Isabel dos Santos can easily be referred to one of the richest business women in Africa. She is influential as she is rich. She was born to Jose Eduardo dos Santos, the former president of Angola. From appearing in top 100 influential people to being named the first woman in Africa who is a billionaire, Isabel dos Santos is earning a fortune. Her mother, Tatiana Kukanova, gave birth to her in Baku after meeting her dad there. She went to an all-girls school situated in Kent, Cobham Hall. After high school, Isabel proceeded to King’s College to study electrical engineering. It was while studying in London that she met Sindika Dokolo, who later became her husband. He is the heir to a millionaire from the Democratic Republic of Congo. After finishing college, she returned to Luanda and worked on a project that was to clean the city (Facebook).
She was the project manager engineer. She then started a trucking business that was aided by the widespread use of walkie-talkies at the time. Isabel dos Santos was the first to open a beach restaurant in Luanda. This was in 1997 and the restaurant, Miami Beach Club, also acted as a night club. This was the beginning of many investments that she was to make in Angola and also abroad.
Dos Santos has many investments in different sectors both in Portugal and back home in Angola. These include retail, media, finance, and telecommunications. She has held various leadership positions in different organizations. She is a shareholder in Nova Cimangola, an Angolan cement company. Isabel also holds major shares in ZON Multimedia, Banco Portugues de Investment and also Sanangola. She is also a board member to different companies. These include the Angolan Bank, ZON, and Banco BIC Portugues. Isabel dos Santos invested in Angola and partnered with Sonae, a Portuguese group, to bring development in Angola. Together with Portugal Telecom, she founded Unitel to bring more technological advancement in Angola. The company would help train managers, engineers and other workers. It would also create employment opportunities in Angola. Isabel dos Santos efforts in creating a digital Africa have been recognised across the globe.