João Baptista Borges was born on 4 January 1964 in Ingombota, Luanda, where he also spent much of his early life. He comes from a family of Armando Borges and Maria da Conceição de Castro Paiva. Borges began his technical training in 1983 with an intermediate course in electricity at the Makarenko Polytechnic Institute, before earning a degree in Electrical Engineering from Agostinho Neto University in 1991. He later obtained a Master’s degree in Electrotechnical & Computer Engineering from Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Portugal in 2011.

His professional career includes roles as a lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering at Agostinho Neto University, and significant work in the energy utility sector with EDEL-EP (Angola’s electricity distribution enterprise). He rose through various positions: Deputy Director for Investment, Deputy Technical Director, then Chairman of the Board at EDEL-EP.

In government, Borges has been Deputy Minister of Energy, then Secretary of State for Energy, before being appointed Minister of Energy and Water. He has held the ministerial portfolio continuously since 2011, serving under Presidents José Eduardo dos Santos and João Lourenço. As minister, he has overseen policy formulation and regulation in both energy and water sectors, and driven efforts in expanding access to services, updating legal frameworks, and improving utility operations in Angola.