Entrepreneurs of Cape Verde: José Pedro Oliveira of Hotel Pedracin Village

Hello Mr Oliveira, thank you very much for talking to Atlantico Weekly. Could you please tell the readers of Atlantico Weekly who you are? Allright, my name is José Pedro Chantre de Oliveira, better known as Djopan, born 58 years ago. Though I was born in Chá de Pedras, on Santo Antão, I consider myself a citizen of the world. When I was 10 years old I left Santo Antão for secondary school in São Vicente. In those days we had no such school on this island. Then I studied engineering in Lisbon. After Independence of our country I came back to Cape Verde, but I went to Santiago. Some 25 years ago, in 1986, I founded the Poeta restaurant in Praia and managed it for several years. But in 1990 I decided to leave Praia and settle down on Sal island, so I sold the restaurant. I became one of the pioneers of tourism on Sal, and I founded Turim (Sociedade Turística e Imobilária), the company behind the Murdeira resort. I also advised most foreign investors, like the Italian Stefanini Group. At that time the tourism business was absolutely not explored. Nevertheless, I always had a strong urge to return to Santo Antão, back to my roots. Someone gave me a local gastronomy book of this island and that was the last push I needed. Today, besides running Hotel Pedracin Village I regularly contribute to two national newspapers: A Nação and A Semana. I like discussing the development of our country. My position is that the central role of Praia these days is no good for the development of both Praia and the other islands. We need to spread out our development over all our islands and balance our economic growth. Other islands cannot depend on Praia for work and money. Furthermore, an island like Santo Antão cannot depend on the development of São Vicente, as some of my colleagues propose. We should all have the same opportunities in this country.

Could you tell us more about Pedracin Village? Hotel Pedracin Village opened in 2003, on July 5^th, which is as you know our Independence Day. It is a rural hotel located on the slope of a mountain and it therefore benefits from fantastic views. Many people seem to think you can only build hotels on the beach. Well, not so! You can sleep just as well in the mountains! The hotel offers bungalows built in a traditional Capeverdean style. My intention was to establish a quality place with comfort in the interior of Santo Antão and something that also upholds the island’s history and traditions. I believe that it is essential to display the island’s history and culture in our tourism facilities. That may be what tourism is all about. I think people who come here want to be in a typical environment and in a typical building that you won’t find anywhere else. In Pedracin Village I made this possible by using traditional architecture. But there is something else. You know, I am from a period in which we had literally nothing. By letting tourists have a glimpse of how we lived in the past, we are also honouring our previous poverty.

What made you become an entrepreneur on Santo Antão? I always wanted to return to my roots. Here on Santo Antão I wanted to develop a place with the best Cape Verde has to offer. I also wanted to restore the balance of tourist development among our islands. I like to mention too that it is important to learn from the mistakes that were made in the past. We need to plan our tourist facilities and resorts with the utmost care. We should not just copy the mistakes that were made decades ago, in the Canaries for instance. We let the big resort groups make the same mistakes in Cape Verde as they made 30 years ago in other places. For lack of adequate planning we now have ghettos near our resorts on Sal, Boa Vista and Praia. This brings insecurity to the area and the destination may lose its tourist value in the end. This could have been avoided, because it is all about planning. Planning is very important if we want to have sustainable tourism.

Is it easy to start a business in Cape Verde? No, it is not, let me make this clear! It is very difficult to start a business on Cape Verde! Oh yes, maybe you can register your company in 24 hours, but that’s the easy part. All the rest comes later. In practice it’s difficult to succeed and the first years may bring you little result. For instance, one of the things we need is local production to reduce our dependence on imports. In my opinion our internal productivity is still low because the mentality still persists that imported goods are better than local products. We need to change that mentality and start producing locally. My dream is that one day politicians start focusing themselves on changing this mentality. We must show that we are at least capable of producing enough for domestic consumption. The state needs to give entrepreneurs more breaks when it comes to taxes. The government also has to come up with more incentives, provide new and innovative technologies, facilitate access to inexpensive equipment and improve the quality of energy and water supply to entrepreneurs and farmers. For example, I could easily run my place with wind and solar power, but those technologies are not available nor affordable at the moment. But there is more. Cape Verde is still a bureaucratic country. Taxes may stifle entrepreneurs, especially those just starting. Agribusiness and tourism will only take off when the state really starts facilitating entrepreneurs. Access to funding and credit is another problem we will have to solve in this country.

Could you describe one of your highlights or successes? The inauguration of Hotel Pedracin Village of course! It had always been my dream to return to Santo Antão and realize a project in surroundings like these… I succeeded,  even when people said it would be impossible!

What do you recommend other entrepreneurs when setting up a business in Cape Verde? Come straight to Santo Antão, it’s virgin territory! There are many opportunities here, especially for projects linked to nature, agriculture and tourism or a combination of those. You could also come here, find water and start farming virgin lands, bringing those fields to life. Unfortunately we do not have the financial capacity to change these islands ourselves, so we need joint ventures with external partners. I would like very much to witness the arrival of foreign investors with vision to the island and see them change Santo Antão for the better. Planning is necessary from our side, that’s the part we have to do as locals. We have to make sure we don’t squander our natural beauty and attractiveness to any investor, national or foreign. But I would support any serious entrepreneur that comes to Santo Antão with the intention to improve this island. It makes no difference if the investment comes from a foreign or domestic investor, as long as he respects the nature and culture of the island.

Thank you very, very much Mr Oliveira. How can readers of Atlantico Weekly find you? Thank you too. They can reach me by email at pedracin@cvtelecom.cv

February 5th 2012. All rights reserved by Atlantico Weekly.

Entrepreneurs of Cape Verde: Emanuel Spencer of SCI, Spencer Construções & Imobiliária, Lda.

Hello Mr Spencer, thank you very much for talking to Atlantico Weekly. Could you please tell the readers of Atlantico Weekly who you are? Well, I am Emanuel Spencer, 45 years old. I was born in Guiné-Bissau, but my father is from São Nicolau Island in Cape Verde. He lived most of his live in Guiné-Bissau. I studied civil engineering in the Ukraine. After graduation I came to Cape Verde and worked in the construction industry. I took part among other things in the construction of the Central Hospital of Ribeira Grande on Santo Antão, the construction of student housing as well as road building on this island and others. I started SCI, Spencer Construções & Imobiliária, Lda. in 2006, together with my brother João Spencer, who studied engineering in the United States.

Could you describe Spencer Construções & Imobiliária and its companies? We set out with SCI on our first project, which was the Lombo Branco Village on Santo Antão, a real estate development. The holiday homes were mainly bought by Europeans. When they came here they asked us where they could rent a car. Since there was no car rental agency on Santo Antão, we decided to start with Spencer Rent-A-Car. Then they asked us who could take care of their homes while they were absent and we set up a service company for them. More recently we set up Spencer Turismo that has just opened our first hotel in Vila das Pombas, the Paúl Mar Hotel. Another hotel is under construction: the Vista Oceano Hotel in Ponta do Sol, which will have 120 beds. We have also entered the Sinagoga Resort project here on Santo Antão as a partner. Building there starts this month, in January 2012. At Sinagoga Resort we will build 44 two and three-room homes plus a four star hotel with 70 rooms and an infinity pool. All homes and hotel rooms will have a spectacular view over the sea.

Spencer Construções & Imobiliária is only five years old now, but we are rapidly expanding beyond our home island. We are planning a hotel on São Vicente with 50 rooms and we have also teamed up with the Master Projects company in Praia to set up projects on Santiago. Meanwhile we are among the first Capeverdean companies to start operating abroad. Our internationalisation drive brought us to Angola where we founded SEC SA, which we own for 65%, while an Angolan partner has 35 %. We have an office now in Luanda, but we envisage operating in Cabinda, Bengo as well as in Kwanza Norte and Kwanza Sul provinces. We will enter the markets of housing construction and public works, real estate and tourism in Angola. In Guiné-Bissau, my country of birth, we have founded SCI Guiné-Bissau and we will start operating there early in 2012. Together with Bissau City Hall and other partners and municipalities we will start up a project for the construction of no less than 7.500 houses for the lower, middle and upper classes. We also intend to enter the public works market there.

Meanwhile Spencer Construções & Imobiliária already employs 350 staff in Cape Verde of which 27 are university graduates. But in 2012 we expect to grow towards 450 staff. We intend to set up our Angolan business by sending 150 trained staff and cadres there from Cape Verde in the first phase. In the meantime we will train sufficient Angolan staff to take things further. But that’s not all! We also are looking into entering the markets of São Tomé & Principe and Equatorial-Guinea and yes, even Portugal. We have made agreements with universities in Cape Verde, Portugal and Brazil for student internships. Many of these students keep working at SCI after their graduation. The average age of our staff is around 27 years. We also employ many women in all trades and departments. We have offices now in São Vicente, Praia, Porto Novo, Guiné-Bissau and Luanda, but our headquarters will always remain here in Ribeira Grande on Santo Antão. We are proud to be the first Capeverdean company to operate internationally!

That is indeed very impressive! What made you become an entrepreneur? I always used to work for the same company that was based in Praia. I said to myself, why not start up a business in Santo Antão? When I told people about my plans they thought I was crazy. But our plans were received enthusiastically by the local authorities here on the island. We saw a great potential for business on Santo Antão and we were right. Until then, everything had to be brought in from other islands and most from the capital Praia. And that’s expensive. But we provided the same service as other companies for a much better price, once we got started. Anyway, we went against the current and five years later we ended up being the only large company in Cape Verde with its headquarters not based in Praia.

Is it easy to start a business in Cape Verde? In this country we have great facilities for foreign investors and new businesses and I think we are pretty competitive internationally. The island structure of Cape Verde though is an obstacle for investors because transport makes everything expensive. Bringing a container from Portugal to São Vicente costs you, say 1200 Euros, but bringing it further across that little stretch of water to Santo Antão will set you back for another 800 Euros. So, while doing our construction projects on Santo Antão we were using material that was expensive because of the high cost of transport. We managed however to keep our overall cost low by delivering our product much faster. This was made possible by having a better qualified workforce, a phenomenon that made us highly competitive. We never took any subsidies. Anyway, the state only should create the right conditions for companies and not support them directly. That’s the way we feel about it.

But Cape Verde needs to export more and we need entrepreneurs with vision. There are plenty of possibilities. We now can export freely into the EU and there are also good possibilities for exporting to the US. Now with the expanded docking facilities at Porto Novo, we have a perfect port on this island and the passenger terminal will be the best of West Africa. Santo Antão does possess great opportunities for small businesses and industries, for instance high quality coffee, liquors and fish products. Porto Novo has an efficient industrial area for processing, distributing and exporting those products. We have quality products, a young enthusiastic workforce and of course we have the opportunities for tourism development. Our small hotels, high quality products and service make sure that our tourists usually come back! This year, in 2012, the Cape Verde government will launch the tender for the construction of the Porto Novo airport. This will be excellent for the development of tourism on Santo Antão because tourists will then be able to fly in directly. Together with São Vicente we can offer an perfect tourism mix, consisting of a week on São Vicente and a week on Santo Antão. But we will not wait for that. Soon we will start with a bus service collecting tourists at the airport on São Vicente and bringing them straight to the ferry and on to their destination on Santo Antão. From 2012 we will have four ferry boats providing passenger transport between the two islands and if the schedules are well spread out and some boats spend the night on the Santo Antão side instead of on the São Vicente side, we could end up with much better connections to both islands.

How would you describe the business outlook for Cape Verde? People talk about this crisis, but I think it is just another obstacle we entrepreneurs must overcome. Since independence Cape Verde has had a long line of stable governments made up by both main political parties. All governments were business-friendly. They all did good work for the private sector, making sure our economy will keep growing. Our economy is safe and highly recommended by international institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, etcetera. We can even try to speed things up more! Spencer Construções & Imobiliária has never made so many investments as right now: hotels, resorts and housing estates like for instance the Santa Barbara project in Ribeira Grande. Yes, there will be minor reflexes from the world crisis on the Cape Verde economy, but I am convinced we can beat this. Cape Verde never had resources like oil, so we invested the little money that we had prudently and wisely: in dams, roads, hospitals, ports and airports. A sound basis has been established and we will keep on growing from there. And for the coming years there are lots of gains to be made in the agribusiness sector, again especially on Santo Antão, because of the progress we are making with irrigation schemes.

Could you describe one of your highlights or successes? Our biggest success is definitely the team we have created. We could never have achieved everything without such a great staff and workforce. We even have different generations working with us, like father and son. Yes, our biggest pride is our staff.

What do you recommend other entrepreneurs when setting up a
business in Cape Verde? A newcomer should remember that you cannot start a mega business in Cape Verde, our economy is too small. Don’t expect to make millions here within a few years. You have to work step by step, phase by phase. But first of all he or she should get to know this island, Santo Antão! The local authorities on Santo Antão are really welcoming to foreign investors and they work well together here, even if they belong to different parties. We welcome any serious project or investor for this island. We even welcome other construction companies to Santo Antão. We don’t see them as competitors because whatever they do will result in more business and opportunities for others.

Thank you very, very much Mr Spencer. How can readers of Atlantico Weekly find you? Thank you too! They can find out more about Spencer Construções & Imobiliária through our website: http://sci.cv/

January 22th, 2012. All rights reserved by Atlantico Weekly.

Entrepreneurs of Cape Verde: Helen Hutchings and Steve Cooling of Blu bar, Santa Maria

Hi Helen and Steve, thank you for talking to us. Could you please tell the readers of Atlantico Weekly who you are? Sure! Steve is 62 and I’m 53 and we both have business backgrounds in the UK. Steve has worked in the travel, film and logistics sectors during his career. He has a good deal of experience shipping freight around the world. When he had his own freight forwarding company, he even shipped a whole factory from one country to another! I qualified as an accountant many years ago and have worked for myself for the past 30 years. I have had businesses in healthcare, property and customer services. At the moment we juggle our time between Sal and the UK, which isn’t easy while flights are still limited.

Tell us more about Blu bar! We set up Blu bar cocktail and live music bar in Santa Maria, on Sal Island, out of the desire to offer an alternative place. We wanted to create something that was new to the island and of course something we hoped people would enjoy. Cocktail bars are really popular in Europe and we wanted to offer this in a stylish environment on Sal. But we also wanted to showcase the fantastic talented musicians we have in Cape Verde. Our aim from the outset was to have a place for everyone. We worked hard to make people feel welcome and to provide quality service. We bought the property off plan in 2005 and the property was ready early 2008. We opened 13 December 2008, so we will be having our third birthday party soon. Everyone is welcome to join us!

Why did you become an entrepreneur in Cape Verde? I first came to Cape Verde in 2005 and fell in love with the islands the moment I got here. It may sound odd, but it felt like coming home. When I met Steve a year later the plan had already been formed to open a bar, so it was just as well Steve loves it here too!

Is it easy to start a business in Cape Verde? Is it easy to set up a business anywhere? There are challenges everywhere… When you are in a country with a different language, business culture and you want to start a new business there are plenty of challenges. However, I would say that everyone has always been very supportive of us. We have always worked with professionals locally and that has been a huge help. Sometimes you learn the hard way, which can be painful and expensive. The toughest challenges I would say are securing bank finance in Cape Verde. This can be a long, drawn out process. Some of the bureaucracy can be frustrating, like when you have to go back time and again to get something done. Things could perhaps be streamlined by asking for all the documents that are needed from the outset.

What were your highlights, best moments or successes? The best bit was after we had opened Blu bar. People came and then came back and liked what we were trying to do. You know when you open something new you pray that people will like it. But until you have done it you can only pray… When we have live music it makes us really happy to see people joining in singing, dancing, smiling and having a good time. Yeah, there’s nothing better than seeing people having a good time! And, ah, there was that first time we got in a taxi and asked the driver to go to Blu bar. He actually knew where it was! That was a thrill too…

We heard you are planning to expand. Could you reveal your plans a bit? Well, we hope – if things go to plan – to be opening another site on Sal at the Vila Verde resort. It will also be a place with cocktails and live music, but with a grill bar this time. It’s a much bigger project with a lot more planning to do. It’s exciting!

What do you think about the business and tourism outlook on Sal, is it good? We think the long term outlook is very positive, but we have to accept that in the short term there are challenges. The recession may hurt a bit and flights, especially from the UK, are still limited. With lots of apartments being completed we do worry how everyone will be able to get here. We need flexible, low cost flights and we don’t have either of these at the moment. These islands need to avoid the pitfall of being an all inclusive only destination, which is not good for local businesses and local people. We also need to welcome independent travellers, who thrive on flexibility and low cost flights. Cape Verde offers such a great destination from Europe at only a 5-6 hour flight, without jet lag, great all year round sunshine, no hurricanes, fabulous beaches, safety and warm and welcoming people. It’s a great alternative to the Caribbean and the Canaries!

What was the biggest problem you encountered as an entrepreneur in Cape Verde? Learning how to do business here. There are no text books or websites you can visit that tell you how to do things. So it’s a case of talking to people who have done it already, talking to professionals and – it’s all about having patience! We had and still have advice and support from some really great people and we can never thank them enough. Another thing is that in a service industry you have to also remember that the people who come to work for you may have no idea what quality service looks like. You need to find a way of showing, training and encouraging them to keep striving to get better and better. That can be a big challenge. And when you are away it doesn’t help that the internet falls over often and makes it tougher to keep in touch.

What do you recommend other entrepreneurs when setting up a business in Cape Verde? Talk to people who have done it, employ quality professional help and expect everything to take ten times longer than you think. Oh, and keep your cool, be polite and smile!

Thank you Helen and Steve. How can readers of Atlantico Weekly reach you? We can always be reached at info@blubarcapeverde.com. Our website is www.blubarcapeverde.com

December 11th, 2011. All rights reserved by Atlantico Weekly

Entrepreneurs of Cape Verde: Patone Lobo

Hello Mr Lobo, thanks for talking to us. Could you please tell the readers of Atlantico Weekly who you are? Definitely. I am Manuel António de Sousa – aka Patone – Lobo. I was born on Sal Island, Cape Verde, 61 years ago. After school, the Liceu, I served for six years as a specialist with the Portuguese Airforce. Later, from 1975, I was the manager of the Hotel Morabeza in Santa Maria, until the year 2000. From that year on I dedicated myself to my own projects: the Hotel Odjo d’Agua and Restaurante Piscador in Santa Maria and Restaurante Cometa on Santiago. At this moment I am also involved in two projects that I carry out with partners. One is a real estate project on Sal and the other is a new hotel, the Hotel Ribamar, to be built in the capital of Cape Verde, Praia on Santiago. Besides being the CEO of Hotel Odjo d’Agua I am also Vice-President of the Chamber of Tourism. Furthermore, I am the chairman of the movement that strives to turn Santa Maria into a municipality (the ACMSM – Associação para criação e Afirmação do Município de Santa Maria – AW), as well as the president of the Sal Karate Association (or AKIS, Associação de Karate da Ilha do Sal- AW).

Most visitors to Sal may know your Hotel Odjo d’Agua. Nevertheless, how would you describe it? After working for 25 years at the Morabeza hotel, I made my dream come true by creating a hotel on the best possible location in Santa Maria, a hotel that was very different from all of the others. This way the Odjo d`Agua was conceived, as a true hotel de charme. It is built overhanging the sea on a small promontory near the Vera Cruz lighthouse, the lighthouse of Santa Maria Bay. The hotel has 50 rooms of which eight are junior suites and two are full suites. All are equipped with a balcony, telephone, frigobar, LCD television, safe deposit box, air conditioning, hammocks on the balcony, bathroom with hairdryer and bath tub, WIFI access, etc. The Odjo d’Agua also has two restaurants, a beach bar with chairs and parasols, a pub, solarium, swimming pool, gym, spa with massage, jacuzzi and sauna as well as a medical facility. It is a family hotel, breathing a typical Capeverdean or “Krioulo” atmosphere. At Hotel Odjo d’Agua we work with a large number of international operators, such as TUI (active in Portugal, the UK, Scandinavia, Holland and Belgium), Luxair, Neckerman, Soltrópico, Solferias, Abreu, Dertour, Vista Verde, Crossroads, Cabo Verde Experience, Neves Travel and others…

What made you become a Capeverdean entrepreneur? After Cape Verde’s independence in 1975 I became aware that a big and heavy task was in store for our people. It was obviously important that I would have to contribute to the development of my country.

Is it easy to start a business in Cape Verde? Right now there are plenty of facilities. The authorities are fully geared towards promoting business. You can set up a business in 24 hours now. There are many fiscal incentives, like custom duty exemption for importing equipment and tax exemption for your first 10 years. However, because of the global crisis, you may encounter a certain difficulty when obtaining project financing. We also have to improve our marketing capacities in Cape Verde and we need to discover and develop new world markets.

Concerning the need to develop new markets, are you thinking about specific countries? When I speak of new markets I mean the Russian, Chinese, American and African markets.

How would you describe the business and tourism outlook for Sal? I think Cape Verde and specially Sal do possess great potential for tourism. With our geographic location, our climate and our social stability we have the right conditions to be successful in this field. On the other side I have my doubts about the “All Inclusive” tourism concept of some operators, which in my opinion we need to reconsider. We also need to improve substantially – both in quality and in quantity – of what Cape Verde offers the international tourism market. I think we should bet on better quality facilities and we should fight to include in our package things like golf courses, casinos and aqua-parques. The development of our infrastructure and the improvement of our resort towns should be one of Cape Verde’s priorities. This can only happen if we are able to increase local energy production and access to water, whilst not forgetting to invest in training and education. Furthermore, I think we should do everything that is in our power to attract low cost airlines to Sal – if we really want to see our great potential for tourism real estate flourish. Besides the constrains that may exist, I am convinced our tourism sector is in good shape and it is highly recommended!

Could you describe one of your highlights or successes?
My highlights were hard work and perseverance…

What was the biggest problem you encountered as an entrepreneur in Cape Verde? The biggest problem for an entrepreneur in Cape Verde is to find all necessary information to carry out your project. You need to work with Cabo Verde Investimentos (the CV Investment Agency – AW) for this. Financing a project is also still difficult.

What do you recommend other entrepreneurs when setting up a business in Cape Verde? I would recommend all entrepreneurs in Cape Verde to develop good relations with the local community as well as with the authorities. I also advise them to make sure their activities are in line with standards of integrity and honesty.

Thank you, Mr Lobo, for your time and insight. One last question: how can readers of Atlantico Weekly reach you? It was my pleasure. They can reach me by email at comercial@odjodagua-hotel.com or by phone at +238-2421414. Our website is www.odjodagua-hotel.com

November 27th 2011. All rights reserved by Atlantico Weekly.

Entrepreneurs of Cape Verde: Paulino Dias

Hi Paulino, thanks for talking to Atlantico Weekly. Could you please tell the readers of Atlantico Weekly who you are? Yes, of course! My name is Paulino Dias, 35 years old, born on Santo Antão, but now living in Praia, on Santiago. I have a degree in Economics and a Master in Global Management. In 2009 I was selected as one of Africa’s future young leaders when participating in the “Desmond Tutu Leadership Programme” (www.alinstitute.org). I started my career at Shell Cabo Verde, first as Head of the Santo Antão branch, after that as Coordinator of the Gas Division and finally as their Marketing Director. I left the company in 2007 to take over as Executive Director at IFH (a Cape Verde real estate developer – AW). A year later, in 2008, I founded my own business, PD Consult, and in the same year I was invited to join the Board of  the Caixa Económica bank. In 2010 however I decided to leave that company and to focus exclusively on the development of PD Consult.

What is PD Consult? PD Consult offers research and consultancy and is based in Praia. PD Consult was born out of the ambition to contribute to the modernisation of management models in Cape Verde. We assist businesses and public institutions on how to render excellent services to their clients and users, while adopting modern and innovative management solutions, that have been adapted to the reality of our country. At this moment we operate with our own staff of four fulltime employees, as well as with a large network of independent consultants and partners. These consultants and partners are specialised in the most diverse areas of management and research and all have been selected by us, using strict criteria on knowledge, competence, dynamism and compatibility with our principles and values. PD Consult delivers a vast array of consultancy services, while specially standing out in social and economic fields, in support for investors and entrepreneurs that intend to develop their business in Cape Verde as well as in management consultancy for already established institutions and companies.

Was becoming an entrepreneur in Cape Verde already in your blood? Well, maybe so! I must confess that from my youngest days I have always felt a certain entrepreneurial spirit burning inside of me. The first “company” I founded and managed was a club that organised children’s games, when I was only 10 years old. The company HQ was based in the porch of my parent’s house (big smile). Later, I was one of the founders of the first Capeverdean Student Association in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. But when I was 24, upon returning from University, I created my first real company: the first cyber-café on Santo Antão, in the town of Ribeira Grande. The cyber-café went into bankruptcy after three years. Which was in fact a blessing in disguise, because I learned a lot from that adventure (smiling again broadly). Anyway, I believe that right now is the best possible moment to start a business in Cape Verde. The combination of economic growth, social and political stability and the overall improvement of the level of schooling open up lots of opportunities for those who want to become an entrepreneur. I also believe that entrepreneurship, the creation of new businesses and the dynamics of the private sector are the most efficient ways to create jobs, reduce poverty and, most importantly, fulfil one’s personal ambitions.

Is it easy to start a business in Cape Verde? These days things have been greatly improved. You can register your company now within 48 hours and the procedure has been simplified. To give you an idea about the old days: in 2001 it took me more than three months to completely formalize my first company. Nowadays there are also more instruments to finance a small business, like micro-credits for example, and there is also more competition among local banks. The present quality in the field of communications is another gain from recent years. This facilitates the setting up of businesses in Cape Verde, though the costs are still high. This development opens up a huge potential for new technologies or internet-based businesses. Meanwhile, several problems still persist: we need to accelerate the rhythm of reform when it comes to simplifying bureaucratic processes, we need to improve access by entrepreneurs of capital, we need to have better qualified labour, we need more flexible labour legislation, we need to improve the quality of energy and water supply as well as bring down their cost…

Could you describe one of your highlights or successes? One of the projects that gave me most satisfaction was – I briefly mentioned it already – the start of my first enterprise (with two associates) in 2001: the cyber-café on Santo Antão. In that period, very few people knew about the internet. We pushed through with our project by implementing aggressive tactics to educate people, especially young people, on how to use the net. We organised free mini-courses on weekends, we went to schools, we called upon teachers to recognize the potential of the internet for research, we invited institutions over to our premises, etc. It turned out to be a smashing success, both in terms of revenue as well as in terms of visibility. In a very short period we revolutionised the way in which the youth of Ribeira Grande and surrounding valleys used the computer to connect to the outside world. The impact was huge and our company was seen as a success story. Illustrious personalities visited us while touring the island, among which the Prime Minister of Cape Verde and the Archduke of Luxembourg. Then we planned to reproduce our model to another nearby township, Ponta do Sol, without knowing anything about the market. This move was to be a fatal mistake. It was the beginning of the end and a great lesson in how to do business, or in fact, on how not to do business. We shut down after three years, but nobody could take away the intense satisfaction we felt by contributing to the access of information for Santo Antão’s youths…

What was the biggest problem you encountered as an entrepreneur in Cape Verde? Unfortunately in Cape Verde, people still look upon you with a certain suspicion when you start your business. So in the beginning it could be an obstacle if you can not show a “curriculum” to your possible clients, your bank and your suppliers. This is specially true in the services sector. You may need to establish a name for yourself first, conquer your place in the sun, so to speak. You can only achieve this when you focus hard on the quality of your service, making sure your client is absolutely satisfied and obtaining his testimonial, to show it to your future clients. You can also associate yourself to long established names or companies and deliver products or render services that are complementary to them. The aspect of financing could be another great obstacle. Banks always demand guarantees and this is very difficult to those that are starting a business. Another obstacle to growth is the scale and fragmentation of the Cape Verde market. We are just 500.000 consumers, spread out over nine islands, which could strain the organization and logistics of certain types of businesses.

What do you recommend to other entrepreneurs when setting up a business in Cape Verde? In the first place, think of your business with a long term vision and from a long run perspective. This allows you to focus on your objectives and not just on making a quick buck. Making money, though a necessity for the survival of your business, should not be a goal by itself, but the result of a series of good decisions made during the creation of something bigger, that is built to last. In second place, never give up when facing difficulties. Keep fighting, keep on looking at your idea from all possible angles, shaping it and implementing necessary solutions. This does not mean you should never retreat. If your ship goes down: jump, and don’t stay on deck looking scared. That would be crazy. If you see your ideas do not work, better not pursue them. Thirdly, you need to be very patient. Cape Verde is well under way improving its business climate, but there are stills things that need attention. You need to be aware of this in order to keep your expectations at realistic levels. Lastly, get as much information as possible and learn as best as you can from people or institutions that really know the market!

Well, thank you Paulino, for this excellent conversation which we think will definitely serve as inspiration to other entrepreneurs or to those contemplating starting a business. One last question: how can readers of Atlantico Weekly reach you? It was my pleasure! They can reach me by e-mail at Paulino.Dias@pdconsult.cv , by telephone at +238 2629902 or by skype at paulino.dias. They can also visit the webiste of our company at www.pdconsult.cv

November 13th, 2011. All rights reserved by Atlantico Weekly

Entrepreneurs of Cape Verde: Josephine Sturiale

Hi, Josephine, could you please tell the readers of Atlantico Weekly who you are? Sure. I am Josephine Sturiale, environmental engineer, 38 years old. I have experience in inter-governmental projects in connection with industry associations, implementation of national and international policy and legislation with focus on the maritime sector, specialising in inland shipping. I consider myself an intermediary between stakeholders, connecting social and environmental aspects with economic developments. My specialties are waste, environmental legislation, finance and infrastructure related to waste collection, law enforcement, as well as setting up and providing educational environmental programs.

Could you describe your business? Chew Consultancy and Solutions is a cooperation of Dutch environmental engineers. Countries in development are often a few steps behind when it comes to their way of dealing with environmental issues such as waste, sustainable energy or water stewardship. We feel that these countries need Creativity, Heart and Energy to find solutions for their own environment. CHEW’s main objective is to collaborate with the organizations within these countries on matters such as waste and waste water in order to reduce the burden that is felt in the society. CHEW also has expertise in the maritime sector and due to strong connections in the Netherlands and in Cape Verde we intermediate where we see possibilities for developments in Cape Verde.

Why did you become a Capeverdean entrepreneur? Due to my Capeverdean background my interest grew rapidly. One of my first priorities is to contribute to developments in the field of environment and more specifically in waste management and maritime affairs. With the creation of CHEW Consultancy I contribute to the Capeverdean environment. Furthermore, I contribute to economic development by cooperating with a Cape Verde based partner, which strengthens the relations between the Cape Verde and Dutch business communities.

Is it easy to start a business in Cape Verde? I think the government has facilitated a great deal the setting up of businesses. Unfortunately we have no personal expertise setting up a business in Cape Verde as CHEW is a Dutch based company. Our local partners do this regularly and we’ve experienced that foreign companies can set up their business easily. Of course it’s best to have a local lawyer who can facilitate the procedures.

Josephine, we heard you like coffee a lot, is that true? Yes, it’s true, I do! One of the development projects that we are involved in is a coffee project on the island of Fogo. The project is meant to help coffee producers develop their production in a certified way, set up the processing unit(s), arrange transportation from the fields to the unit(s) and use renewable energy for the processing unit(s). The local producers will also be trained to produce a better quality coffee. There is also a social aspect: one of the goals is to increase the life quality of all families involved in the production of coffee on the island. This project is partly financed by the Dutch government. Due to our network in both Cape Verde and the Netherlands we and our local partner were able to find the right companies to work with.

What was the biggest problem you encountered as an entrepreneur in Cape Verde? Well, since we operate from the Netherlands it is very important to have a strong network locally. This will facilitate a great deal. Without the knowledge on how the Capeverdean system works, it’s easy to run into walls of resistance. Also, there is not always a clear lead when to step in. You have to be very focussed and on top of things. Sometimes things move very slow and from one day to another anything can speed up. You might run the risk of missing the boat literally.

What do you recommend to other entrepreneurs when setting up a business in Cape Verde? The problem I often see is that there are lots of good projects without a clear finance structure. Make sure that, if you have a good plan, you arrange the finance or investment too. Otherwise it will be recognised as a good plan but will end up in the stack.

Thank you, Josephine. How can readers of Atlantico Weekly reach you? Thank you too. They can reach me by mail at Josephine@chewconsultancy.nl. Our website is www.chewconsultancy.nl

October 30th, 2011. All rights reserved by Atlantico Weekly