.